MetaFilter posts tagged with Lying

Easier than Twister

furtive — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:06:47 -0800

...I didn't actually read the link...

Artw — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:06:48 -0800

It’s only natural that if you wish to present yourself as a well-read person, a certain degree of complete bullshit is required. There’s no shame in lying about what you’ve read. There’s only shame in getting caught. Then you look like a doofus, and an illiterate one at that... How to lie about books.

Telling tales

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:47:19 -0800

You say Orwell, Tolstoy and Joyce, but actually it's Rowling and Grisham... Anyway if you are a chap, just make sure you put away that Clarkson before your date arrives.

Our Phony Economy.

chunking express — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:57:13 -0800

Our Phony Economy. From the conclusion:

The purpose of an economy is to meet human needs in such a way that life becomes in some respect richer and better in the process. It is not simply to produce a lot of stuff. Stuff is a means, not an end. Yet current modes of economic measurement focus almost entirely on means. For example, an automobile is productive if it produces transportation. But today we look only at the cars produced per hour worked. More cars can mean more traffic and therefore a transportation system that is less productive. The medical system is the same. The aim should be healthy people, not the sale of more medical services and drugs. Now, however, we assess the economic contribution of the medical system on the basis of treatments rather than results. Economists see nothing wrong with this. They see no problem that the medical system is expected to produce 30 to 40 percent of new jobs over the next thirty years. “We have to spend our money on something,” shrugged a Stanford economist to the New York Times. This is more insanity. Next we will be hearing about “disease-led recovery.” To stimulate the economy we will have to encourage people to be sick so that the economy can be well.

Sorry, There Was a Flameout on Metafilter

misha — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:23:06 -0800

Though recent research indicates we learn to lie at a young age, and lie more often as we grow older, apparently we aren't so great at coming up with excuses for missing work. One site, designed to help with this problem, offers "proof" that you needed time off. Phoney Excuses claims that over a quarter of a million people have visited their site. The site warns its forms are intended "for entertainment purposes only." (Warning: NSFW-- last link is obnoxiously loud).

This story is about something called Radical Honesty. It may change your life. (But honestly, we don't really care.)

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:35:05 -0800

I appreciate you for reading this article. I resent you for snarking in the thread without reading it.

White House reverses stance on existence of global warming

russilwvong — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:26:34 -0800

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has endorsed the recent IPCC report, reversing the White House stance on the existence of global warming. Bodman claims that the Bush administration has always accepted scientific studies pointing to man-made climate change, even as Henry Waxman, House oversight committee chair, has been holding hearings on the White House's misleading the public on global warming for the last six years; hearing documents. Bodman also rejects caps on CO2 emissions, claiming that the US is "a small contributor when you look at the rest of the world," when in fact it's the largest contributor worldwide (and has an even greater share of cumulative CO2 emissions). Previously: IPCC, Waxman.

Carl Cannon: Why Presidents Lie

russilwvong — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:54:00 -0800

Carl Cannon on why Presidents lie, including a lengthy discussion of George W. Bush. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt on honesty, why doesn't the nation's first-ever M.B.A. president demonstrate a better command of the facts?

But I was in a different country! That doesn't count right? RIGHT!?

AllesKlar — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:37:45 -0800

Don't date him girl! Good news for the paranoid. Invasive site for documenting those unsavory men who have cheated on women. The rebuttal: warning: flash site with annoying birds. bugmenot

Don't Even Think About Lying

robbyrobs — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 03:01:21 -0800

Don't Even Think About Lying fMRI is poised to transform the security industry, the judicial system, and our fundamental notions of privacy. I'm in a lab at Columbia University, where scientists are using the technology to analyze the cognitive differences between truth and lies. By mapping the neural circuits behind deception, researchers are turning fMRI into a new kind of lie detector that's more probing and accurate than the polygraph, the standard lie-detection tool employed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies for nearly a century.

Liar, liar, pants on fire

Rothko — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 01:26:05 -0800

"What's the matter sweetie? Can't sleep?"
"No, no. I was just going over my answers to the polygraph test your dad just gave me."

Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, meet Mitch Albom

bawanaal — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 16:16:48 -0800

Mitch Albom, one of the most decorated sports columnists ever and a best selling author, has been busted for fabricating information in his latest Detroit Free Press column. Albom has apologized, but this has set the sports journalism field abuzz, many happy to the star of the Freep squirm. The President of The National Society of Newspaper Columnists has called the column "bogus" and an "egregious ethical lapse." Others wonder why he wasn't suspended or fired, thinking his status as an author and TV / radio personality is allowing him special favors. The Freep has started an investigation and may look into previous articles. To top it all off, here's the pot calling the kettle black.

