If you don't know, don't bother googling. I'll just tell you. It's me.
I'm working on an assignment for a class and trying to lie. In short, we're going through a process of inventing something that's actually already been invented and, while doing so, we're pretending that it hasn't yet been invented.
So I chose to invent the sewing machine. And what a wonderful invention it is, if I do say so myself!
It's strangely challenging to play like it doesn't exist. I have to come up with several alternative concepts on my way to selecting the right design. The alternatives are difficult because the right design already exists! But I'm having fun conceptualizing epic fails.
So it's got me thinking about lying in general. I'd like to think that I'm not very good at it, but know I can do it in a pinch. I remember watching a Ted talk once about how we're lied to most every day from 10 to 200 times, and that we all do it. Certainly, some lies are more harmful and mean spirited than others, and I THINK I don't do those kinds.
Heck, we've never even had the Santa Claus game going on at our house, nor that of his cousin the Tooth Fairy. I know there are those who say it makes Christmas and dentition more "magical" for kids, but Magnum and I just couldn't bring ourselves to play along.
But I do go along with the harmless ones like, "Ha! You're funny!" or "Nice hair color!"
Then there's the playful ones, like when I get a text from the phone company or such during dinner and Magnum asks what it is and I tell him, "It's just my lover, wondering about your schedule this week". At least I think he knows I'm lying, but it's good to keep him on his toes.
I watched a movie recently for which lying is a central theme. Lies and their motives, reactions when a lie is uncovered... The movie is "Wreckers" (bad plot synopsis on Rotten Tomatoes, ignore it), and it's the one I was going to watch for the Super Bowl, but then the Super Bowl ended up being watchable this year. So I watched the movie in snippets last week while doing other things. In all, I think I watched it at least two times over those snippets.
I won't lie (see what I did there?), I mainly chose it because Benedict Cumberbatch is in it, but I liked the movie. I thought the performances were all well done, and I also liked how we weren't spoon fed all of the motives behind some of the actions of the characters. We're left to draw our own conclusions.
I'm sure some people would think the film moves too slowly, want things to be more spelled out, or won't like that it doesn't wrap up so nicely at the end. But I liked it, it made me think. Plus, well... Benedict Cumberbatch. It's a different role for him, not the usual pompous intellectual.
Do you consider yourself a "good" liar? Is there a lie that was difficult for you to tell?
Welp, I gotta go. Benedict Cumberbatch just texted me. He wants to see my secret working sewing machine prototype.
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9 comments:
Sorry here, but I gotta disagree. I cannot tell a lie. Okay, maybe I can cuz I just did. I can lie to a stranger, or someone I don't have a close relationship with, but with someone I care for? I honestly don't ever, ever, lie. I just think the worst thing in the world would be to get caught in a lie. My mom made that a requirement in letting me out of the closet when I was a kid. "You lie, you're going back in the basement" was another one of those threats that kept me honest.
I'd have to say I'm pretty good at not telling the whole truth, but to outright lie? Nope. Can't do it. Even if it's in fun, I crack up laughing before I get the whole lie out.
Your project sounds like it would be fun! Although I would never have chosen to invent the sewing machine. Even with it's already perfect design, every time I use it there's an epic fail. An ice cream maker is more my speed.
Agreed! The stress of possibly getting caught is SO not worth it. It amazes me that some people are able to do it so easily.
Yup, like I said, we couldn't even pull of Santa Claus, let alone anything else. Ice cream maker - now THAT was revolutionary!
Hmmm, I'm an epic liar. Not so much anymore, but it was actually something I had to consciously work on. It was never anything super big and bad, but I was very good at manipulating the truth to get what I wanted. Now I use my powers for good and tell the truth to anyone who asks. It usually scares people away pretty fast.
If you always tell the truth, you don't have to remember what lie you told.
I can tell you the truth and you would believe me, but I would not be saying what you believed. But, I don't lie unless you asked me about your new recipe or such and I am sure I will never see you again and have to eat it again.
Ha! Loved your ending. I apparently have a "tell" because whenever my husband hears me on the phone he asks me what I was lying about when I hang up. (Well, not every time!) So I guess I can't lie to him.
Sew it was YOU that invented that machine?
I have some sort of warped sense of honest that makes it hard for me to lie. Not that I cannot turn a tale or two, but not when it matters. In life, there are a few times where a lie may be better than the truth. But, I am with Practical, if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember the lie. I guess that is what Brian Williams should have remembered...
For better or worse, I am terrible at hiding how I feel (I'd suck at poker), which I suppose makes me a terrible liar. I haven't tried it for awhile! Now I'm interested. Lied to 10 to 200 times a day? Does text on shampoo bottles count?
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