21 hours ago
- Betteridge's law states that any headline ending in a question mark can be answered by 'no,' often used as a critique of clickbait.
- The author questions the rules of Betteridge dunking, asking whether question marks are always bad, if they're only okay when the answer is yes, and whether the law is useful.
- The real problem with question-mark headlines is not the answer (yes or no) but when they suggest a novel, interesting possibility that the article fails to substantiate.
- The internet rewards overconfidence, leading to aggressive titles instead of nuanced examinations, and the author argues that question titles should be used responsibly only for genuinely open questions.