The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit

Social psychologist Petrocelli surveys the “causes of bullshit, its potential benefits to individuals, its consequences to society, and how people can better detect and dispose of its unwanted effects” in his spirited debut. Bullshit claims, he writes, are not “based on truth, genuine evidence and/or established knowledge,” and the bullshit artist is likely to disregard all evidence that disputes their claim, focus primarily on anecdotal evidence, and engage in pseudoprofundity. Petrocelli shines in describing how people can pay a steep cost if they’re fooled by those who have honed their disingenuous selling approaches: car dealers who deceive “by omission,” for instance, can cost hapless buyers thousands of dollars down the road in parts that need replacing. His advice for not getting taken advantage of is sound and straight-forward: when buying a used item, get it professionally inspected, since the salesperson likely has glossed over its defects. As for countering other deceit (including political), the key is critical thinking, which he defines as the ability not to be swayed by rhetorical sleights-of-hand, by maintaining “a passionate drive for clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, consistency, logic, completeness, and fairness.” While Petrocelli isn’t the first to tackle the topic, readers will appreciate the wealth of examples and practical advice. (July)