Study finds that we are more inclined to believe nonsense statements were made by people we admire.

  • PsyArxiv posted the study. It examines what meaning we find in absurd quotes.
  • Researchers attributed computer generated quotes to celebrities
  • Participants were less likely to find meaning in quotations when they were next to celebrities like Michelle Obama and Nelson Mandela.
  • It is hoped that the study will encourage readers to more carefully consider what they have read. 










A new study found that we are less likely to believe in nonsense when we believe it was said by a well-known person, according to a recent study. 

Study compared the algorithms-generated quotes with photos of people admired like Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama, and Dalai Lama.

To find out the meaning of the quotes, they placed them next to each other like Kim Kardashian and Harvey Weinstein.

The nonsense statements ascribed to the like of the Dalai Lama (pictured) - the revered TIbetan spiritual leader - were more likely to have readers see meaning in them

It was more common for readers to see the meaning of nonsense statements like those attributed to the Dalai Lama, a revered TIbetan spiritual head.

Participants were much more likely to get insight into the quotes from the pseudo-profound bullshit if it was spoken by someone they admire. 

PsyArxiv published the paper. The findings suggested that they could be used as a way to get the public to pay more attention to the social media posts.

Igor Grossman from Canada’s University of Waterloo told The Times that charlatanism has always been in harmony with appeals to authority.

“This is just a scientific way to determine what used car sellers have probably known for a long while.”

Celebrities who are less admired - like TV personality and business magnate Kim Kardashian - were much less likely to have meaning seen in them despite the quotes from both admired and unadmired celebs were meaningless, the study says

According to the study, celebrities less well-known – Kim Kardashian is a television personality and business magnate – had fewer chances of meaning being seen in them, even though they were quoted by both famous and unknown celebs.

According to the paper, this document is a crytallization of the ways in which the sages of old used riddlelike speech to attract large audiences for their pontifications.

The argument is that the linguistic strategies they used to give an illusion that statements are meaningful were a part of their responsibilities.

Modern-day’sages’ can be likened to people who put incoherent inspirational messages on scoial social media that their followers assign meaning to due the platform’s size. 

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