Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#1

Post by dundun » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:06 PM UTC

Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?
calmerthanyouare.org

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#2

Post by nirvanis » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:14 PM UTC

No.

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#3

Post by codezero » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:17 PM UTC

The title sets us up for contradiction! If it's correct then the answer to this post is Yes, which contradicts Betteridge's law, so the answer must be No. :)

edit: I didn't think this was controversial or anything, it was meant to be playful, sorry HN, I'll take my downvote lumps I guess.

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#4

Post by durzagott » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:31 PM UTC

I'm sure Betteridge's Law could be applied much more effectively to American news headlines than anything else. For example, how many times do we see crazy headlines on Fox News like "Is Obama a gay communist terrorist?"

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#5

Post by ddebernardy » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:41 PM UTC

codezero wrote: post #3

The title sets us up for contradiction! If it's correct then the answer to this post is Yes, which contradicts Betteridge's law, so the answer must be No. :) edit: I didn't think this was controversial or anything, it was meant to be playful, sorry HN, I'll take my downvote lumps I guess.

Classic Liar paradox...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar_paradox

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#6

Post by Vaskivo » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:43 PM UTC

codezero wrote: post #3

The title sets us up for contradiction! If it's correct then the answer to this post is Yes, which contradicts Betteridge's law, so the answer must be No. :) edit: I didn't think this was controversial or anything, it was meant to be playful, sorry HN, I'll take my downvote lumps I guess.

But answering "no" doesn't mean that, sometimes, the answer to these headline's question isn't "no". It simply means that Betteridge's law isn't always correct. Which I agree because, citing another pop/internet culture adage "only a Sith deals in absolutes".

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#7

Post by KhalilK » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:53 PM UTC

ddebernardy wrote: post #5

codezero wrote: post #3

The title sets us up for contradiction! If it's correct then the answer to this post is Yes, which contradicts Betteridge's law, so the answer must be No. :) edit: I didn't think this was controversial or anything, it was meant to be playful, sorry HN, I'll take my downvote lumps I guess.

Classic Liar paradox... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar_paradox

I immediately thought of Russell's paradox[0] but turns out they are indeed related[1].

0.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox

1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox#Application...

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#8

Post by et2o » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 3:55 PM UTC

I love this idea. 30s ago I just read an NYT headline "Are wearable devices worse for you than cigarettes?"

No.

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#9

Post by ConfuciusSay » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 4:08 PM UTC

Now do one about Moore's law.

Re: Is Betteridge's law of headlines correct?

#10

Post by Karunamon » Thu, Mar 19, 2015, 4:09 PM UTC

Vaskivo wrote: post #6

codezero wrote: post #3

The title sets us up for contradiction! If it's correct then the answer to this post is Yes, which contradicts Betteridge's law, so the answer must be No. :) edit: I didn't think this was controversial or anything, it was meant to be playful, sorry HN, I'll take my downvote lumps I guess.

But answering "no" doesn't mean that, sometimes, the answer to these headline's question isn't "no". It simply means that Betteridge's law isn't always correct. Which I agree because, citing another pop/internet culture adage "only a Sith deals in absolutes".

..which in itself, is an absolute.

We've come full circle, here :)