To Tell The Truth<\/b><\/p>\n
Ah yes, if life were just a game show!\u00a0 <\/span>One where lying convincingly is a part of the fun. One where the \u2018big reveal\u2019 is applauded. And the stakes are considerably lower for \u2018being fooled\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A New York Times podcast (This American Life<\/i>) caught my eye \u2014 well, more properly, my ear \u2014 this week. The focus: That\u2019s a weird thing to lie about<\/i>. The opener, a short interview with a neurodivergent journalist, asks a simple question: \u2018do you ever lie\u2019. Her considered answer was a qualified \u2018yes\u2019 \u2014 but, as it turns out, only when the cost to another individual is extremely high. The rest of the time, \u2018no\u2019, with tag-on query, \u2018what would that achieve?\u2019. Her reference was to all the \u2018little whites\u2019 that most of we \u2018neurotypicals\u2019 pass along without a second thought. Or the overstated and gushy greeting (\u2018we must<\/i> do lunch\u2019). Or the compliments paid without any conviction \u2014 and often just patently false (\u2018love your new look\u2019) \u2014 that are essentially unheard and unheeded at best, barefaced untruths at worst. Convivial conventions \u2014 with little value added.<\/p>\n We\u2019re currently working our way thru\u2019 two excellent series, Extraordinary Attorney Woo<\/i> and Astrid<\/i> \u2014 must be neurodivergent month on Netflix! Aside the compelling story lines, the bit about figurative speech (call it what you will, but essentially departures from literal truth) and lying are central themes \u2014 as much to highlight the chaos and confusion these practices create for the protagonists as to hold up these commonly accepted behaviours as weirdly \u2018normal\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I did in fact sit through all 98 minutes of the quasi state of the union \u2018address\u2019 a few evenings ago. Almost as taxing were the talking head analyses \u2014 a significant chunk of which was devoted to the (inevitable) \u2018fact checking\u2019. And, wait for it, the guy lied! This is not news.<\/i> We\u2019ve had it confirmed by every news source east of Fox. We had it waved at us on the Dem\u2019s myriad ping pong paddle signage. And, before he was summarily marched out of the room, old Al Green, the Texas congressman, shouted his cane-pointing message at the man himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To return to our journalist, perhaps more newsworthy is \u2018why bother\u2019. You won the election. Your party controls both houses. You have a majority of the Scotus nine in your pocket (although some hint of balanced and independent thought does surface from time to time on that front). And you have an entirely, sycophantic following, prepared to cheer your every utterance, arrayed in front of you. So why embellish, distort, or flat lie about so very, very much?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A quick Google of motivations underlying (pun intended) that ubiquitous but generally reviled practice (fibbing) produced way too many links. But one such look offered the following:<\/p>\n As far as my late night viewing, I\u2019d have to go with door number 2 (if I can mix game show metaphors). Some recent reading on the consuming power of social media kicked up the following reference from Leo Braudy\u2019s four decades old book, The Frenzy of Renown<\/i>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The lust for recognition has become so great in the twentieth century as to manifest itself in outright insanities.<\/p>\n Seems attention\u2019s<\/i> the thing . . . wherein to catch the conscience (if such exists) of the \u2018king\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To Tell The Truth Ah yes, if life were just a game show!\u00a0 One where lying convincingly is a part of the fun. One where the \u2018big reveal\u2019 is applauded. And the stakes are considerably lower for \u2018being fooled\u2019.\u00a0 A New York Times podcast (This American Life) caught my eye \u2014 well, more properly, my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":624,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n
\n Motive \u2018A\u2019<\/b><\/td>\n Motive \u2018B\u2019<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Avoiding punishment<\/td>\n To win the admiration of others<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Obtaining a prize (when other ways are not available)<\/td>\n To exercise power over others by controlling the information they receive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Protecting another person from being hurt or punished (a la our journalist)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Protecting oneself from physical harm<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n To get out of an awkward social situation<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n To avoid embarrassment\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n To maintain privacy without notifying others of the intention<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n