It is easier to macrobullshit than to microbullshit. — Nassim Nicholas Taleb

It is easier to macrobullshit than to microbullshit.

Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Insight: We've all noticed this: it's weirdly easier to get away with big, sweeping claims than small, specific ones. A politician can promise to "fix the economy" and face less scrutiny than if they claim a particular tax cut will raise wages by exactly 3 percent. The grand vision feels safe somehow. Nobody can pin you down on generalities the way they can on details. This matters because we live in a world that rewards the big story. Social media amplifies broad declarations. Entrepreneurs pitch massive visions. Influencers make sweeping life philosophies sound airtight. The specificity that would actually test whether something works gets lost in the scale and confidence of the claim. You can say "this will change everything" and land it. Say "this will save you two hours a week" and suddenly people want receipts. The trick is catching yourself when you're tempted to both give and accept the macro version. When someone makes an enormous claim, start asking for the small claims underneath it. And when you're tempted to oversell something—an idea, a plan, yourself—notice how the pressure lifts when you zoom out. That relief? That's usually a sign you've just switched from something testable to something safely vague.

Source: Antifragile, p. 26, 2012