"The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted."
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Mid 18th Century German Scientist
We've covered this before and the comment consensus is that there can be no gray area; you either are truthful or you're not. But I don't see things that clear cut in the real world.
Call it what you will, white lies, bending the truth, distortions, etc., accidental or purposeful, is ingrained in business and I'm not talking about the blatant Enron stuff. Day-to-day seemingly minor distortions, sometimes with negative consequences, sometimes not.
Do you see it?
Do you do it?
Mid 18th Century German Scientist
We've covered this before and the comment consensus is that there can be no gray area; you either are truthful or you're not. But I don't see things that clear cut in the real world.
Call it what you will, white lies, bending the truth, distortions, etc., accidental or purposeful, is ingrained in business and I'm not talking about the blatant Enron stuff. Day-to-day seemingly minor distortions, sometimes with negative consequences, sometimes not.
Do you see it?
Do you do it?
Yes I see it and yes I do it although I'll not say so publicly.
ReplyDelete"White lies" are interesting because for many, they are not lies. Add to that unintended distortions; things people believe and say but are not true, and it is difficult to separate fact from fiction.
ReplyDeleteBut the quote says "moderately distorted", which to me, rules out "white lies".
ReplyDeletePurposeful, "moderate distortion" sounds pretty bad.
So how do we decide what is and is not truthful and what happens when you work in a company where management see things differently than you do?
ReplyDelete"truths moderately distorted" and "bending the truth"... Odd... Truths are true! Isn't this type of manipulation what we do with untruths or lies?
ReplyDeleteSuppose you tell your co-worker/client/boss "I think I can get that analysis you want, done on time."
ReplyDeletePrivately to yourself you believe there is only a 50/50 chance you can make the deadline, due to circumstances beyond your control.
Were you truthful and for those inclined to say not completely, did you lie?
Keep in mind the only thing you said was, "I think I can get that analysis you want, done on time." No mention of the odds nor why you may not make it.
What if you believe you have a 66% chance of making the deadline?
i think the key determinant here is what your intention or state of mind was in making a statement that can be considered to be a white lie or distortion.
ReplyDeleteso in your exmample waugust, if you knew in your mind that you had no intention of making the deadline but for whatever reason (valid or not), you told your boss that 'i think i can get it done on time', then i would say that you're engaging in deception. Because it would've been just as easy for you to tell your boss that you'll do your best to get it done on time but you think there's only a 50-50 chance due to x, y and z reasons.
i would never describe myself as an idealist but i tend to believe that the concept of 'white lies' and 'unintended distortion' were created by those who were seeking to justify their inappropriate actions e.g. i cheated on my wife but it was only once and i was drunk so there's no reason to let her know or i under-reported my income because the tax code in this country in ridiculous and the government is going to waste my money anyway.
doessn't seem like very compelling arguments to me...
I agree with you more than non Anonymous but the devil is in the details.
ReplyDeleteIf as you said, the fictitious person in my example knew they had no intention of making the deadline, and still told their boss they thought they would, they lied. However the scenario was they thought they had a 50/50 shot.
You're right in saying they could have told the boss that the odds were 50/50 but did not doing so make what they did say a lie?
For me this all comes down to understanding that how much of what we know for certain, believe or suspect, and tell others including those that only want to hear as little as possible, will determine how truthful we appear to be.