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slim_oysterhiatus's review
The best part of this was the conclusion. I wish that part had been expanded, with more about how we DEAL with bullshit, as opposed to the examples of it which make up the majority of the book.
librarytech4's review
3.0
This book was very similar to most of the debate books I have read. Petrocelli discusses things like the straw man method and the Columbo effect. I especially liked the chapter about how professionals tend to B. S. Things in their field if they don’t know the answer in order to save face. I think that point has become very prevalent in our society today.
teachinsci's review
4.0
A fun and well- written book advocating and explaining the need to greater reliance on critical thinking and evidence seeking.
Petrocelli does research from the Wake Forest "Bullshit Laboratory" (yes, I'm jealous) and wow this book seemingly as a textbook for how to help people understand when they someone is using Bullshit on them (from lying) and how they can get better at catching it and avoiding using it themselves.
Were I still teaching, I would want this to be required reading for our science department (or maybe the whole school) to enable us to work critical thinking techniques into every class. One portion that especially jumped out at me was asking "how" instead of "why" questions in order to elicit more evidence based thinking about a topic. Because of this, I would recommend this for anyone who actually cares about understanding the world through the lens of facts and evidence and I would wish that would include everyone.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read an advance copy of this book and to Dr. Petrocelli for his work.
Petrocelli does research from the Wake Forest "Bullshit Laboratory" (yes, I'm jealous) and wow this book seemingly as a textbook for how to help people understand when they someone is using Bullshit on them (from lying) and how they can get better at catching it and avoiding using it themselves.
Were I still teaching, I would want this to be required reading for our science department (or maybe the whole school) to enable us to work critical thinking techniques into every class. One portion that especially jumped out at me was asking "how" instead of "why" questions in order to elicit more evidence based thinking about a topic. Because of this, I would recommend this for anyone who actually cares about understanding the world through the lens of facts and evidence and I would wish that would include everyone.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read an advance copy of this book and to Dr. Petrocelli for his work.
melosuird's review
4.0
An enjoyable pop psychology book, Petrocelli applies social psychology to a much-needed subject - that of bullshit. As someone who has studied parts of social psychology, his basis for detecting bullshit is rather known to me, but I can see how those without much grounding in social psych can benefit from hearing of classic researchers such as Asch, Milgram and Zimbardo. I do agree with Petrocelli that greater levels of critical thinking would certainly create a climate of less bullshit and more evidenced viewpoints, and as an eventual guide to how to think critically this book is a nice example to have. As Petrocelli himself says, calling out bullshit might lose you a few friends but doing so with a touch more understanding or kindness than he preaches (or at least that’s how I picked up on it) might turn those friends into more critical thinkers, ready to guard against the vast amount of bullshit in our world today.
marshaskrypuch's review
4.0
A quick and entertaining read that should help many people become more aware of how they've arrived at their own decisions and attitudes and how they can logically dissect that process so they're less susceptible to bullshit.
The first part of the book consisted of highly readable anecdotes to illuminate his various points. The second half was more of a roundup and reiteration of his points. While I enjoyed this book, I docked one star because of the author's own bullshit. The anecdotes he used in the first half were mere padding. He could have used more original examples. Anyone who has taken a basic psychology course or watched a documentary on the art of persuasion will be familiar with most that he cites. That's a small criticism though, because the second half of the book makes up for it.
The first part of the book consisted of highly readable anecdotes to illuminate his various points. The second half was more of a roundup and reiteration of his points. While I enjoyed this book, I docked one star because of the author's own bullshit. The anecdotes he used in the first half were mere padding. He could have used more original examples. Anyone who has taken a basic psychology course or watched a documentary on the art of persuasion will be familiar with most that he cites. That's a small criticism though, because the second half of the book makes up for it.
bootman's review
5.0
2nd read:
I’ve thought about this book a ton since reading it when it launched, and I had John on my podcast. So, I read it again, and it’s so damn good. I really wish it got more of the attention that it deserves because it’s so much more unique than many of the other books in this realm. We live in a time where people don’t care about the truth as long as they hear something that aligns with their beliefs. It seems like it’s only getting worse, and that’s why this book is so important.
