"99% of everything is bullshit."

[Cyrano]

Many moons ago, one of my instructors made the case to the class that 99% of everything was bullshit.

Quite a few students were upset at this "theory" and disputed it with a variety of anecdotes and references to history, great scholars, philosophers and writers. But my instructor stuck to his statement and pointed out the bullshit in almost every "fact" thrown at him.

Now, many years later, I have come to accept his "wisdom." I too have come to the conclusion that "99% of everything is bullshit."

And for those who think that this "99%" conclusion is cynicism, try applying it to everything you "know" or think you know. The "truth" of the statement is most apparent in politics, but try applying it to every other field of endeavor.

I know it's impossible to prove a negative, but I'd like someone to tell me why this "99%" hypothesis is wrong.

[scheming daemons]

1. 99% of your post is bullshit, according to your own stupid theory

...

[liberal N proud]

3. The one claiming that is always in the 1%

[Soylent Brice]

16. that's awesome.

[MADem]

2. Some of it's horseshit, certainly....! nt

[HereSince1628]

4. We should be so lucky, think of the methane opportunities! n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Are you 99% bullshit?

[csziggy]

6. Your instructor did not properly attribute it or get it right

It is commonly known as "Sturgeon's Law":

Sturgeon’s Law is the name given to two different adages derived from quotes by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon. The first (which was first stated in the story “The Claustrophile” in a 1956 issue of Galaxy) is “Nothing is always absolutely so”, while the second, and more famous, of these adages is: “Ninety percent of everything is crap”. Sturgeon himself commented that Sturgeon’s Law was originally “Nothing is always absolutely so”; the second adage was originally known as Sturgeon’s Revelation, formulated as such in his book review column for Venture. However, almost all modern uses of the term Sturgeon’s Law actually refer to the second adage, including the definition currently listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law

I prefer Sturgeon's original version - it gives better odds of getting something usable out of the pile.

[Fumesucker]

Yeah, but Ted was an optimist.. n/t

[doctor jazz]

14. Jonathan Winters discovered the principle first, describing Shell Oil Company's gasoline

"it's mostly water with little chunks of crap in it"


:D

[Cyrano]

17. Thanks for the info, csziggy. I've always been a

sci-fi fan, but I never came across "Sturgeon's Law."

[rcrush]

7. I agree no hate here

I think everything I Hear on the news and tv is pretty much bullshit. I dont trust pretty much any elected leader.

[Lex]

8. Is 99% of everything in your life bullshit?

That would be sad indeed.

[guyton]

9. Sturgeon's Law

I've always heard this referenced as Sturgeon's Law, and was universally accepted :-)

See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law>

[bemildred]

10. See my sig line. nt

[valerief]

11. Sounds about right to me.nt

[Warren DeMontague]

12. That's an essentially meaningless statement.

I suppose it depends on what he means by "everything". If he means the matter in the universe, no, 99% is clearly not bullshit. Most of it is dark matter, in theory. Most of the ordinary matter we interact with is hydrogen. According to the latest cosmological models, it's thought that most of "everything" is dark matter.

Maybe he means 99% of opinions, presumably including his own, which brings that statement into the strange loop realm of "everything I tell you is a lie".

[ZombieHorde]

13. Silly. nt

[joeybee12]

15. That estimate is a little low, IMHO...n/t

[Stevenmarc]

18. An yet, you still paid 100% for that class credit