Rich supply of the world’s best liars
IN news that will shock absolutely no one who has been following the federal election, it turns out Australian blokes who went to flash secondary schools are among the world’s biggest bullshitters. Science says so. A recent study by researchers at University College London and the Australian Catholic University tested this by asking teenagers in nine English-speaking countries to rate 16 mathematical concepts by their familiarity with them, from “never heard of it” to “know it well, understand the concept”.
Except three of the concepts – “proper numbers” “subjunctive scaling” and “declarative fractions” – were made up.
Unsurprisingly, that didn’t stop a big cohort of respondents from ranking themselves as experts in bullshit topics.
Boys across the board were more likely to claim knowledge of non-existent concepts ON THE LIKELY RETURN TO JAIL OF A SOLDIER ARRESTED AT WINNELLIE POST OFFICE FOR PICKING UP A PARCEL OF 499 MDMA PILLS
Couldn’t afford the extra pill to round that number off? Luke Ansell
Former soldier, try not to embarrass the serving members? Rosalie Hudson Congratulations NT Police. Job well done. Carolyn Marshall 1000 pills? Yes sarg, 499 pills? Anthony Cure and Aussie kids ranked third on the bullshit barometer behind Canada and the US.
The other big factor was socio-economic status – rich kids were more likely to spin tales than kids from middle class or poor families.
These bullshitters share a number of psychological traits,
Can’t say it’s done his complexion any favours. Peter Fitzroy What was he thinking? Tara Nash
Erm … Major Tom to ground control … he would be as high as a kite with 499 pills? Michael Hope
I’m thinking 500 might be a magic number . And they did him a favour by losing one for information. Leigh Pentreath ON MACCA, THE HOWARD SPRINGS QUADRIPLEGIC WHO SPENT SIX MONTHS IN A BROKEN WHEELCHAIR DUE according to the study’s authors, “most notably a striking overconfidence in their own abilities”.
“Bullshitters are also found to exhibit high levels of overconfidence and believe they work hard, persevere at tasks, and are popular among their peers,” according to the study’s findings.
Luckily, private school boys are easy to spot in the wild.
Most of us can avoid them fairly easily by steering clear of tennis courts, rugby clubs and kids in straw hats and impractical blazers.
But bullshitting is a “widely recognised social skill” likely to have a positive impact on their TO LENGTHY NDIS DELAYS
Good work Macca, you ran a great business here for a long time employing many people. I wish you every success in the future. Bob Davey
Used to work for him good bloke hard worker. Michael BonDie Bond
I’ve been one of the lucky ones but I have many friends I had to assist to help them to get through NDIS and explain how and what they need to do. Chris Blackham-Davison
NDIS is a real problem. There are so many who don’t meet NDIS guidelines. but not eligible for other support services. There are not enough allied health workers to do the work. Coralie Brannelly ON AN FNQ CROC FARMER WITH A THEORY ON THE CROC IN THE SIGHTS OF LOCAL RANGERS
It’s definitely an NT croc on vacation. We all know QLD sucks in croc. Sancho Mabuza Invitation for vegans please help to catch him. jude Lane ON THE FEARS OF A MASS EXODUS OF TEACHERS IN KATHERINE DUE TO RENT ALLOWANCE CUTS
Sorry but what a silly idea, I lived in Katherine for 9 years and as much as I made some amazing friends the lifestyle there leaves a lot to be desired, hence we moved to Darwin. If you take this incentive away teachers will leave. It’s a no-brainer. Lou Reeve
I taught in k-town, lovely people great community but no way would I have gone there without the subsidy. Sam Sam
This government has completely lost the plot. What a disgrace. This will damage the level of quality education available to children in less desirable locations. Teachers are already pulling out. Tony Martin