“One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this.”
We had occasion this morning to dig out philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s treatise, On Bullshit, with its famous opening lines.1
Frankfurt is a philosopher of note, and he takes his subject seriously, distinguishing, e.g., the mechanics of lying from those of bullshitting.
Telling a lie is an act with a sharp focus. It is designed to insert a particular falsehood at a specific point in a set or system of beliefs, in order to avoid the consequences of having that point occupied by the truth.
This requires a degree of craftsmanship, in which the teller of the lie submits to objective constraints imposed by what he takes to be the truth. The liar is inescapably concerned with truth-values. In order to invent a lie at all, he must think he knows what is true. And in order to invent an effective lie, he must design his falsehood under the guidance of that truth.
On the other hand, a person who undertakes to bullshit his way through has much more freedom. His focus is panoramic rather than particular. He does not limit himself to inserting a certain falsehood at a specific point, and thus he is not constrained by the truths surrounding that point or intersecting it. He is prepared to fake the context as well, so far as need requires.
This freedom from the constraints to which the liar must submit does not necessarily mean, of course, that his task is easier than the task of the liar. But the mode of creativity upon which it relies is less analytical and less deliberative than that which is mobilized in lying.
Yr. editors have been taking some flak on Twitter recently for calling Stephen Miller, the former Trump adviser and current white supremacy propagandizer, a lying Nazi homunculus. The uptick in pushback coincides with the Musk era surge in newly empowered people who agree with Miller but don’t want to be considered Nazis or Nazi-adjacent. “He’s Jewish!” they cry, completely missing the point, which is that they don’t think he’s lying.
So we turned to Frankfurt and feel vindicated now. Miller is an accomplished bullshitter as well, but lying is his forte, his bread and butter. Lying Nazi homunculus it is.
He wishes you all a sacred Thanksgiving; don’t let that spoil whatever you’re doing. Don’t let this missive spoil it either.
Clogged Someone's Toilet and Don't See a Plunger? Here's What to Do
At some point in their lives, everybody will thank us, or regret having not read this year’s passage in years past.
There are few more heart-sinking feelings than being at someone else's house and finding the toilet has clogged, especially during a busy holiday party. But don't worry -- you can fix it quickly and easily with some common household items, no plunger required.
We'll walk you through a method to unclog a toilet that's not only less gross, but also more effective. Instead of fetching a bacteria-riddled plunger, simply grab some dish soap, hot water and a bucket -- then let chemistry take it from there.2
50 60 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice
Geoffrey K. Pullum takes Elements of Style and tosses the treasured tome into a wood chipper as casually as if it were Steve Buscemi.3
The book’s toxic mix of purism, atavism, and personal eccentricity is not underpinned by a proper grounding in English grammar. It is often so misguided that the authors appear not to notice their own egregious flouting of its own rules. They can’t help it, because they don’t know how to identify what they condemn.
“Put statements in positive form,” they stipulate, in a section that seeks to prevent “not” from being used as “a means of evasion.”
“Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs,” they insist. (The motivation of this mysterious decree remains unclear to me.)
And then, in the very next sentence, comes a negative passive clause containing three adjectives: “The adjective hasn’t been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.”
That’s actually not just three strikes, it’s four, because in addition to contravening “positive form” and “active voice” and “nouns and verbs,” it has a relative clause (“that can pull”) removed from what it belongs with (the adjective), which violates another edict: “Keep related words together.”
Damn skippy.
Lack of Oxford Comma Could Cost Maine Company Millions in Overtime Dispute
In fact it did cost the company, Oakhurst Dairy, millions: five of them. A state law was written in a manner that the company's drivers contended was meant to make them eligible for overtime pay.4 Here’s what the law says about labor excluded from overtime.
The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.
It was the lack of a comma after “shipment” that did the company in, with the drivers winning on appeal and settling the case to their satisfaction.5
A three-judge appeals panel heard the case. Judge David Barron, of the 1st Circuit, opened his 29-page ruling saying, "For want of a comma, we have this case." As the Portland Press-Herald puts it:
"Barron said the lack of a comma between "shipment" and "or distribution of" meant both phrases referred back to "packing" and, because the drivers deliver the products, but don't pack them, they weren't covered by the Maine exemption to overtime pay."
Take that, Oxford comma haters.
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Deep Sea Diver, “Secrets,” and Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson, “Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson At the Opera House” did us right this morning. Happy day to one and all.
That, comrades, is all we got. Be well, take care.