Double Happiness: How Bullshit Works

Description

Bullshit has always been with us but as a result of the proliferation of media in the last century we are now awash with it, drowning in it. It has become so accepted a part of the human landscape that bullshitters can not only make a living from bullshit and achieve power, prestige and wealth -- they can even win prizes for it. Unironic prizes. Bullshit seems to be fundamental to human society. If we were to strip bullshit from our conversations, our televisions, newspapers and airwaves, we would barely recognise what remained. The aim of this book is to unpack examples of bullshit from our everyday life and lay bare the techniques behind it. These techniques are surprisingly simple. There are two possible consequences of this exposure. One is that bullshit will be laughed out of existence forever. The other is that bullshit will continue to proliferate. Regardless of the outcome, anyone who reads this book will at least be able to identify exactly how they are having bullshit foisted upon them, even while they continue to fall for it.

Joe Bennett was born in Brighton and since leaving Cambridge University has taught English in a variety of countries, including Canada, Spain and New Zealand. He now lives in Lyttelton with his dogs, cat and chickens.