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The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

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Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#11

Post by yzzxy »

_why wrote about this phenomenon in CLOSURE:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5764687/CLOSURE.pdf

The segment in question runs from about page 29 through 34.

    I unfolded my napkin and got the silverware out. "I don't remember."
    She got out her phone.
    "No, don't go there."
    "I. M. D. B." Her fingers.
    "Oh, Cristian Douglas," I said. "It was Cristian Douglas."
    Still typing, head leaned back, under the spell of her phone.

Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#12

Post by joshvm »

crazygringo wrote: post #5

I have a rule I always follow, and have convinced many friends of too -- no Googling/Wikipedia-ing in social settings. If nobody knows something (trivia-like), it's almost always a lot more fun to continue not knowing. Sure, look it up when you get home. But a little group self-discipline goes far in keeping the fine art of bullshitting alive. (And it's not just the answer that kills the conversation, but also the fa…

At least with the people I know, most trivia is the sort of thing they already found on the internet. If you browse Reddit and none of your friends do, you're pretty much guaranteed to know some bizarre fact. Similarly with programs like QI, it's often quite easy to know where people get their facts from (the conversation usually ends with "You got that from QI didn't you?" "Yes. I did.")

On the other hand I find it incredibly difficult to shut up when someone says something wrong about computing (or usually about some current affairs topic in computing). Don't be that guy.

Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#13

Post by stana »

Not only bullshit. I remember in one of the Beatles interviews how early on they found out that some guy in town knew the B7 guitar chord. They would get on a bus to meet this guy to learn the chord. This journey would not exist today :(

Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#14

Post by JoshTriplett »

The story posted in the article provides a romanticized illustration of how finding knowledge in a world without easy access to it can produce an adventure. (I like that it doesn't directly say which of the 1994 or 2014 versions was better, though there's sure an implication from how they're painted.) On the other hand, access to information can produce an adventure, as well; so can many other things. In the end, the right group of friends can end up on wild adventures for any number of reasons.

That's leaving aside the implications of having easy access to information to answer more important questions.

Questions for which there's a known right answer should get resolved as quickly as possible. That leaves more time for the questions that the Internet and all the other resources we have available can help answer, but which still require work. (Whether those questions are useful or just amusingly absurd is up to you.)

Just look at XKCD's What If (https://what-if.xkcd.com/), which references online information but nonetheless puts it together in novel ways (density of seawater and approximate volume of a bowling ball gives the minimum weight required for a bowling ball to sink). In the future, that post (https://what-if.xkcd.com/125/) will show up on the other end of a very strange set of search terms, but there will always be many more questions where that came from, and there are myriad examples online of detailed reasoning from fictional premises. For instance, see http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/ , http://physicswithportals.com/ , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ig_Nobel_Prize , or https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uG3_RgX9JA0/TboU21S9gNI/AAAAAAAAD... .

Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#16

Post by JoshTriplett »

joshvm wrote: post #12
crazygringo wrote: post #5

I have a rule I always follow, and have convinced many friends of too -- no Googling/Wikipedia-ing in social settings. If nobody knows something (trivia-like), it's almost always a lot more fun to continue not knowing. Sure, look it up when you get home. But a little group self-discipline goes far in keeping the fine art of bullshitting alive. (And it's not just the answer that kills the conversation, but also the fa…

At least with the people I know, most trivia is the sort of thing they already found on the internet. If you browse Reddit and none of your friends do, you're pretty much guaranteed to know some bizarre fact. Similarly with programs like QI, it's often quite easy to know where people get their facts from (the conversation usually ends with "You got that from QI didn't you?" "Yes. I did.") On the other hand I find it…

> On the other hand I find it incredibly difficult to shut up when someone says something wrong about computing (or usually about some current affairs topic in computing). Don't be that guy.

I look it as an opportunity to see how many people outside the computing field see it. It's sometimes horrifying, but on the other hand, my most common reaction is "that explains so much".

Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#18

Post by pervycreeper »

harshreality wrote: post #9
pervycreeper wrote: post #8

Good riddance? I believe I'm missing some profound point that the TFA is apparently making.

The point is that uncertainty about some things creates social engagement.

Well, there are still things to be uncertain about that aren't useless trivia, factoids, or urban legends. Hopefully the new BS free era will trickle down to the lower classes, gradually eroding their ignorance and prejudices, at least about one-liner facts.

Re: The Fine Art of Bullshit, Killed by Google

#19

Post by stolio »

uniclaude wrote: post #10

For those looking for never ending talks and debates about what is true or not, we still have philosophy, religion, and of course politics. Moreover, there's a lot of room the "The Fine Art of Bullshit" there.

Those are divisive topics, those are debates that matter.

For increased social cohesion play-fighting over bullshit is better, there's a subtext that the only reason it's worth it is you actually enjoy the company of those around you.

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