YANSS 066 – How to become better at smelling and avoiding the many varieties of bullshit

How strong is your bullshit detector? And what exactly IS the scientific definition of bullshit?


In this episode we explore both of those concepts as well as what makes a person susceptible to bullshit, how to identify and defend against it, and what kind of people are the most and least likely to be bowled over by bullshit artists and other merchants of feel-good woo.



gordon_pennycookYou’ll hear how Gordon Pennycook and his team at the University of Waterloo set out to discover if there was a spectrum of receptivity for a certain kind of humbug they call pseudo-profound bullshit – the kind that sounds deep and meaningful at first glance, but upon closer inspection means nothing at all. They wondered, is there a “type” of person who is more susceptible to that kind of language, and if so, what other things about personalities and thinking styles correlate with that tolerance and lack of skepticism, and why?




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This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses. Get 80 percent off Behavioral Economics: When Psychology and Economics Collide presented by professor Scott Heutell along with many other fantastic lecture series by visiting this link and ordering today!


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In every episode, after I read a bit of self delusion news, I taste a cookie baked from a recipe sent in by a listener/reader. That listener/reader wins a signed copy of my new book, “You Are Now Less Dumb,” and I post the recipe on the YANSS Pinterest page. This episode’s winner is Nick Dahlstrom who submitted a recipe for lemon ricotta cookies. Send your own recipes to david {at} youarenotsosmart.com.


Links and Sources


DownloadiTunesStitcherRSS – Soundcloud


Previous Episodes


Boing Boing Podcasts


Cookie Recipes


The New Age Bullshit Generator


On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt


Gordon Pennycook


On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit


Cognitive Reflection Test


Big Think Article on Cognitive Reflection


Barbara Drescher’s ICBSEverywhere.com


WisdomOfChopra.com


Image Source: Wikimedia Commons – Stier by Beno Adams

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Published on January 02, 2016 14:24
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