The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.
Also known as the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle.
Coined in 2013 by Alberto Brandolini, an Italian programmer.
Related to the quote attributed to Noam Chomsky, "It takes a minute to tell a lie, and an hour to refute it."
Also known as the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle.
Coined in 2013 by Alberto Brandolini, an Italian programmer.
Related to the quote attributed to Noam Chomsky, "It takes a minute to tell a lie, and an hour to refute it."
Trolls rely on Brandolini's Law to tie up well-meaning people in time-consuming debunking, with a minimum of effort on their own part.
by WhatwasIsaying December 24, 2024
Of greater danger than nobody knowing what to do is a broadly held presumption that somebody does.
Source: “‘Idiocracy’ is a disturbingly prescient reflection of our current reality, not because nobody knows anything but because everybody thinks somebody does." ~ Jared Bauer
Source: “‘Idiocracy’ is a disturbingly prescient reflection of our current reality, not because nobody knows anything but because everybody thinks somebody does." ~ Jared Bauer
Bauer's Rule of Idiocracy arises in part from characteristics discussed in Erich Fromm’s “Escape From Freedom,” including a desire to defer to a trusted figure to escape the burden of having to puzzle out matters for which one is ill-equipped, the learning curve is steep, or information is at best incomplete.
by WhatwasIsaying January 25, 2025
How was I supposed to know?
by WhatwasIsaying February 27, 2025
None of us are as dumb as all of us.
A counter to the older, pro-teamwork adage "None of us are as smart as all of us."
Speaks to the risk of lower-level workers' input being useless if upper management gives its own opinion first, due to the tendency of workers to fall in line once the position of the leader (who could fire them for dissent) is known.
The wording above was written on a wall at NASA's Houston complex after the Challenger disaster, as reported by astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Although the concept has long been known of, once it took the form of an aphorism, it acquired a viral quality.
A counter to the older, pro-teamwork adage "None of us are as smart as all of us."
Speaks to the risk of lower-level workers' input being useless if upper management gives its own opinion first, due to the tendency of workers to fall in line once the position of the leader (who could fire them for dissent) is known.
The wording above was written on a wall at NASA's Houston complex after the Challenger disaster, as reported by astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Although the concept has long been known of, once it took the form of an aphorism, it acquired a viral quality.
Niels Bohr and son Aage asked low-level engineer Richard Feynman their questions before asking higher-ups like Oppenheimer, partly to avoid taking up important administrators' time, but also to avoid Kelly's law of committees. Asking the higher-ups first, with lower-level workers present, would have a chilling effect on the latter's offering their own ideas and concerns.
by WhatwasIsaying December 24, 2024
Mail sent to an address by the government to ask for confirmation that the resident still lives there; if the resident does not respond, e.g., because s/he mistakes it for junk mail, the state uses non-response as its excuse to purge the voter from its rolls
The (in)accuracy of non-response to assess residency can be corroborated by comparing purged name-address pairs with recent USPS and Amazon shipments.
The (in)accuracy of non-response to assess residency can be corroborated by comparing purged name-address pairs with recent USPS and Amazon shipments.
I never returned that poisoned postcard, which explains why I had to fill out a provisional ballot. I wonder if it was counted.
by WhatwasIsaying February 15, 2025
lesbians who go down on each other despite being unshaven
"And then lesbians...these are the 1960s-style lesbians, which you may or may not be familiar with. They differ a little bit from the modern versions in that they never had to buy dental floss." ~ a review of Argentinian sexploitation horror film "The Curious Dr. Humpp"
"And then lesbians...these are the 1960s-style lesbians, which you may or may not be familiar with. They differ a little bit from the modern versions in that they never had to buy dental floss." ~ a review of Argentinian sexploitation horror film "The Curious Dr. Humpp"
by WhatwasIsaying January 28, 2025
Success in life depends largely on your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas, in that order.
A somewhat depressing observation that the best ideas don’t necessarily win out in the end, but depend on salesmanship, including thinking on one’s feet and a compelling in-person presentation.
Source: Prof. Patrick Winston
A somewhat depressing observation that the best ideas don’t necessarily win out in the end, but depend on salesmanship, including thinking on one’s feet and a compelling in-person presentation.
Source: Prof. Patrick Winston
by WhatwasIsaying January 25, 2025