If there’s anything I hate more than simple flat out lying, it’s bullshit. It’s often characterized by twisting or presenting the truth to lead people astray or deflect truth and attention away. A perfect example is in the following twitter exchange:

First, what caught my attention:

Sami Sundell
‏@sami_sundell
@UniversityWatc1 What did Pournelle edit in 2015 that would merit him the award? There Will Be War X?
5:07 AM – 23 Aug 2016

Didn’t leave it alone

LastRedoubt
‏@vfm_5411 LastRedoubt Retweeted Sami Sundell
As a matter of fact, yes. Best or not? – opinion. Unworthy? Certainly not.
6:49 AM – 30 Aug 2016

Next up, our first does of redirection and bullshit.

Sami Sundell
‏@sami_sundell
@vfm_5411 That “certainly” is also an opinion. The point was, though, that just being Pournelle isn’t enough to win the award.
6:52 AM – 30 Aug 2016

No-one claimed that “being Pournelle” automatically earned Jerry the award, not the guy he was originally replying to, and neither did our Sami Sundell, nor I. Also – the controversy was that Dr. Pournelle was no – awarded…

LastRedoubt
‏@vfm_5411 LastRedoubt Retweeted Sami Sundell
Difference between “not winning” and “no award”. Why are you dishonestly conflating them?
10:25 AM – 30 Aug 2016

Next up – something else technically true….

Sami Sundell
‏@sami_sundell
@vfm_5411 I’m not, I’m honestly conflating them. They are degrees of the same issue.
10:51 AM – 30 Aug 2016

So I use metaphor to point out that differences in degree can have significant impacts far out of proportion to the input change. And, I’m making a critical mistake. It should have been obvious that he was not arguing honestly at all, hell, should have been obvious from tweet one – so why am I still using dialectic? Because I need practice…..

LastRedoubt
‏@vfm_5411 LastRedoubt Retweeted Sami Sundell
Removing a mole, and a limb, are merely degrees of removing body tissue…
3:05 PM – 30 Aug 2016

I then bring up that the people voting no-award didn’t see it as simply a degree of badness, slightly worse than, etc….

LastRedoubt
‏@vfm_5411 LastRedoubt Retweeted Sami Sundell
Bullshit – puppy kickers made a point of “no award” as a slap in the face.  They are not merely different degrees.
3:06 PM – 30 Aug 2016

I get more redirection. “I voted a bunch of stuff no-award” – completely ignoring the trivially provable point that “no award” was not just a “didn’t place” but seen, by the majority of people using it, as a rebuke.

Sami Sundell
‏@sami_sundell
@vfm_5411 It’s unusual as an end result, probably not that unusual for individuals. I voted multiple works below NA, including some winners.

Note how he’s generalizing his personal example to the rest of the no-award voters, while ignoring their own declared intentions. He didn’t view it as a rebuke, so it wasn’t.

Meanwhile, in a related thread….

Sami Sundell
‏@sami_sundell
@vfm_5411 And yes, in this case it was someone, because it was Editor award. Even then it should be about the work, not about the person.
10:55 AM – 30 Aug 2016

Ok….

LastRedoubt
‏@vfm_5411 LastRedoubt Retweeted Sami Sundell
What about his editing work failed to meet standards so that he was considered unworthy of a place above no award?
3:07 PM – 30 Aug 2016

So we get the dodge of “but the stories from teh book were teh suck”

Sami Sundell
‏@sami_sundell
@vfm_5411 What about it? I didn’t vote on Short Editor, but the stories from TWBWX submitted to other categories didn’t raise confidence.
1:13 AM – 31 Aug 2016

Sure, and if I wanted to waste time, I could go down the rabbit hole. Even leaving aside that story selection isn’t the only aspect to the job, why did those stories, objectively suck, etc.? And excuses , I’m sure, would be provided.

I’m not posting this to brag – frankly I screwed up and assumed argument in good faith where I should have been wary to begin with. It is, though, a great example of bullshit, conflation, and evasion. I should have been mocking him, and didn’t.