On Deceit
If you're going to lie, make sure that your lie is unverifieable. For example, telling someone that you tried to call them about going to dinner but they didn't answer is a bad lie because records exist which contradict your statement. If you want to lie about something like that, it would be better to tell a more subtle lie which either complements your friend or makes logical sense based on your friends predilections.
If you were telling me a lie, you might say, "I was going to call, but I thought you mentioned [random girl] coming over, and figured you wouldn't want to do anything involving clothes". This lie is very useful because it complements my "sexual prowess", while displaying the liar as a sensitive friend. You might also say, "I was going to call, but we weren't going to be eating until midnight, and I know you like to get to bed early on Tuesdays and Thursdays." Again, this lie is one which seems plausible given my habits, and has the additional benefit of making the liar seem sensitive, when the opposite may in fact be true.
Based on the example above, it may seem like lying is pretty difficult because the liar must have a great deal of knowledge about their "mark". While it is true that you should know the target of a lie well, knowledge and preparation becomes less important when you lie to people who don't know you as well. While a friend may catch you in a lie because the lie contradicts what they know of your schedule or predilections, a stranger will often accept lies at their face values. Strangers are even more susceptible to lies which complement them because your complements do not have to be based in the reality of what you know. For example, while you might not complement a Muslim friend on winning a pig eating contest, this lie could be explained to a Muslim stranger as simply a slip-up based on not knowing their religion. In the end, you can just make random shit up, and as long as it's phrased like a complement, strangers will be happy and not worry about the truth of a statement.
If you were telling me a lie, you might say, "I was going to call, but I thought you mentioned [random girl] coming over, and figured you wouldn't want to do anything involving clothes". This lie is very useful because it complements my "sexual prowess", while displaying the liar as a sensitive friend. You might also say, "I was going to call, but we weren't going to be eating until midnight, and I know you like to get to bed early on Tuesdays and Thursdays." Again, this lie is one which seems plausible given my habits, and has the additional benefit of making the liar seem sensitive, when the opposite may in fact be true.
Based on the example above, it may seem like lying is pretty difficult because the liar must have a great deal of knowledge about their "mark". While it is true that you should know the target of a lie well, knowledge and preparation becomes less important when you lie to people who don't know you as well. While a friend may catch you in a lie because the lie contradicts what they know of your schedule or predilections, a stranger will often accept lies at their face values. Strangers are even more susceptible to lies which complement them because your complements do not have to be based in the reality of what you know. For example, while you might not complement a Muslim friend on winning a pig eating contest, this lie could be explained to a Muslim stranger as simply a slip-up based on not knowing their religion. In the end, you can just make random shit up, and as long as it's phrased like a complement, strangers will be happy and not worry about the truth of a statement.
posted by Fifth at 12:42 PM
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