h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There's an excellent example of how to lie in Jurrasic Park when the guy who runs the computer system makes an excuse to shut parts of the system off while he goes to get a soda. He over explains his reasons and keeps going on about it even though no one is paying much attention to him. No one susses him because he has clearly been devious all the time.

I don't believe you...

3 types of lies:
lies
damned lies
statistics

And remember that 98% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Yeah and by the way the statistics that are made up are usualy the ones which make the most sense.... I remember having to do a survey of peoples shoping habits for school once for school once... Ended up just making up the results and getting the best grade.... yay....

Spot on point about bad liars being embarassing - you can spot crap lies, and it is cringey.

If some one avoids telling the truth, then is that a lie?

I don't think so... if they AVOID it then it's not a lie, but if they don't tell the WHOLE truth then it is. Then again, aren't they the same thing?

I'm working on a related project about a type of lie, the urban legend. If any of you know a good urban legend, I'd like to hear it. I'll be listening right over here: http://www.h2g2.com/A184457

Yes, in the end, they are the same thing. For the simple reason that they lack truth.

Okay, if someone is confronted, and they avoid telling the truth, I can see that as being a lie. But if they tell part of the truth, without actually lying (I.E.- I admit I swerved to miss a cat in the road, thus hitting a tree (the truth I tell). However, I dont mention that I was blitzed on spirits at the time (the truth I dont tell). The cat was there, and escaped with most of its lives, which is more than could be said for the car. Had I been sober, then I could have maintained control of the vehicle, and not crashed it.), would this be a lie? Or would it become a half truth? And is there a difference?

And 43.3% are completely meaningless.

Also, a lie must contain a high degree of the truth to be plausible.

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And yet, it is still a lie. Why not just tell the truth to begin with, especially if you are going to tell some or most of the truth to endorse your lie?

Yeah, I think that in the end, the truth is always better. Except in Cyrano de Bourgeac (spelling?) when he told that guy right before he died that he told the girl all about what had happened and she still loved him even though it was a lie. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

so. he lied that the girl was still in love with him? No, I dont think that is any better... I would rather die with the truth and honesty, than an illusion. Then again, I may be weird like that...

Perhaps. "Weird" as in different, maybe, but not "weird" as in abnormal. Then again, isn't being different being abnormal? My brain hurts.

One Thing that I know about lyong is that I am not good at it, I do not have good memory.