Everyone is told as a child- “Do not tell a lie.” Yet, human nature dictates that almost everyone, sooner or later, decides that it is not in their best interests to follow such a moral code. Despite George Washington and Mohandas Gandhi, founding fathers of two great nations, being revered in their respective countries for not breaking this code (Whether or not they did not tell lies at all is not relevant to my rant), their successors have been among the many blatant violators of the borders between truth an falsehood.
But I am not making moral judgments here, as I am not qualified to do so. If anyone is to stone the liars, it should be someone who has never lied themselves. To the best of my knowledge, both Washington and Gandhi are dead. (And even if they are alive, they have to finish stoning their fellow countrymen- who add up to over one and a half billion- before they can even think of reaching out to me.)
Why do we lie? While people in various fields might give various answers (e.g. Our developed cerebral cortices, The development of language, Greed, Lack of adequate moral upbringing, To protect oneself from the results of one’s actions, Cynicism, Satan), I think the real reason is simpler. We lie because we can.
Lies come in various shapes and sizes. The ubiquitous “white lie” is a phenomenon that has entrenched itself in the human mind so deep that it becomes natural, even when it is unnecessary. Lies said to hide someone’s mistakes are almost as prevalent. Then, there are lies that are told solely for profit, usually at the expense of somebody else.
We usually expect to be lied to in our lives. Yet we make a big fuss when we find out we’ve been lied to. We get angry at the person that lied. But, we usually get angrier at ourselves for not having spotted the lie sooner. Often, we would also have lied had we been on the other side of the same situation. Perhaps our lies wouldn’t have been as good or as deep. Perhaps we couldn’t have pulled it off so skillfully. Perhaps that is why we are angry in the first place.
The art of telling a good lie is an integral part of various facets of human life. Whether it be political propaganda, a placebo your physician prescribes you, the elaborate stunts in a blockbuster movie or the trick of a stage magician, deception is an important thing. Each of these is trying to make you feel better, despite knowing that what they are doing is essentially telling a lie. And, it works.
Lies work best in the short term, when an immediate result is needed. A politician or party that keeps on deceiving people will end up on the wrong side of history. However, in a crisis, they may need to tell a few lies to keep people calm, even when they have no real answers. The same is the case with placebo medications. They can be very useful in certain conditions, but if continued for a prolonged period, the patient will continue with the same response.
The actor and the conjurer are a different story. We go to the theater (or rent/download a movie) or a magic show expecting something that we do not see in our daily lives. We ask for deception. And, that is what they give us. We know the lead actor is not fighting with three bullets lodged somewhere in his chest. We know magicians (unlike pigs) can’t fly. Yet, we suspend our disbelief. And we get entertained.
Practicing the art of deception is a real balancing act. You have to sell the lie just right- like the porridge in the tale of Goldilocks. If your lie is too cold, it will be caught. If it is too hot, people will smell something fishy. The expert artists of the trade of deception spend years sharpening their act.
Any introductory book on the art of conjuring will discuss the palming of an object. The real secret is not in any particular configuration of the hand, but in moving the hand equally smoothly with or without the palmed object. This involves practice. While practicing, you are not trying to deceive anyone but yourself. You are trying to live your lie, to make it natural. Only when it feels natural will it look natural.
Confidence artists take this to another level. They really know how to live their lie. These are the people who can sell ice to an Eskimo and sand to a Bedouin. They have to do it in order to keep themselves safe from both the suspicion of their marks and the eyes of the law. And, since they know they have a lot to lose and even more to gain, they spend every resource and every unit of time trying to better their “artistic skills”.
Not all of us are confidence artists. Most of us only tell white lies most of the time. But even a white lie has to be convincing to be believed in. And unless you are lying to a child (I won’t judge you nor ask why), you had better believe in your lie before you try to sell it.
The best lies are those that make you feel good even when you find out that you were being lied to.
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