Hello Darkness! The Official Blog of Helen Keller

Folks, there are certain "tells" that other posters use when you can begin to believe that they are, without doubt, bullshitting.

The Comment Corner is faithfully educating people on some of these, but one that stems from Mustang1's Appeal to False Authority are the Shady Credentials.

A Shady Credential is an inflated sense of importance, sophistication or education which usually reads like it's important, but in actuality, is bullshit.

Case in point. When recently debating the contributions of Voltaire to Western philosophy (debating is a generous term) Otto fell back on claiming to have read some of Victor Hugo's works when he did his "Studies in Literature." What we have here is a black and white example of a Shady Credential. What is a "Study in Literature"? Is it a university course in English or Western Lit? Nope. ANYbody who has taken English or Western Lit will flat out state university English or Western Lit. They don't hide behind the Shady Credential. So, again, what is a "Study in Literature"? It's highschool English. But, presenting high school English as a credential isn't very impressive, so it's hidden, inflated and presented as a steaming pile of Grade A Top Sirloin Bullshit. Do you install debit machines at Kelsey's? Say so. Don't give a Shady Credential of "Technological Customer Service Technician". It means nothing Captain Keypad.

Shady Credentials are everywhere. People who work in the "medical field" (read: NOT a doctor or nurse), early childhood education (read: NOT a certified teacher), law enforcement field (read: NOT a cop) or can again flavour that one with Studies in Criminal Justice (read: NOT a cop OR a lawyer).

Another Shady Credential is simply pointing out what company one works at. If somebody "works at" or is "employed by" say, IBM, Boeing or the Log Driver's Waltz Company, they're bullshitting you into believing that they are somehow directly connected to the point they are trying to make. They're probably the janitor and they're probably told to get the fuck out of the room a lot.

So folks, once again, the Comment Corner is here to enlighten the darker corners of the forum or people you encounter again and again. The Comment Corner: the cool glass of water on the hottest day of the year.