Castles Made of Sand is a classic, by one of the truly great musicians. If you are not familiar with it, go find it and listen to it. But wait until after you finish reading this, as you’ll probably be listening to a lot more Hendrix as well...
Jimi Hendrix was, in my opinion, a pivotal figure in the history of music. The world after Hendrix was, in many ways, very different from the world before. Saying he was a great guitar player is true enough, but there are a lot of great players. Saying he was the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) is, ultimately, a matter of taste, so that doesn’t really say much either.
What is indisputable, however, is that he was extraordinarily innovative, and had an incalculable influence on the world of music. He created a unique style which drew from blues, R&B, soul, rock (both British and American), American folk music, jazz – and more.
What made Hendrix stand out, however, was that his eclectic style, masterful technique, and innovation (as an example, rather than avoiding feedback, he integrated it into his playing) were an inspiration for generations of guitar players. Aside from his peers, who admired and expanded on what he was doing, there were younger players who deliberately emulated him, and generations of players following them. It’s probably near-impossible to find a modern guitar player who has NOT been influenced by Hendrix, either directly, through his direct peers, or through the generations of players who followed.
Digging into the nuances of his technique and performances leads directly down a number of deep rabbit holes, and to places far beyond my limited knowledge of music (for one thing, not a guitar player). Just one example that took me far too long to figure out was that references to “backwards” playing and “upside down” playing were totally different things. Castles Made of Sand actually includes a backwards solo, where Hendrix took the music, played it backwards, then reversed the tape so that it came out in the original order – A strange, but very interesting effect. In contrast, the upside down guitar was a result of Hendrix being left-handed (or at least preferring to play left-hand), but taking a right-handed guitar, turning it over, and reversing the order of the strings, resulting in subtle differences in the sound (which are really over my head).
The lyrics are assumed to be semi-autobiographical, and the chorus in particular appears to be a metaphorical reference to the changeable nature of existence and how nothing should be taken for granted.
“And so castles made of sand
Fall in the sea eventually”
How much more frail than castles made of sand, then, is a world-view based on bullshit?
Rather than using the slang term meaning “nonsense” or “rubbish”, I am using the term in the more technical sense of statements made without concern for their truth or falsity. An honest person knows (or at least believes) that they are telling the truth, while a liar knows they are lying. In contrast to this, a bullshitter is utterly unconcerned about whether what they say is true or false.
The technical use of the term was popularized by philosopher Harry Frankfurt, in his 2005 book On Bullshit. In a follow-up book, On Truth, he clarified and updated his definition of bullshitters:
“My claim was that bullshitters, although they represent themselves as being engaged simply in conveying information, are not engaged in that enterprise at all. Instead, and most essentially, they are fakers and phonies who are attempting by what they say to manipulate the opinions and the attitudes of those to whom they speak. What they care about primarily, therefore, is whether what they say is effective in accomplishing this manipulation. Correspondingly, they are more or less indifferent to whether what they say is true or whether it is false.”
Harry Frankfurt, On Truth, pages 3-4, 2006
The danger with bullshit is that it infects our entire information ecosystem. In the past, there was at least an attempt to promote true things, as illustrated by a variation of a quote attributed to US financier and statesman Bernard Baruch. (The version with which I am familiar is apparently from US Senator Patrick Moynihan)
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
Patrick Moynihan, 1983
Nowadays, however, we have reached the level of Orwellian doublethink and Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts”, promoted by bullshit artists such as former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former (and current) US president Donald Trump. Both of these people have made it abundantly clear that they use words only for their own advantage and that the truth or falsity of what they say is utterly irrelevant to them.
We are now in a world where people are basing their worldviews on the bullshit they see in the echo-chambers they inhabit. Where critical thinking and seeking different perspectives is actively discouraged, and people buy into conspiracy theories and misinformation. Where they say “do your research”, but think that means searching on a random topic and reading the first thing that pops up and can be twisted to “confirm” their worldview.
We live in a world where people who are (I hope) trying to do the right thing vote to undermine education, and who condemn actual experts based on the word of self-professed experts who have neither expertise nor credibility, and think that something they don’t understand is therefore not real or credible.
While it is easy to be angry with such people, and it is necessary to push back against the bullshit, it’s vitally necessary to recognize that most people who fall into these rabbit-holes are victims rather than villains. Everyone is vulnerable to misinformation, and everyone is vulnerable to social engineering, and I (choose to) think that most people are genuinely trying to do what is best for everyone.
But, you might ask, how can that be true, when people vote against their own best interests? When decreasing vaccination rates, driven by anti-vax disinformation, risk the return of diseases which had become rare? When RFK Jr says he wants “choice”, while his lawyer is pushing to revoke approval for the polio vaccine? When people are mocking the use of masks to control the spread of respiratory diseases? When people are accepting the most extreme disinformation as fact?
For most people, the answers are usually around group identity and psychology, where people trust the word of those they consider part of “their” group, and distrust the word of “outsiders”. When people don’t have critical thinking skills, or fail to use them, they will accept ideas which they would otherwise reject. (See David McRaney’s work at You Are Not So Smart, for his amazing work on this topic...)
If you attack them, people will push back and “double down”, so don’t do that. The focus should not be to mock or condemn people, but rather to learn and educate. Don’t attack your aunt who posts a wall of words attacking vaccines, even though it’s a hodge-podge of misunderstanding, misinformation, and dire warnings which never materialized. (Also, avoid saying “I told you so”, even though you may really want to...) Instead, try to understand the chain of reasoning. Ask for the evidence and why it is being treated as credible. Ask why this source is trustworthy while others are not.
It is a challenge, and will frequently be greeted with personal attacks, but focus on trying to understand the position. There may (sometimes) be some (potentially) valid points, in which case you can agree and build common ground. Otherwise, depending on the topic, you can hope that contradictions will start to be more apparent, along with the double-standards and the motivations of the “experts” being quoted.
Not easy, not fun (for many), but critical thinking is one of the best tools we have in any search for the truth, and maybe our most powerful tool for ultimately returning sanity to our current world.
Cheers!