The world is full of people spewing utter rubbish left and right.
It takes a certain kind of person to have the guts to stand up and say, “Sorry, but that’s absolute BS!” when confronted with blatant nonsense. You know who you are — you’re the one who rolls your eyes when your mate starts going on about their latest harebrained conspiracy theory down the pub. If you can’t stop yourself from calling out ridiculousness when you hear it, chances are you have these 16 habits.
1. You have a finely tuned nonsense detector.
You can smell BS from a kilometre away. Your nonsense radar is always on high alert, ready to sound the alarm at the first whiff of something dodgy. Whether it’s a politician’s empty promises or your colleague’s far-fetched excuses, you zero in on the crap with laser precision. Trying to pull one over on you? Not likely.
2. You’re not afraid to speak your mind.
When you encounter nonsense, you don’t hesitate to call it out. You’re not one to sit quietly and let idiocy slide. Nope, you’ll pipe right up and say, “That’s a bunch of rubbish, and you know it!” You believe that staying silent only allows stupidity to proliferate, so you make it your mission to nip it in the bud whenever possible.
3. You back up your arguments with facts.
You don’t just shout “BS!” and leave it at that. Oh, no. When you call out nonsense, you come armed with cold, hard facts to back up your case. You’re like a walking, talking encyclopaedia, ready to whip out a pertinent statistic or scientific study at a moment’s notice. If someone decides to spout some pseudoscience in front of you, they should prepare to be swiftly shut down with an avalanche of evidence.
4. You have no patience for wilful ignorance.
Look, you understand that not everyone is an expert on every topic. But what really gets your knickers in a twist is when people cling to their nonsense beliefs even when presented with clear evidence to the contrary. You can’t abide wilful ignorance, and you refuse to coddle those who choose to wallow in their own BS. Either get on board with the facts or jog on, mate.
5. You’re a master at spotting logical fallacies.
Ad hominems, straw men, false equivalencies — you know them all, and you can spot them from a mile off. When someone tries to derail an argument with a logical fallacy, you’re quick to call them out on it. “Nice try with the red herring there, pal, but let’s stick to the actual issue at hand, shall we?” You keep discussions on track and won’t let nonsense detract from the real debate.
6. You have a low tolerance for conspiracy theories.
Chemtrails? Flat Earth? Moon landing hoax? Please. You have no time for bonkers conspiracy theories, and you’re not afraid to tell people exactly what you think of their tinfoil hat ideas. You’re all for questioning authority and thinking critically, but there’s a difference between healthy scepticism and straight-up delusion. You make it your business to debunk dangerous nonsense masquerading as truth.
7. You call out hypocrisy when you see it.
Nothing grinds your gears quite like blatant hypocrisy. When someone’s actions don’t match their words, you waste no time in pointing out the discrepancy. Politicians who preach austerity while funnelling taxpayer money into their own pockets? CEOs who champion sustainability while their companies pollute the planet? Oh, you better believe you’ll be calling out their two-faced nonsense from the rooftops.
8. You don’t let your own biases cloud your judgement.
Just because you agree with someone politically or like them as a person doesn’t mean you’ll give them a free pass on spouting nonsense. You’re not afraid to call out ridiculousness, even when it comes from your own side. You strive to be objective and consistent in your critiques, letting the facts guide you rather than tribalism or blind loyalty.
9. You have a knack for cutting through the waffle.
When confronted with a wall of meaningless jargon and empty buzzwords, you have a talent for getting to the heart of the matter. You don’t let people hide behind fancy language or convoluted explanations. You have no issue saying something like, “Mate, I haven’t the foggiest what you just said. Can you explain it in plain English, please?” Your no-nonsense approach cuts through the guff and gets to the essence of the issue.
10. You’re not swayed by appeals to emotion.
Tugging on heartstrings might work on some people, but not you. When someone tries to manipulate emotions to push their nonsense agenda, you see right through it. “I get that this issue is emotive, but let’s look at the facts rather than getting swept up in the drama.” You insist on keeping discussions grounded in reality, not overwrought theatrics.
11. You have a healthy scepticism of authority.
Just because someone is in a position of power doesn’t mean you automatically defer to their nonsense. You don’t just blindly follow authority figures, nor are you afraid to question their judgement when warranted. MPs, bosses, so-called experts — you’ll call out their rubbish regardless of their status. Respect is earned through integrity and truth, not blind obedience.
12. You refuse to engage with bad faith arguments.
When you sense that someone is arguing in bad faith, you shut that nonsense down straight away. You can tell when a person has no interest in genuine discussion and is just trying to stir the pot or waste your time. Life’s too short to get bogged down by disingenuous dross.
13. You don’t fall for scaremongering tactics.
Source: Pexels Fearmongering and doomsday scenarios might rile up the masses, but you keep a cool head in the face of such nonsense. You know that panic and hysteria rarely lead to good decision-making. When the headlines are screaming about the latest existential threat, you calmly assess the facts and refuse to get swept up in the collective freak-out.
14. You call out virtue signalling.
Source: Unsplash Ah, the old “I’m not racist, but…” routine. You have zero patience for people who spout nonsense under the guise of faux progressivism. You can spot virtue signalling from a kilometre away, and you’re not afraid to call it out. For instance, posting a black square on Instagram doesn’t make you an anti-racism activist. How about you put your money where your mouth is and actually do something substantial?
15. You don’t let nonsense slide in the name of politeness.
Some people might let nonsense go unchallenged to avoid rocking the boat, but not you. You believe that staying silent in the face of stupidity only allows it to fester and spread. Sure, calling out your boss’s ridiculous ideas in a meeting might ruffle some feathers, but you’d rather deal with a bit of awkwardness than let idiocy run rampant. Politeness is all well and good, but not at the expense of truth.
16. You encourage people to think critically.
Source: Unsplash You don’t just call out nonsense for the sake of being contrarian — you genuinely want to help others develop their critical thinking skills. When you encounter someone parroting tabloid tripe, you gently challenge them to question their sources and examine the evidence. You know that the best way to combat nonsense is to create a culture of healthy scepticism and rational inquiry. By encouraging others to think for themselves, you help build a BS-resistant society one person at a time.