Bullshit is a lack of concern with the truth. John’s been researching this topic for years, and he explains why bullshit is such a problem. There are anecdotes of non-consequential situations where bullshit doesn’t really matter, but he shows how it can lead us to believe even more bullshit. Through his own research as well as the research from others, Petrocelli explains why we fall for bullshit, why people bullshit, what we can do to prevent it, and much more.
Not only do I think everyone should read this book, it’s one I’m going to have my son read as well to help him become a better thinker.
1st read:
I have no clue how I didn’t hear about this book or the work of John V. Petrocelli. This book is fantastic, and I binged it within a day of it being launched. There are a lot of books out there about being a better thinker and decision-maker, and I’ve read a ton of them. I can honestly say that this book stands out for a wide range of reasons, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. The author is a social psychologist and researcher, and there are a ton of studies in this book that I hadn’t heard of as well as studies that John and his team have done. In this book, you’ll learn what bullshit is, why people do it, and how to spot it. I mainly enjoy these books to remind myself of the tools needed to be skeptical of misinformation, but John covered way more than that. By the time you finish the book, you’ll know how to spot bullshit whether you’re reading or watching the news, buying a used car, or just talking to a friend.
Also, I listened to the audiobook version of this, and the narrator was perfect for the book. I usually don’t pay much attention to narrators of non-fiction, but as an audio listener, I really enjoyed this one.
I’ve thought about this book a ton since reading it when it launched, and I had John on my podcast. So, I read it again, and it’s so damn good. I really wish it got more of the attention that it deserves because it’s so much more unique than many of the other books in this realm. We live in a time where people don’t care about the truth as long as they hear something that aligns with their beliefs. It seems like it’s only getting worse, and that’s why this book is so important.
Bullshit is a lack of concern with the truth. John’s been researching this topic for years, and he explains why bullshit is such a problem. There are anecdotes of non-consequential situations where bullshit doesn’t really matter, but he shows how it can lead us to believe even more bullshit. Through his own research as well as the research from others, Petrocelli explains why we fall for bullshit, why people bullshit, what we can do to prevent it, and much more.
Not only do I think everyone should read this book, it’s one I’m going to have my son read as well to help him become a better thinker.
1st read:
I have no clue how I didn’t hear about this book or the work of John V. Petrocelli. This book is fantastic, and I binged it within a day of it being launched. There are a lot of books out there about being a better thinker and decision-maker, and I’ve read a ton of them. I can honestly say that this book stands out for a wide range of reasons, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. The author is a social psychologist and researcher, and there are a ton of studies in this book that I hadn’t heard of as well as studies that John and his team have done. In this book, you’ll learn what bullshit is, why people do it, and how to spot it. I mainly enjoy these books to remind myself of the tools needed to be skeptical of misinformation, but John covered way more than that. By the time you finish the book, you’ll know how to spot bullshit whether you’re reading or watching the news, buying a used car, or just talking to a friend.
Also, I listened to the audiobook version of this, and the narrator was perfect for the book. I usually don’t pay much attention to narrators of non-fiction, but as an audio listener, I really enjoyed this one.
finchwing's review
medium-paced
3.0
A fine book, I wasn't the audience for it. If you are already a scientific thinker and already know what the differences are between arguments and evidence, or already ask people how they support the beliefs they have, this book will not be new for you. It's a little like a book version of a documentary-- entertaining nonfiction that is new to some people but only scratches the surface of a topic to others who took courses in it, or have some knowledge of the topic. Petrocelli is a competent writer but can be condescending sometimes, and doesn't analyse the many examples he uses super deeply. The book is filled with fluff that makes him seem more interesting and credible, and to keep the book entertaining and less 'scientific' or 'dry' but to me only served to make it longer to get through. I recommend reading the introduction, and then deciding whether or not to read the rest based on that, since it stays in the same style the whole way through.