Everyone’s talking shite. I’m just breathing it in.

I watch kids sometimes and wonder: do they smell it already? The nonsense adults parade around, the little postures, the fake expertise, the ego stroking — do they notice it, or is it just me?

Take the small stuff: a meeting where someone insists their idea is “brilliant” because they wore a cravat, or a friend giving unsolicited advice they clearly haven’t thought through. Adults nod politely. Kids? They either laugh, shrug, or ask the brutally honest question you’d never dare: “Why are you talking like that?”

And the big stuff isn’t much different. Ambition, work nonsense, cultural pretensions — the tiny rituals we do to convince ourselves we know what we’re doing. Kids see through it, usually without commentary, just a sharp eye and an impatient shrug. They notice the inconsistency, the fake smiles, the posturing, and they either adapt, ignore it, or point it out.

Watching them, I sometimes wonder if smelling shite is innate — if humans are born wired to detect nonsense, and we only learn to cover it up as we get older. Or maybe it’s the opposite: we smell it fine, but we learn politeness, survival, and ego management before we learn honesty.

Either way, the lesson is simple:

• Observe carefully. Kids notice everything.
• Laugh at the absurdity. They do, naturally, and it’s infectious.
• Learn a little humility. You might think you’re subtle, but they’re already five steps ahead in sniffing the nonsense.

The subtle scent of bullshit is everywhere, and sometimes the only way to cope is to watch, learn, and quietly admire the honesty of a child. They smell it all, we just have to remember to breathe through it — and maybe laugh a little while we do.

— Tom Kite.