BSer’s Technique of the Week: Appeal to Common Belief

Everyone knows this article is going to piss someone off. 

Okay, here’s the deal: in case nobody ever told you this in school, between the ages of eating glue and vaping in the bathroom stall, the number of people who believe a thing doesn’t have the least goddamn effect on whether or not it is actually true.

Unfortunately for… well, the Human race, millions if not billions of supposedly-higher primates wake up every day, dress up like Human beings, and go out into the world with this ridiculous bullshit in their brain’s back pocket. Why?

Well for one, it’s comforting. We all like to belong, to be a part of something. And holding a belief—true or not—is one of the easiest ways of joining a group. Many ideological groups, whether political or religious, don’t even care if you’re a walking trashbag of a person as long as you dutifully repeat their beliefs without questioning them (or the people who decide what they are).

DM: “Your Binky of Comfort only adds one point to your Armor Class, but your Blankie of Security is immune to attacks from the Fact Trolls, so you are unscathed. Roll for perception at a -10.”

Besides, what’s better than being wrapped in the warm embrace of a few other people who want to believe the same bullshit is true—whether or not it actually is? How about being wrapped up in the social security blanket of a few million other people?

The number of people who believe a thing doesn’t have the least goddamn effect on whether or not it is actually true.

Let’s not beat around the bush here: this bullshitter’s technique is used a lot, and the list of sacred cows we’d have to barbecue in order to detail each and every example for you here, is long enough to make this author strongly consider taking the small cask of bourbon sitting over his left shoulder as he types this, and dumping it all down his throat:

Remember folks, alcohol isn’t an appropriate coping mechansim to deal with the world’s bullshit, until it is.

It’s not that Bullshido, of all things, would shy away from listing these examples (Donnie Hamburders, every religion on the planet in alphabetical order, etc.), it’s that our typical reader already knows exactly what they are. But if for some reason this doesn’t describe you, open your front door and start walking, making sure to look both ways before crossing the street.

Actually, scratch that last part. You do you, and let’s see what congeals in the gene pool.

If 5 out of 10 people say “5”, that doesn’t mean you bring someone from both groups to debate the issue. It means you can throw a rock into a group of people and you have a 50% chance of increasing the national IQ, provided you throw really hard.
Phrost
I don't write articles for people who read Vox or the New Yorker, I write articles for people who read microwave pizza instructions more than once but are significantly more dangerous as a group. Head Knuckle at Bullshido
The Art of Fighting BS Podcast on Spotify

The Art of Fighting BS Podcast on iTunes

The Art of Fighting BS Podcast on Google Play

The Art of Fighting BS Podcast on Stitcher

Latest articles

Related articles

27 Comments

  1. You could definitely see your skills in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.

  2. I’ve been surfing on-line more than three hours lately, yet I never discovered any interesting article like yours. It is lovely price sufficient for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you probably did, the web might be a lot more useful than ever before.

  3. hello!,I like your writing very much! share we communicate more about your post on AOL? I require an expert on this area to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Looking forward to see you.

  4. I’ve read several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot attempt you place to make the sort of excellent informative website.

  5. Very well written article. It will be helpful to anybody who employess it, as well as me. Keep doing what you are doing – for sure i will check out more posts.

  6. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. many thanks

  7. Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.

  8. Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. And he just bought me lunch because I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!

  9. There are some fascinating deadlines on this article however I don’t know if I see all of them heart to heart. There is some validity but I’ll take hold opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish more! Added to FeedBurner as nicely

  10. Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossips and web and this is really frustrating. A good website with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for keeping this web site, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.

  11. With every thing which appears to be building inside this area, your viewpoints tend to be very radical. However, I appologize, but I can not give credence to your entire theory, all be it exhilarating none the less. It looks to everyone that your comments are not completely justified and in simple fact you are your self not even thoroughly confident of the point. In any event I did appreciate looking at it.

  12. I have been surfing on-line more than three hours nowadays, but I by no means discovered any interesting article like yours. It is lovely price sufficient for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made excellent content material as you probably did, the web might be much more helpful than ever before. “Revolution is not a onetime event.” by Audre Lorde.

Leave a reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here