World, get off the lying meme

Many believe the world is full of liars.

A couple of years ago a few of these believers made a movie, creating an opposite world.

I guess they thought this would be funny, and would resonate with the irony of the opposite. And maybe even be uplifting. Not to mention educational.

Right?

Well, No. The conceit failed. Despite featuring charismatic and popular stars, The Invention of Lying barely covered its costs.

I could have told them this would happen. I could have told them the irony would be feckless.

Guys, the reason the movie did not make money is your premise was wrong. The world is not made corrupt by being full of liars.

Yes, the world is full of people who say untrue things. But they believe in truth and consciously believe the things they say are true.

It is only subconsciously they know what they say is false.

And now a picture of some kids. Because kids [Hollywood's #1 audience] know.

They can tell that many of the adults in their world are not completely honest human beings. But also that they are not liars.

The lying meme is feckless. Please, world, get off it. That would be step 1 for you to begin to work out what is really wrong.

not just 2, not just 3, but 4 ways people relate to truth

My father once told me there were two types of people in the world:

- truth-tellers
- liars

Later on I learned that there were two other types. One being

- bullshitters

These are people who don't care whether the things they say are true or false. They say things for utility-effect only.

what about the 4th group?
Even today few seem to get that there are also

- unconscious frauds

These are people who care about truth, but whose livelihood depends on telling lies. Trained or self-trained, over time these people suppress their knowledge of some truth, and tell more and more lies.

These frauds are almost always believed, because they believe what they are saying

"It's not a lie if you believe it"

Typically, unconscious frauds run in packs, or professions, and/or have institutional power behind them.

telling these groups apart
Sophisticated people can tell apart liars, bullshitters and truth-tellers just by looking at them talk. But to detect an unconscious fraud requires looking somewhat at the content being talked about. This means reading, or other work, sometimes hard work.

books
- a praised book about Bullshitters.

- a little-known book about "innocent frauds". I haven't read it, but it sounds like the same group.

please remember
The unconscious frauds are sometimes the way they are because of ego, or habit. This means if -in the process of distinquishing these 4 types of people -you politicize things, you could easily find yourself blind to those who share your political goals.

the muddle of opposites

(click photos for bigger)
Long ago, a mental universe like these



was replaced by one like these



but now, in the collective unconscious are things like these



In an upcoming post: why.


in case you prefer
words to pictures
For ages humanity felt an underlying formality of imagined elements. For instance, Wood + Fire + Earth + Metal + Water
[earlier post]

Not anymore.

The Industrial Revolution changed what people feel is behind things. The ancient imaginings ended, but what replaced them was not modern concepts (like atoms or quarks).

There may have been a brief period when people imagined that things merged into other things illogically. But now, for sure, people feel a muddle of opposites becoming each other.