Stormbringer's Thunder

Whoever practices evil pays attention to wicked speech, and the liar listens to malicious talk. (Prov. 17:4 , ISV) Buona sera. Although I have written about this before, I thought it needed to be revisited. Briefly. Some people that I have to deal with seem to have a great deal of confusion about lies. This is a bit surprising to me, because I thought everyone knew that a lie is a deliberate false statement with the intent to deceive. That's the basic form. You can lie in other ways, such as withholding relevant information or even telling the truth in such a way that it is not accepted. For the most part, a lie involves the intent to deceive. And I think most people know that. "How are people confused about lies, Cowboy Bob?" There are several things that occur in the course of communication, and certain rabid dogs will try to bite you with the epithet, "Liar!" Mistakes. Maybe it was simple carelessness, maybe it was irresponsibly repeat...

And now for the exciting conclusion of yesterday's broadcast! Part 1 is here . Some things that lying is not: Mistakes.  I dislike it when people will say something like, "I spent three hours on that project. Oh, wait, I lied, it was two hours." No, the speaker simply made a mistake. Don't beat yourself up, mmmkay? Carelessness. Sometimes (especially in online forums and such) people will misquote. It happens. Accept correction graciously and move on. Misunderstanding. Sorry that you misunderstood me. I should either rewrite it or you should reread it. Creative embellishments. Nobody has "said it a million times", that's just hyperbole to make a point. Writers (and speakers) expect readers (and listeners) to have some degree of sense.  Jokes can be a form of creative embellishment, or they can be "free-standing". Some people need to get a sense of humor, capice? Disagreement. You think this , I believe that ; neither one is...

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” — Friedrich Nietzsche Buon giorno. Yours truly is a bit wired today, and ready to give you a couple of lessons on lying. Yes, two: First, some explanation on what lying really means (and doesn't mean), and second, why it's counterproductive. "Why do people lie, Uncle Bob?" Some are compulsive liars and cannot help themselves. It may be that the truth is unflattering to them, so they have to make themselves look better than they really are. Sometimes it's because they are selfish and greedy, so if lying is a means to an end, that's fine with them. Further, people who are consumed with hate will say anything to hurt the object of their ire. The intent to deceive is an integral part of lying. Lying has several aspects: The obvious, flat-out lie. "Did you come in a half an hour late to work?"..."No..." Also, there was a "sc...