Hyperboles are great for jokes, but bad for arguments.

Many people take hyperbolic statements too literally and are quick to argue with them. By arguing the point, the person who made the statement is put on the defensive and the conversation descends into petty bickering.

Next time you are about to react to a hyperbolic statement, take a moment to consider whether the person making the statement actually believes it or is just saying it to express their feelings on the subject.

Consider the statement: "Fish is the worst food ever!" Obviously, there are worse foods, but-- do you really need argue that? Can you even win an argument about taste? Who are you really impressing by arguing about that? Also, why bother?

Haha, that rings so true. I usually spend half an argument with friends getting to the point where the 'hyperbolizer' clarifies that he or she was merely hyperbolic. But the rest of the conversation is influenced by this initial hyperbole, and usually I conclude it was probably best to let it rest and perhaps get back to it later.

"I'm trying to be less hyperbolic"...

"I'd be honored if you followed me on Twitter."

While I agree with the thesis, and I'd like to start doing so as well, that was kind of funny.

I have a friend that continually exclaims "This is the <over-the-top adjective> ever!"....about everything.

It get's old when every dog you see is the cutest ever, every movie is the best ever, every thing you eat is the tastiest ever.

People really do overuse hyperbole

I don't see the problem with this - it seems to me like someone who is thoroughly enjoying life.

If you're frequently over-the-moon with joy at your meals, your movies, the animals you run across, your job, or whatever, it seems like a fundamentally good state to be in.

I'd say we need more context to say anything about this friend. I have friends who are very 'hyperbolic', but seem so honest. It's like they experience things as a child, or for the first time.

I also have friends who do this, where it seems to be a mask they put on. These friends often have rather unpleasant pasts.

It's a bit like the manic pixie dream girl, to use a fascinating stereotype. I have often tried to delve deep, and it's sometimes really hard to discern the 'broken' kind from the truly 'child-like' type.

Broad strokes, I know, and please forgive me. The only point I want to make is that context is everything in this case.

I agree with you, it is a good state to be in. The issue I take is my overall hyperbole in my own speech. I want to enjoy life, and I do. I want to be more thoughtful and considerate of the things passing through my life rather than writing them off as the highest high or the lowest low in whatever category they fall in.

Agreed. The most overuse arises from the meaning of "ever", where it can mean t=[0, ∞], t=[-∞, 0], and t=[-∞, ∞] (0 being the present).

If everything is special, nothing is.

Oh yes, hyperbole is the worst!

Aaaand you beat me to my smartass comment... well played.

I think hyperboles serve a purpose: they provide additional meta informations, generally about author's emotions. It helps to understand author's exact mind set and makes the text more enjoyable to read.

Edit: This Everything is my fault blog post is a good illustration: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4895335

I'm pretty maxxed out on ingesting hyperbole from the deluge of punched-up linkbait/SEO'd articles over the past few years.

I am as well

What I find worse than hyperbole in comments is snide criticism and rhetorical questions.

"Do you really believe that?"

"You can't possibly be serious?"

"So you're saying...[insert hyperbolic interpretation of comment]?"

etc.

Instead you should try to be the LEAST HYPERBOLIC PERSON EVER

I hate to be that guy, but why is this getting upvoted?

Just for fun here are the people who upload stories from jackshapiro.com, and here are the domains that kine uploads stories from.

http://imgur.com/a/cQFWa

To be less hyperbolic, recall the parabole of the... circle.

Nice touch with the ellipses...