"The easiest lie I've ever told": Some thoughts on lies (not dedicated to Brian Williams, at least not particularly)

DILBERT by Scott Adams





by Ken

What we have here is, I think, a classic -- or perhaps more-than-classic -- case of overthink on Dilbert's part. It's one thing to think about the implications of the Pointy-Headed Boss's sentence-opening "To be perfectly honest. It might even be just barely OK to call him on it, maybe saying, "Oh, so normally you're not perfectly honest." Beyond that, however, is overthink, or overkill, or over-something.

You can play this scene out in your head to your heart's content, and you win every time. Do it for real, though, and the amazing result is that by the end the advantage has somehow reverted to the PHB. "Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory" is the operative phrase, I think.

IT'S A FUNNY THING ABOUT LIES

It's a funny thing about lies. If you looked at the America of 2015, you might think that the populace has developed some weird mental warp that demands to be lied to or it'll kick you in the nuts. Like those anti-vaccine-fetishist moms we were just talking about. Or just look at the way right-wingers now seem to be oblliged never to tell the truth about anything when even the most cock-eyed lie is available.

However, I think maybe that's not exactly it. Yes, the people seem to be demanding to be lied to, but it's not so much the lies per se they're so hot for -- they just want to hear stuff that makes them feel good, even -- or especially -- if feeling good at a particular moment may mean being madder than a rabid raccoon. And if you want to give large numbers of people those kinds of good feelings, lying obviously recommends itself because you can so conveniently shape it to your needs, which is to say your listeners' wishes. For further insight nto the process, just ask any Republican pol.

So you see, this kind of lying depends on a mutual understanding between liar and lie-ee. Absent that compact, it gets chancier. Say you're Brian Williams, and your memory goes in and out as to which helicopter you were flying in, the one that got shot down or the one that didn't. It just so happens that at times when you get it wrong and opt for the mroe dramatic chopper, you get a lot more attention. The only problem is when people find out that you've been misremembering. (Of course there must always have been people who spotted it when you misremembered -- like the people who were on each of the helicopters in question. At the WaPo link above (here it is again), there are a number of related stories on poor Brian's mess, and among them Erik Wemple raises this question about the other NBC News people who were flying with Brian that day, and ever since, suggesting that "The Brian Williams scandal is an NBC News-wide scandal.")

And then there are the lies you tell just 'cause you want to hoodwink and manipulate the people you're lying to. Sometimes it helps if you're their boss.">your memory goes in and out as to which helicopter you were flying in, the one that got shot down or the one that didn't. It just so happens that at times when you get it wrong and opt for the mroe dramatic chopper, you get a lot more attention. The only problem is when people find out that you've been misremembering. (Of course there must always have been people who spotted it when you misremembered -- like the people who were on each of the helicopters in question.)

And then there are the lies you tell just 'cause you want to hoodwink and manipulate the people you're lying to. Sometimes it helps if you're their boss.

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