Is BSing a Bad Thing?

Often times in school, conversation, or work, people will BS their way through things that they don't particularly care about but are required to do for whatever reason. I'm sure we're all guilty of doing this at some point. But is it really a bad thing? We're told to pursue things that interest us, or that we excel at. There are some things which I, personally, will never be interested in -- like advanced mathematics. Why demerit those who BS their way through situations that they take no genuine interest in?
While in high school, I would regularly BS my way through certain assignments, such as doing reports on reading The Great Gatsby, a book that I don't care for at all. Should I be looked down on for doing so? I don't think so. There's someone out there who might genuinely take interest in the works of Fitzgerald and want to write academic interpretations of his works, and that's fine for them, let them follow their bliss. But that's just not for me. Given that I couldn't rightly go up there and talk about how much I disliked the work and refused to read it, I said some things that I got from sparknotes online.
So is BSing a bad thing or not? I'd like to hear other people's opinions on this.

"If you HAVE to do something, you might as well do it the best you can" - my Dad.

"A truth that's told with bad intent, beats all the lies you can invent" - William Blake

TheDude wrote: Given that I couldn't rightly go up there and talk about how much I disliked the work and refused to read it, I said some things that I got from sparknotes online.

This is the part that drew my attention the most. Did you not actually read the book? How did you know that you disliked the work? Had you read other books by Fitzgerald that led you to believe that his style wasn't for you?

While in high school and even in college I did my fair share of BSing while writing papers, but it was mostly just to add length. The only time I didn't read the work I was supposed to read was if I'd already read it and knew I didn't want to again and could remember what had happened. (I switched schools my junior year so that happened a few times.)

In school the point of being forced to do stuff like that is to help people discover interests that they wouldn't have found otherwise. How would one know that they loved the work of Fitzgerald if they weren't told to read it at one point or another? People might never realize that they love science if not forced to take a science class in school. That kind of stuff.

Outside school, such as in the work place, there can be a fair amount of things that you're tempted to BS. All of them have a reason for existing at their core though. If you're tempted to BS something maybe learn why you have to do it. You might find that you start to care more or, what you probably prefer, the process as a whole may be looked at and re-evaluated based on your questioning.

generally speaking, life is difficult

we all get held accountable for any number of tasks and obligations which we dislike

its the cost of participation with society

instead of posing to myself the question "is it ok to BS my way out of the tasks that my life sets for me?"

what if i ask myself "do i have what it takes to really be responsible for myself?" and "how well can i do at the challenges i am faced with/how well do i handle challenges in general?"

after twenty or thirty years of consistently picking one of these options over the other, what kind of quality-of-life differences might result?

in lifting weights - no one knows (and no one really cares) how much weight we could lift if only felt like doing it, or if we have little longer to prepare, or if there were a different set of weights that we liked better - there may or may not be spectators or judges around, and they may or may not be important to the outcome, but what happens in weightlifting is between you and the bar, and theres no way to BS that because either you can do it or you cant do it, and the only way to prove it is to get up there and do it

in the setting where youre forced to go to a school that you maybe wouldnt have chosen for yourself, and and you have to take the classes that are chosen for you, and then in those classes there are assignments that you dont really like

maybe its easy to feel "but this is different - this isnt me following my bliss, this is the world forcing me into a situation that i dont want"

well, "the determination to face, wholeheartedly, all of the challenges that life throws at us" is a principle which applies to pretty much everything, just generally speaking, but is specifically adopted to give us guidance in those situations which we dont want

this is what it means to be STRONG: lifting the weight, bearing the burden, shouldering the task ect, not because we WANT TO, but because it is there

and theres a kind of joy (pride, the good, healthy kind of pride) that comes from consistently taking this sort of responsibility, and theres a sadness (regret) that results from consistently NOT taking it

To be clear, I read the first third or so and then gave up on it.

TheDude wrote: To be clear, I read the first third or so and then gave up on it.

I think that can count as enough to know that you don't like it. I did finish it and it doesn't get any better. I found that most things I was forced to read in school were...not the most fun to read.

I too made the mistake of expecting what was being taught to be valuable. My parents like many others I am sure used to tell me I had to go to school to learn something valuable so I could have a good life later on. This simply is not true. I am ashamed not to have realized it at the time, but school only teaches you to give people what they want. If they expect a certain type of garbage, then you will get a good mark when you supply the garbage they expect. Did you really think they actually wanted your opinion about the book's meaning or literary attributes? Of course not.
You're their job. YOU are the BS "they don't particularly care about but are required to do for whatever reason".

The stuff in school is valuable, its jut they teach it the wrong way IMO... but that is beside the point. Memory is a funny thing and your probably not there to absorb all that knowledge. The only useful point I got out of it done the way it is is so that you can exercise growth, and that requires effort - but of course this is not really factored in by the system.

IMO it's less about the content and more about the effort. So long as the content is not counter-productive to growth, it should be suitable for this purpose. Unfortunately if you'd answered truthfully and said your reasons for stopping one third in they would have ignored the point and marked you down for not finishing it..... probably.

BS'ing depends on the responsibility you have to assert information, the reliance others have on trusting you. If lives are at stake you don't BS for example, if you cannot perform you need to tell people else people die. Flying an aircraft into an unfamiliar airport at night in less then ideal conditions and making a few assumptions you feel are safe, BSing yourself, is what starts a chain of errors that can and has led to many air crashes. In aviation its called cockpit resource management, CRM, and the resource is 'information' and this revolves entirely around accuracy ie truth.

But yea, everyone BS's sometimes to expedite trivial things :side:
But the more you care about people the less attractive it is to misled them :whistle:

what is the intention behind the BS? Is it conscious or unconscious banter?

Are you using it to create connection or to stave off loneliness or insecurity?