FACT DENOUNCED AS A FOUR-LETTER WORD

Bardzik shares “common nonsense” in an eclectic collection of aphorisms organized by theme.

Inspired by writers like Stanisław Jerzy Lec and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author pithily explores themes of truth, dissonance, and capitalism. The opening section skewers the performative nature of politics and the public’s apathy toward critical thinking: “The pursuit of nuance can be often laborious. The alternative is, however, to hand over your ears, eyes and brains to hate-mongers.” The contradictions of everyday language and social behavior are examined in a section on irony, and Bardzik considers the fragility of truth in the misinformation age. He brutally takes down corporate culture, criticizing its euphemistic jargon, empty overcommunication, and leadership hypocrisy in lines like, “‘We are in the same boat’ – said the CEO from the top deck.” Reflecting on the stock market, the author observes that no one ever utters, “We have had a horrific quarter” on an earnings call. Among Bardzik’s pet peeves are emails with too many recipients and “demands without stating the timing requested.” He imparts wisdom in a section about thinking: “We are what we are curious about, so we must be careful what we are curious about.” The author concludes with a self-reflection: “I sometimes sit, / I sometimes lie, / I sometimes stand, / but / I always stand corrected.” Bardzik maintains a consistently skeptical yet humorous tone as he contemplates the absurdity of modern life. While many of the aphorisms punch up, the author also injects funny, seemingly self-deprecating statements like, “If I had a choice, I would never work with me.” His representation of corporate culture is spot-on in lines like, “Put as much distance as possible between a decisionmaker and the accountable individual, and disastrous outcomes are practically guaranteed.” However, the outlook for humanity can be bleak in lines like, “We all have become hostages: of convenience.” The bullet-pointed lists of things people underestimate (“their intolerance of ambiguity”) and overestimate (“what they know”) can feel judgmental.

An entertaining cultural critique.