Frankfurt came out with a monograph at least 8 years ago because I heard about it in '03. The monograph was available on the web and I downloaded a copy. It has since been expanded and made available for currency on actual paper.

It gets truly philosophical, hence the great majority of people haven't read it all the way through; what most people take away from it consist of parroting word blurbs on NPR and news briefs. josepp got it partially wrong in his first message opening this thread.

the distinction between a liar and a BSer is that the liar has enough respect for the truth to divert from it at a known distance (to the liar). A BSer has no respect for the truth at all, he or she is merely trying to convince someone of something. Could be true, could be not true. machts nichts. The BSer does not know and does not care.

If you are trying to convince someone you are not sleeping with his daughter, you are probably telling him lies provided you are sleeping with his daughter. But someone in the hospital telling you they feel like they've been hit by a ten ton weight is describing how bad they feel. No BS about it. BS would be your friend in the hospital asking you for an ice cream cone and telling you it would be healthy for them. Might be true, might not be true. What they really want is for you to get 'em an ice cream cone.

BS is also in the old lawyer joke:

"My dog didn't bite your son.
My dog doesn't bite.
Your son was wearing winter clothes.
My dog was chained up in the yard.
Your son was in your house.
And besides, I have no dog.
And you have no son!"

The BSer only wants to convince someone of something and will use any argument to get there. Facts are up for grabs and the laws of logic will be claimed but not necessarily applied.

BS is, thank you Mr. Colbert, 'truthiness'.

Sarah Palin's little Paul Revere speech on youtube is a prime example of BS.

In digital circuits, a signal wire can be high, holding a constant voltage like 5 Volts. A held voltage may correspond to '1' or 'true'. The signal can be low, or close to 0 volts. Corresponds to '0' or 'false'. But the wire may also be ungrounded, the voltage may wander all over the place. That is the techie analog of BS.