BULLS**T: What it is and how to fight it

If you're like most people, you encounter plenty of bulls**t every day. You may put a bit of bulls**t out there yourself, perhaps without even knowing it. The trouble is, bulls**t can waste a lot of time and as we all know, time is money. So what is to be done?

In 2005, a tiny book by a Princeton University philosophy professor became an unlikely bestseller. The professor's name was Harry Franklin and the book was called "On Bulls**t," except without the asterisks. "On Bulls**t," was a true mini-book, less than 70 pages and about four by six inches in size.

The book was a point-of-purchase item, placed in the checkout lines of Barnes&Noble and other bookstores -- and the public ate it up, so to speak. "On Bulls**t" was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than six months.

Toward the start of the book, Franklin makes a basic distinction between old fashioned lying and modern day bulls**t. The difference is this: in a traditional "lying conversation" between two people, the liar knows he is not telling the truth and the other person doesn't  know it. But in a bulls**t conversation both people know it's bulls**t but this is not acknowledged by with either of them. They just go right on ahead, collaborating in their bulls**t.

As the book points out, this kind of interaction takes place all the time in the contemporary world. In fact, it might now be the most widespread form of communication, especially since the internet has emerged as a hugely powerful means for spreading bulls**t around. So an effective defense against bulls**t begins with awareness. If you smell something, say something. 

Most dangerous of all, bulls**t can become so pervasive that it becomes our natural habitat. We're not even really aware of it anymore, just as fish aren't aware that they're swimming in water.

And why is that so dangerous? Well, there are always a few people -- maybe one or two, or a couple of hundred, or a few thousand -- who remain outside all the bulls**t and see what's really going on. Who are those people? Unfortunately, the book doesn't say. And Professor Franklin's next book, entitled "On Truth," was nowhere near as big a success. 

You can read a pdf of "On Bulls**t: online. Here's the link:
http://www.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_bullshit.pdf

The book, though short, is not light reading, so here's the wikipedia summary:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit