Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say. From a previous post:

It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentionally lying that there is so much falsehood in the world. - Samuel Johnson 

There may be a difference between carelessness about truth and in intentional lying but the symptoms and results are the same. The degree of sin committed is approximately equal.

How might one be "careless about the truth?" There are several different ways which come to mind.

- Failure to investigate fully.

- Ignoring a portion of truth which does not fit with the speakers point. I would call this the truth but not the whole truth.

- Making a joke. Most jokes are funny because they are careless with the truth.

Failure to investigate fully:

This might also be called jumping to a conclusion.  This is also the lazy way to prove your point. You find a fact which supports your hypothesis and quit looking.

Partial truth:

This is a technique employed every day by scammers. They talk authoritatively and provide verifiable truths which support their claim and ignore the facts which shoot down the theory. This was used extensively during the months leading up to Y2K by those predicting world collapse because of computer date handling deficiencies. Trouble was it didn't happen (in fact it didn't even cause a ripple). The fact that was ignored was the effort people went to to ensure their programs would be compliant. A lot of Doom and Gloomers made a lot of money selling books and people who make generators and sell bulk foods did pretty well too. Today the global warming folks are doing the same - in fact if you do it well you might even get a Nobel Prize! You don't "lie", you just select the truths that fit.

Make a Joke:

Humor is good - only when you use humor to "prove" your argument you are being careless with the truth (not funny).

What is the most common use of being careless with the truth? The courtroom. Think about it - when you are a witness you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The defense and prosecuting attorneys are not required to take a similar oath. Their job is to be careless with the truth and to keep the opposition from getting by with it. If fact, as a witness, you are able to only answer the specific question - you can't elaborate to tell the whole truth. The attorney's job is to fashion questions which prevent you from fulfilling your oath. If you think the purpose of a trial is to bring out the truth - give that idea up!

Be particularly wary of attorneys who are promoting Doom and Gloom - they are trained experts at being careless with the truth.