This link has been bookmarked by 50 people . It was first bookmarked on 14 Aug 2006, by Chris Harbert.
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Everyone lies: it’s just a question of how, when and why. From the relationship saving “yes, you do look thin in those pants†to the improbable “your table will be ready in 5 minutesâ€, manipulating the truth is part of the human condition. Accept it now.
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22 Aug 06
Socrates, the father of western wisdom, based his philosophy around the recognition, and expectation, of ignorance. It’s far more dangerous to assume people know what they’re talking about, than it is to assume they don’t and let them prove you wron
business management people philosophy psychology scott_berkun
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19 Aug 06
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14 Aug 06
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Divide requests, projects or commitments into pieces. It's not offensive to refuse to take someone's word if they have no history of living up to it before (especially if they're trying to sell you something).
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The forth tool of BS detection (derived from the rule of expecting BS) is careful assignment of your trust.
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Assignment of trust
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For example:
Our dynamic flow capacity matrix has unprecedented downtime resistance protocols.
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Especially in business and technology, jargon and obfuscation hide huge quantities of BS. Inflated language is a technique of intimidation. The bet is that if you don't understand what they're talking about, you'll feel stupid, or distracted, and give in to the appearance of their superior knowledge. This is, of course, entirely bullshit.
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Confidence in reduction
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Time & Pressure
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Use time & pressure, the third tool of BS detection, in your favor: never allow big decisions to mismanaged to the point where they must be made urgently. Ask to withhold judgment for a day, and watch the response. Invite people with expertise you need but don’t have to participate in decisions to add intellectual and domain pressure
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But BS is all surface. Like a magician’s bouquet of flowers, it's pretty as it flashes past your eyes, but its absence of integrity become obvious when you hold it in your hands. Anyone creating BS knows this, and will tend towards urgency. They’ll resist reviews, breaks, consultations or the suggestion of sleeping on decisions before they’re made.
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The second tool is also a question: What is the counter argument?
Anyone who has seriously considered something will have seen enough facts to fit their current argument as well as alternative position: ask for them. -
"The project will take 5 weeks". How do you know this? What might go wrong that you haven't accounted for? Would you bet $10k on this claim? $100k?
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The first detection tool is a question: How do you know what you know?
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Which gives us the third reason people lie, a truth saints and sinners have known for ages: we want to be seen as better than we see ourselves.
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Which leads to the second reason people lie: sometimes it works. It’s a gamble, but when it works, wow.
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Please note that in this tale nearly everyone lied. God lied about the apples (they weren’t fatal), Satan misrepresents the apple’s power, and Adam, approximates a lie in his wimpy finger pointing to Eve.
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People lie for three reasons; the first is to protect themselves.
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