Spotting Bullshit Is Easy. Navigating It Is Harder.

A few years ago, I wrote a column called “How to Spot Bullshit”. And it still continues to grow in readership.

Not because I was saying anything particularly groundbreaking, but because I was putting language to something a lot of people “felt” but didn’t always say out loud. That quiet, internal reaction of something about this doesn’t add up.

Turns out, that feeling has a name. There’s actual research on ‘bullshit sensitivity’ …the ability to recognize statements that sound profound but are, in fact, completely meaningless.

Vindicating, to say the least.

Back then, I wrote about having that instinct from a very young age. About knowing when something was off, even if I couldn’t explain why. About learning, frequently the hard way, that calling it out didn’t always make you popular.

Some things haven’t changed…I can still spot it a mile away.I still have the internal eye roll. And yes, I still occasionally think, are you freakin’ kidding me with this?

But here’s what has changed. The bullshit has gotten… better. More polished. More strategic. More confidently delivered.

It no longer just shows up as the occasional nonsensical comment in a meeting.

It shows up in full sentences. In frameworks. In presentations with beautiful design and absolutely no substance behind them. It sounds important.It feels legitimate. And that’s exactly the problem.

Because when something is packaged well enough, people stop questioning it. They nod. They repeat it. They build on it. And before you know it, you’re no longer dealing with one offhand comment. You’re dealing with a fully formed narrative that no one has stopped to actually examine.

This is where it gets tricky. Because spotting bullshit? Still not that hard. But navigating it? That’s a different story.

Over time, I’ve learned that not every moment requires a call-out. Not every comment deserves to be challenged. And not every situation benefits from being the person who says what everyone else is thinking.

But--and this matters--some moments do. Because when no one says anything, the cost isn’t just irritation. It’s impact.

Decisions get made based on shaky thinking.Mediocre ideas gain momentum. And perhaps most insidious of all, people start to doubt their own instincts because everyone else seems to be on board.

So the skill isn’t just seeing it anymore. It’s choosing. When to let it pass. When to ask a question. And when to say, simply and clearly, this doesn’t make sense.

If my original piece was about recognition, this one is about discernment. About trusting that internal signal, but also learning how to use it. Because the goal isn’t to call out every instance of bullshit you encounter (tempting as that may be). The goal is to know which ones matter. And to have the clarity and the confidence to speak when they do.

The bullshit hasn’t gone anywhere. But neither has your ability to see it. In his essay On Bullshit, American moral philosopher and professor emeritus at Princeton University, Harry G. Frankfurt writes:

“Bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.”

Which explains a lot.

So when something feels off…trust that.

And maybe don’t be the one still nodding.