Is half of your social media presence comprised of inspirational quotes superimposed over images of babbling brooks or beautiful mountain ranges? Are you brought to tears when reading quotes like, “Hidden meaning transforms unparalleled abstract beauty.” Well, I hate to be the one who says this, but you might be a big ol’ dummy.
In a study entitled “On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit,” conducted by the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, researchers found that people “receptive to pseudo-profound, intellectual-sounding ‘bullshit’ are less intelligent, less reflective, and more likely to be believe in conspiracy theories, the paranormal and alternative medicine.”
Reports The Telegraph:
The paper said that those who were more receptive to the bullshit statements and who tended to rate them higher were “less reflective, lower in cognitive ability(i.e verbal and fluid intelligence, numeracy,) and are more prone to ontological confusions and conspiratorial ideation. It also said they were more likely to “hold religious and paranormal beliefs, and are more likely to endorse complementary and alternative medicine.”
That’s unfortunate to hear, but I’m not gonna lie—I love inspirational quotes. Here are some of my personal favorites:
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