Crap Factoid

About Chokey the Chimp

skeptic — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:20:32 -0700

Chokey the Chimp is the public spokesman for The IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Early Warning Service.

Chokey the Chimp hates crap factoids(pure B.S. that almost sound like a fact, and will be presented so often that everyone will think it true).

Crap Factoid: CMDB saves $1M - The IT Skeptic

skeptic — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:59:39 -0600

A podcast of the original blog post Crap Factoid Alert: CMDB savings of more than $1 million per year .

This is a CATEGORY 1 Crap Factoid alert from Chokey the Chimp at the IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Warning Service. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Be on EXTREME danger alert for CF "CMDB savings of more than $1 million per year". BMC and Forrester are shovelling it.

Crap Factoid Alert: CMDB savings of more than $1 million per year

skeptic — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:31:38 -0600

This post has been podcast.
This is a CATEGORY 1 Crap Factoid alert from Chokey the Chimp at the IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Warning Service. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Be on EXTREME danger alert for CF "CMDB savings of more than $1 million per year". BMC and Forrester are shovelling it. [Update: more on this here.]

Crap Factoid Alert: "ITIL is non-proprietary"

skeptic — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:43:38 -0600

Please everybody look up "proprietary" in the dictionary and understand that ITIL is proprietary. I can't believe that every single ITIL vendor is illiterate, so I have to think they are spreading a Crap Factoid. And boy! how it is spreading!

Crap Factoid alert: Fifty percent of all CMDB projects fail due to inadequate planning.

skeptic — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:59:40 -0600

Chokey the Chimp was happy we weren't seeing any CFs in May, but I knew something would come along, and I might have guessed EMA would oblige. I might also have guessed it would be CMDB-related.

Why Crap Factoids get believed

skeptic — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:42:34 -0600

We have an interesting discussion thread going on the suspension of critical faculties in the face of analyst research, and especially on the desire for it to be true. Cognitive dissonance and denial have been suggested as two causes. The IT Skeptic explores some ideas.

Yes cognitive dissonance and denial happen once they are in the drek. To get there involves other factors:

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Minor crap factoid spotted: "nearly half consider ITIL very critical to achieving their goals"

skeptic — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:22:04 -0600

The IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Early Warning Service lists the following Crap Factoid as mild, so Chokey the Chimp is staying at "high" risk, but watch out you don't step in this one. Relatively harmless but still smells bad on your shoe.

Gullibility: the extraordinary spread of crap factoids on the internet

skeptic — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:10:54 -0600

Readers may think I'm exaggerating about the spread of crap factoids. Back at the end of 2006 we spotted the crap factoid "ITIL reduces costs by up to 48%". This one was particularly pernicious because it had the Gartner name behind it, which gives it a CF multiplier of 2. Where is it now? Let's see.

IT analysts produce crap factoids - The IT Skeptic

skeptic — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:05:48 -0600

This is a podcast of the original article IT analysts produce crap - what to look for in analyst "research"

Analyst crap factoids as memes: nobody thinks any more

skeptic — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:41:43 -0600

There are a couple of fundamental causes underlying the success of analyst crap factoids as memes [a meme is an idea that propogates through the species like a gene].