The problem is that bullshit is a negative externality. It&#x27;s cognitive pollution. Those who clutter the world with bullshit reap the rewards of nabbing the suckers who respond to it, but don&#x27;t pay the costs of imposing those cognitive loads on everyone else. That leads to more bullshit than would be economically efficient.<p>Take a simple example like billboards. If billboard advertisers had to pay every person whose life experience is degraded by seeing a billboard for a product they&#x27;d never buy, the equilibrium amount of billboard advertising would go way down.