The size of lying. How big is a lie?
  • Benj96
    2.3k
    A group of friends sit at a party, drinking, having a good time and the topic of sex comes up. Someone decides to ask how many sexual partners each person at the party has had in the past. A girl - Diana says 4 guys and one of the guys James - says 16 girls.

    Both are lying. In actual fact Diana and James have both slept with exactly 8 people but Diana halved the number and James doubled it both out of fear of what the others at the party might think if they told the truth.
    So did one of them tell a bigger lie than the other? Or is the degree of lying the same in each case.

    Both lied by a factor of 2 in either direction from the truth. The quality/ context of the lie is also the same (deception regarding the number of partners).
    But then consider accuracy. Diana is only out by four people from her true number whilst James is out by 8 people. He has included essentially twice the amount of inaccuracy in his statement.

    So did James make a bigger lie? Can we quantify lies like this? Or is a lie unquantifiable. Or is it simply that lies are only greater if they have more capacity to deceive or cause harm.

    And conversely what is there to be said about the size of a truth. Can one persons truth be greater than anothers? Is it a game if accuracy in the end?
    Benj96 Options
  • Outlander
    2.2k
    While we're on the topic of truth and lies, who are you Benji? :lol:

    You always ask these drive-by questions of, on occasion philosophical depth, yet I nary a time recall you participating in an in-depth discussion. Not to say I have often either, I leave my little input and continue on. Just curious. I'm sure others reading have a latent curiosity as well.

    But in the meantime... I'll present the obvious albeit clearly arguable answers.

    So did James make a bigger lie? — Benj96

    Depending on what one defines as bigger and what defines as a lie ... it's a toss-up. A lie is a lie. An inch over the line is not the same as a mile over the line, or is it? Is, in a social setting of abnormals in an abnormal fallen society (sorry, "modern day life" as the majority like to call it), considering you are told and raised to tell what are lies by pure definition, is doing so actually a form of truth? To many it is. The poor fools. Meanwhile, who could say.
    Outlander Options
  • TheMadFool
    13.8k
    One way to look at it would be to look into how many other lies need to be told to prop up the lies in question.

    Suppose Tom came into Sarah's room and broke the latter's TV while he was moving the couch for a better view. If Sarah asks you "was Tom here?", you could reply "yes" or "no". If you answered "no", you wouldn't have to lie about the new location of Sarah's couch and if you answered "yes" all you'd need to do is lie about the broken TV. Ergo, lying about Tom having not entered Sarah's room is a bigger lie for it needed to be supported by more lies and lying just about who broke the TV is a smaller lie.
    TheMadFool Options
  • Pfhorrest
    4.6k
    Oh baby my lie is the biggest. Most girls say it’s too big for them to even take it all. Think you’re up for the challenge? :eggplant: :peach:
    Pfhorrest Options
  • Benj96
    2.3k
    While we're on the topic of truth and lies, who are you Benji? :lol:

    You always ask these drive-by questions of, on occasion philosophical depth, yet I nary a time recall you participating in an in-depth discussion. Not to say I have often either, I leave my little input and continue on. Just curious. I'm sure others reading have a latent curiosity as well.     — Outlander

    Well... in all honesty ...If I knew who I was I would tell you. But I find myself questioning even that as my perception of myself or rather “the self” changes regularly. My question to you would be why do you want to know who I am or maybe, what answer are you expecting? Care to elaborate?
    Benj96 Options
  • Benj96
    2.3k
    3.8k
    Oh baby my lie is the biggest. Most girls say it’s too big for them to even take it all. Think you’re up for the challenge? :eggplant: :peach:     — Pfhorrest

    when you say “think you’re up to the challenge” do you mean “I” specifically or the proverbially “you” - a general question to any girl reading this.
    “I” as a man can confirm I’m not up to the challenge but I’m sure there are men out there with that inclination perhaps you can ask them
    Benj96 Options
  • LuckyR
    523
    ↪Benj96
    A couple of things. Firstly I wouldn't classify either as a lie since their audience didn't deserve the truth, ie it is an inappropriate question. Not that it shouldn't be asked, just that one shouldn't expect an answer. As to the relative nature of the two answers, Diana likely was being deceptive out of fear while James likely was being deceptive our of braggadocio. Thus I would be more sympathetic to Diana, though it would be an overstatement for me to describe James negatively.
    LuckyR Options
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