Chapter 5

The truth is, everybody lies. You can't get through life without telling lies and you can't get very far in life if all you tell are lies. A damned if you do or damned if you don't scenario. It's what the philosophers call a paradox. Example, you go to the car dealership to get your car serviced, but you decide to wait in the waiting room for them to finish because it's only going to take about 45 minutes. But before you can even sit down, a salesperson approaches you to inquire a few details of your car. Yes, you can ignore him and go sit down on the comfy chairs to watch television, or you can give him the false belief that you might be interested in upgrading to a newer model. Is this really so bad?

You go with the salesperson, but instead of taking you directly to the lot as you had discussed, he takes you inside the dealership building where he wants you to sit down while he asks you a few questions. Now who has lied to whom? You answer the questions and finally go out to the lot where all of the shiny new cars are parked. You find one you like and the salesperson starts asking you questions that can only lead to one conclusion. But, he senses that you are a flighty individual and suggests that you go for a test drive because you still have half an hour to kill before your own car is ready. Next thing you know you're driving a brand new car down the road and all you did was say yes when you should have said no. But again, who had lied to whom?