Summary of Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West's Calling Bullshit

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 Bullshit is not a modern invention. It has its origins in deception, which is not a new phenomenon. Animals have been deceiving one another for hundreds of millions of years.

#2 The marine crustacean mantis shrimp is a good example of how bullshit is not very sophisticated. They have to molt to replace their hammer claws, which are hard and protected by a shell, but they are still vulnerable during that time.

#3 The bullshitting behavior of ravens is similar to that of humans on the Internet. They do not have a theory of mind, but they do understand the effect their actions have on others. They are cautious about caching their food in view of other birds.

#4 Humans have a theory of mind, which allows us to understand how others will interpret our actions. This allows us to use communication to manipulate others, which is why there is so much bullshit in the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669372233

IRB Media

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Insights on Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West's Calling Bullshit

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Bullshit is not a modern invention. It has its origins in deception, which is not a new phenomenon. Animals have been deceiving one another for hundreds of millions of years.

#2

The marine crustacean mantis shrimp is a good example of how bullshit is not very sophisticated. They have to molt to replace their hammer claws, which are hard and protected by a shell, but they are still vulnerable during that time.

#3

The bullshitting behavior of ravens is similar to that of humans on the Internet. They do not have a theory of mind, but they do understand the effect their actions have on others. They are cautious about caching their food in view of other birds.

#4

Humans have a theory of mind, which allows us to understand how others will interpret our actions. This allows us to use communication to manipulate others, which is why there is so much bullshit in the world.

#5

We use language to communicate efficiently, but we also use it to palter. We can palter by saying something that is technically not untrue. This is called paltering. Paltering is possible because of the way we use language.

#6

Humans are able to refer to external objects with language, which is a novel feature of human communication. However, humans also use language to convey things about themselves and others.

#7

The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is much greater than that needed to produce it. This is because it takes much more effort to debunk bullshit than it does to produce it. This is especially true in the field of medicine, where many people spread false information about vaccines and autism being linked to them.

#8

The vaccine scare that was caused by the debunked research of Andrew Wakefield has had disastrous public health consequences. Vaccine rates have risen from their nadir shortly after the paper was published, but remain dangerously lower than they were in the early 1990s.

#9

The spread of bullshit is easy to measure. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow users to pass on rumors from one person to the next. These platforms also allow users to refute these rumors.

#10

The ways