Interesting little book. Did it mention anything about the ancient Greek and later Roman Orators/Rhetoricians? In their day Ethos, Logos, and Pathos were the principle persuasion techniques.(those may be seen as BSing today)
Ethos (the appearance of the speaker lending him credibility) and Pathos (the appeal by emotional persuasion) could easily today account for much of the BS.
Logos (the persuasion of logic, facts and figures) could have a chance of avoiding the BS if they aren’t somehow “cooked”.
What triggers my response is the similarities I notice that we have today to ancient Athens Greece where every man then was supposedly responsible to participate in daily politics. There it took place at the Ecclesia and here and now it’s the internet.
I see so much of the BS today owing to the dapper public speakers and the bleeding hearts. There are just so many of them 24/7 everywhere. And so many of them are only “self listening”.
Those who try to support their views with facts, figures, and numbers are almost a problem unto themselves. Their data is almost immediately challenged when presented and dismissed as false.
But the biggest trend I notice is that of people seeking privacy with their Cells and noise canceling earbuds as soon as they go off duty.
The art of avoiding each other seems to be overtaking the art of conversation and togetherness. And that can’t be healthy.
At the end of the day the BS wins just with the strength of numbers.