We've all seen it before, "Top 3 tips for passing any software technical interview", "Add this exercise to your workout routine for a six pack", "This is what separates the poor and the rich". These "click-bait" titles lure you into what seems to be innocent YouTube channels geared towards guiding you on achieving anything that you want. As we continue to consume their content, we unknowingly fall deeper into their trap.
In Truth, Lies, and Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt, a Princeton University philosophy professor, describes how a bullshitter can convince their audience because "we suppose that our friends are generally honest with us, and we take this pretty much for granted."
We start trusting and believing these so called "online gurus" and their following only reinforces this trust. However, this is not to say that all content creators are scammers, but as the saying goes "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch". For example, Dan Lok, a YouTube influencer and self-proclaimed entrepenuer, sells a course on high-ticket closing (helping sell influencer's products). The course is designed to make you believe in Dan and to trust his process. However, Dan is not selling a product but rather a dream, becoming a millionaire. But of course, this is too good to be true. Most people end up not being able to close anything and the one's that do end up working under Dan.
Like Frankfurt mentions, Dan's students refuse to believe they have been lied to because of the relationship they've built with him over the course. By coming to the realization that you've been deceived, "the liar betrays him, but he is betrayed by his own feelings as well." You become scared that you can't differentiate between reality and fantasy, thus you feel safer to just deny you've been lied to.
Similar to how Christopher Blair is described in Eli Saslow's article, online gurus are taking advantage of people who believe everything they see on the internet. Just from a month, Christopher Blair "from his website earned his much as $15,000 and it also has won him a loyal army of online fans."
Now I'm reiterating that not all online gurus are scam artists, but I am warning that some of them are pushing an agenda and that agenda is usually selling their own product.
Hi Alan. Nice article! I really liked your opener as it grabbed my attention. I have definitely seen those quotes you've mentioned all over the web. The topic you've have chosen is an interesting one as I do believe it is difficult to tell which online gurus are worth it and which ones are not without buying their product. Especially as a computer science student, I have seen many gurus that offer teachings on how to be a software engineer and make a large salary without a college degree. Overall good examples and explanations but I felt that your connection to the readings was rather broad. Dan Lok offers his customers the dream to be a millionaire but exactly what is "bullshit" about it? What lies does he tell?
ReplyDeleteHi Alan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your reading since it relates a lot to the random ads that also appear on the side on some websites that list the same thing and is very relevant to todays world of online browsing and shopping.
But, you seem to be just pointing out a specific instance of what Frankfurt talks about but are not adding anything to the conversation. Maybe, instead you can talk about how and why some people start to believe in this instance of "bullshit" you used. You state that "they refuse to believe they were lied to because of the relationship", but what are some things that make people form this relationship. For example, "the course is designed to make you believe Dan", but what are those designs?
These points will greatly improve your post from what it already is.