On Why We Lie - The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind by David Livingstone Smith

y2karl — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:35:42 -0800

How often does the average person lie? First, it's important to point out that lying is normal, and more often spontaneous and unconscious than cynical and coldly analytical. Our minds and bodies secrete deceit. That said, Robert Feldman, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts, suggests that there are three lies for every ten minutes of conversation. I think that's plausible. And bear in mind that his research measured only the frequency of narrow, explicit, verbal lying. The real rate of deception, which includes our movements and expressions, must be considerably higher.

Questioning Authority - David Livingstone Smith, author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, is a liar. And he explains why you are too. ( More Inside )

Trust me.

four panels — Mon, 31 May 2004 12:10:01 -0800

Bush campaign lies with unprecedented frequency. Making history with unprecedented negativity.

Truth or Lie

ewkpates — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 05:24:44 -0800

Devices like these or these may be able to detect lying better than a polygraph and less intrusively. If this technology really really worked and everyone had access to it, say, in their cell phones, would life be any different? How would it change anything, if at all? Sex? Politics? Hip-hop?

'No President has lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably'

acrobat — Mon, 10 Nov 2003 03:42:40 -0800

"Now we know that no other President of the United States has ever lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably... The presumption now has to be that he's lying any time that he's saying anything." So says Ray McGovern, who worked as a CIA analyst for 27 years. Now, who still believes the P(L)OTUS?

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 27 Aug 2003 12:36:25 -0800

Lies and the Lying Presidents Who Tell Them. The Washington Monthly publishes its "mendacity index" of the last four U.S. presidents, ranking their overall history (and severity) of lying. TWM's site also lets you rate them yourself, just in case ranking the 20 worst Americans got boring.

John Dean

thedailygrowl — Sat, 07 Jun 2003 23:33:25 -0800

Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense?

to war

the fire you left me — Sat, 07 Jun 2003 06:53:31 -0800

Is lying about the reason for a war an impeachable offense? A study in law regarding the current political situation in US ~~politics~~ warmongering.

Na-na-na-na-hey-hey-hey-GOODBYE!

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 19 May 2003 10:28:00 -0800

Ari needs a new job. According to his announcement, he plans to "do something more relaxing — like dismantle live nuclear weapons". It's likely he'll follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Joe Lockhart (consultant) or George Stephanopoulos (TV pundit) or Mike McCurry (Chairman and CEO of a software company). I'll bet this company could use a CEO. Maybe these people need a consultant? Come on, let's find Ari some work!

Articulate == Lying Loser?

gkostolny — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 14:31:43 -0800

Why articulate people make bad colleagues Nick Denton, proprietor of various websites, sometime columnist for Management Today, and supposed intelligent person has come up with this gem in his weblog: "But I've been interviewing software engineers, and find myself prejudiced against those that talk fluently. . . . Either they were born persuasive, and so they've always been able to get away with it; or else they've always broken promises, so they've had to learn how to explain away their failures." For the most part, I think he's wrong, but I can see where he's coming from. Should articulate people be banned from time-sensitive positions?

Propaganda - Disinformation: The Masters of the Lie

letterneversent — Fri, 15 Nov 2002 11:38:39 -0800

Propaganda - Disinformation: The Masters of the Lie What if the U.S. projected a holographic image of Allah floating over Baghdad urging the Iraqi people and Army to rise up against Saddam, a senior Air Force officer asked in 1990? The hubris and racism of American Psyops, who knows what the military is plotting now?

martk — Wed, 12 Jun 2002 09:29:58 -0800

UMass Researcher Finds Most People Lie In Everyday Conversation UMass Researcher Finds Most People Lie In Everyday Conversation "Most people lie in everyday conversation when they are trying to appear likable and competent, according to a study conducted by University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert S. Feldman and published in the most recent Journal of Basic and Applied Social Psychology…The study also found that lies told by men and women differ in content, though not in quantity. Feldman said the results showed that men do not lie more than women or vice versa, but that men and women lie in different ways. "Women were more likely to lie to make the person they were talking to feel good, while men lied most often to make themselves look better," Feldman said." Are you a liar? C’mon now, tell the truth.

zoopraxiscope — Wed, 15 May 2002 04:33:42 -0800

Lying with video. Researchers at MIT have created videos of people uttering sentences they never said that consistently fool viewers and are accepted by them as real. Once upon a time, it was a lot harder to be false with film, but whether the medium will be in any way trustworthy going forward seems doubtful. What will it mean when you can't even believe your own eyes?

johnb — Fri, 11 Aug 2000 02:52:12 -0800

John Stossel Reprimanded but not Fired by ABC - It is not exactly new information that Stossel has a habit of distorting facts and misleading the public. However, in this case he apparently thought he could get away with fabricating two complete sets of lab results related to food safety. Willingly disseminating false health information strikes me as a serious breach of journalistic ethics. In any case, ABC thinks a slap on the wrist will suffice, and tonight Stossel is expected to make an on-air apology. Will he admit he lied or blame an intern?