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Showing posts with the label Dishonety

How to Spot Liars (and Truth Tellers too!)

by Michael Corthell Let's start by saying that we are all liars by definition. If you tell me you have never lied once in your life, then you are a liar. Okay, we have that important point out of the way. You might be interested to know that more than 80 percent of all lies people tell go undetected. But does that surprise you? We all learn to lie early on. Think back to when you were very young, and it shouldn't surprise you that lying is such a common behavior. When asked about eating a piece of candy before a meal, most children are guaranteed punishment if they admit to it. Lying, they reason, gives them a much lower probability of being punished—that is, if they don't get caught. Lying is part of being human—it is a defense mechanism. ''The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.'' —John Ruskin So then, people tell lies all the time, that is a fact and many are very skilled at it depending on psychological makeup, as well