1st February 2006, 8:50 PM
It's fine to "just make up stuff" so long as you make it clear it is made up.
And further, it does more than hurt reputations. This sort of lying does damage to the individual. This sort of thing gives false impressions on what to expect from life.
Imagine now if instead of lying about stuff that at least COULD happen they took it too far and lied about things that couldn't happen. Imagine if this man wrote a story about his life and included a part where some police beat him up because of his drug addiction. Perhaps the goal may have been that while the story didn't happen, it "surely does" in this guy's mind and the idea is to get people outraged enough to do something about his imagined fear of police beating up drug users.
These are the "little jumps" people make. When they "know" something is true but can't find any proof they might just "exxagerate" by making up some personal "true story" that, while not exactly happening to THEM, they know has happened to SOMEONE, to prove a point.
And further, it does more than hurt reputations. This sort of lying does damage to the individual. This sort of thing gives false impressions on what to expect from life.
Imagine now if instead of lying about stuff that at least COULD happen they took it too far and lied about things that couldn't happen. Imagine if this man wrote a story about his life and included a part where some police beat him up because of his drug addiction. Perhaps the goal may have been that while the story didn't happen, it "surely does" in this guy's mind and the idea is to get people outraged enough to do something about his imagined fear of police beating up drug users.
These are the "little jumps" people make. When they "know" something is true but can't find any proof they might just "exxagerate" by making up some personal "true story" that, while not exactly happening to THEM, they know has happened to SOMEONE, to prove a point.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)