Earlier this summer I stumbled upon and episode of the fascinating TV show Brain Games dealing entirely with the human tendency to lie. The episode was absolutely fascinating, it focused on many aspect of the human nature to lie, one of which is that it is in fact human nature to lie, quite often, actually. The writers of the show spent a lot of time focusing on the idea that humans are natural liars, and it felt they were making an argument that we should not be blamed for lying. That idea, I do not agree with, but I see where they are coming from.
This episode had me thinking a lot about humans and their tendencies to lie compulsively. Think about it, how many lies to you hear in a day, in a conversation? I bet you that its more than you think. I'm not going to share any specific examples quite yet, but I know for a fact that I lie quite often, but probably not any more than the average person.
The other day I was teaching a tennis group at where I work, and I was watching this kid who was the littlest piece of...... that I had ever seen. I've never seen anything like it before, blatantly calling shots that were in out and lying about the score to get ahead. I ended up making him run, a lot, and I'm pretty sure he hates me know but I think that's okay if it helps him to become a better person? Knowing 8 year olds it probably made no difference whatsoever, but that's not the point. I noticed that his actions created a domino effect among the group. Kids started lying in the same way that he was to get ahead. I found myself having to correct scores all the time and calling lines, and after being assigned this project in English, I found the main focus of my project: How much do the lies of one person effect the people around them?
Infinitely.
According to a little research I have done, the average human tells 2-3 lies in one ten minute conversation.
I've started to think of a lie as a domino in a never ending fluctuating line of more and more dominoes. One lie leads to another, which leads to another, and another, and another, and so on. Unfortunately the majority of these lies cause harm in the lives of others, sometimes very little problems, but then again a lie could also ruin someones life.
I don't want you to think that this project will have an entirely negative tone to it, because I also plan to look at the other perspective of a lie. Some of the lies people tell actually do have good intentions, like protecting someones feelings from a hurtful truth. The problem with these lies is that they usually don't turn out they way you hoped and the truth comes out anyways, so is lying really ever okay?
This topic is going to lead to an endless number of more and more questions, but that's part of what fascinates me about it so much, because lies are LITERALLY everywhere, and my sources for research has no limitations. Sports, TV, movies, school, friends, enemies, politics, myself, the list goes on......
So whats real?
Dude this post actually really hits home. I have gotten better but ever since I was a little kid I have been a darn good liar. Sometimes I would lie so well I couldn't tell the difference between whether I was lying or not. I am really excited to see where your topic goes.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this. I know I am a victim of the contagious disease, but I guess this comforted me a little knowing that all the kids do it now-a-days (joke). But on a more serious note, I like how you kept the topic broad and left a lot of room for questions and progression in all sorts of directions. I think it'd be interesting for you to look into a statistical number for like false advertisement or take a poll of some sort? Just a thought, but awesome work man.
ReplyDeleteThis was so interesting to read. I am too guilty of this. It's hard to break and the more you think about it, the harder it gets. I really enjoyed reading this, mainly just because of the way you wrote it. The topic was one of the bests I've read.
ReplyDeleteHarrison,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you show lying can be beneficial to someone, but also show why lying is bad. Although I didn't quite get what you meant by "littlest piece of...". I enjoyed reading the part where you disciplined an eight year old, and taught him to be a respectable member of society. I liked the way you ended by asking a question "so what's real?", giving us a contrast of what to expect. The statistics part was also alarming since people lie 2-3 times in an average 10 minute conversation. I am interested to know when someone lies, what kind of signals do they give off?