Most effective deceits are AlmostTrue. Is '''Mostly True ''' TrueEnough? Or is it a spin similar to ''slightly pregnant''? from WinstonChurchill: '''"''In wartime,'' truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies"''' * source: http://www.quotecha.com/quotes/quotation_16585.html * ''I think it is appropriate to leave out "In wartime", because after the SecondWorldWar there has never been peace. ColdWar, war waged by governments on its citizens, wars between corporate giants...''. But your point is taken too, since the original quote did start with the qualifier. * As opposed to before the SecondWorldWar, when there were large periods when everything was peaceful? * ''before the Wars, could be FirstWorldWar, WinstonChurchill did not say these words, and certainly not ones people remembered :)'' MarkTwain has offered good argument about the need to be vigilant about the distinction between things that are AlmostTrue, from what is true. * ''It is not what you do not know that will get you. It is what you do know that aint true'' ---- '''LiesM''''''yFatherTellsMe. I got no part in it''' See ''EmotionalI''''''gnorance'' article at http://www.darwinmag.com/read/090104/ignorance.html * Even PrettyGoodProgrammerWithGreatHabits may benefit from advice related to EmotionalIntelligence ---- '''Work in progress page started by MicrosoftSlave for CategoryBigPicture- links to modern day antipattern behavior and hopefully later on some good alternatives'' -- dl Please TolerateOffTopic ---- '''WinstonChurchill on truth''' * Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened * There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true * A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on ** some, including the above, from WinstonChurchill quotes at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/sir_winston_churchill.html ---- '''quotes On Truth''' selected from http://www.quotecha.com/ * Truth usually hurts in proportion to how much I have ignored or disbelieved it * One falsehood spoils a thousand truths * It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear * A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth * '''really good quotes''' also found at http://www.quotegarden.com/honesty.html ---- '''Wiki on True, Lies, Honesty, etc''' UsefulLie, DoNotLie, LieToYourManager, HowToLieWithStatistics, TrueLove, LiesMyTeacherToldMe, BeliefCreatesReality, BeliefsCreateReality, SomeNumbersAreLies, TellingLiesForFunAndProfit, TheTruthLiesInBetween, TruthAndBeautyDoesntPayTheBills, TriedAndTrue, TooTrueToBeFunny, TheSearchForTruthIsFutile, TellTheTruthButTellItSlant, SearchForTruth, PersonalTruth, NoTrueScotsman, IfItsNotInWritingItsNotTrue, HonestyException, CompletelyHonest, IntellectualHonesty, WhatItellYouThreeTimesIsTrue Add more when you find them, and make these into one big paragraph e.g. A TrueLove once said to me, DoNotLie unless it is a UsefulLie, TellTheTruthButTellItSlant, ..... ---- '''Anyone before said something similar?''' Not sure if it is correct, but let me put this hypothesis out: '' Happiness is knowing you have told yourself the painful truth '' -- 2004 Wiki contribution *Supporting arguments for above view (to be removed/deleted when fully discussed) ** Here I have asserted that being at peace with oneself is one of the highest levels of sustainable happiness. This is different from ecstasy which often is followed by a depressive cycle. ** We engage in SelfTalk more often than we talk to others (?true). If so, we would be happy if we have been truthful to ourselves (assertion no-one likes dishonesty from someone close to them) *People who support the assertion are welcomed to improve the wording. Lets make it a EgolessWiki contribution to the quotation sites, if nothing similar can be readily found ** One suggestion is to change the wording so it becomes apparent that we 'listen' to the painful truths we tell ourselves as well. This way we are free of internal conflict ** another suggestion is to work into the short statement that sometimes, our understanding of truth has to be modified. Realistically we cannot accept the ultimate truth (assertion - we need to grow sufficiently into a position to accept a closer to 'universal' truth * Suggestions for rewording please list here ** '''''' ("Happiness" seems an inappropriate word to juxtapose with "painful") -- dm **** But happiness is an important word in this "future quote" intended to communicate one pathway to happiness that lasts. My first version did not have the "painful" word in it **** I am happy to give up on the word "painful", but I am greedy in wanting to work into the short statement the fact that there is a price to pay for happiness and it is worth it. **** This is taking a different angle from saying "The Truth shall set you free" but there are similarities. Mine is more wordy but has specific advice and outcome, because "free" can be interpreted in a number of ways -- dl **** ''Well, I think wisdom brings long term happiness to some extent, it's just that, at the moment when one experiences pain from realizing a difficult truth -- that's a moment of pain and of insight; the happiness comes later. The pain, however, is utterly essential. Easy painless truths teach nothing, comparatively.'' ** '''''' *** Lying to yourself, or denial often blocks progress. This kind of truth are painful but can lead to rebirth ** '''Opposition Viewpoint: "Don't Worry, Be Happy"''' Who wants to be around someone who is always preaching "the painful truth." The reality is most of these statements are more painful than truthful. There is nothing inherently beneficial about being negative. ''No, there isn't, but nobody has much trouble accepting happy truth, so they're generally well-known. The problem is when people ignore the other half the picture. And I'm glad to be around people dedicated to truth.'' This seems to be setting up a strawman of "people dedicated to falsehood". People are dedicated to the truth ''as they individually understand it.'' When discussing different views of the truth, the "painful" modifier is more appropriate to the presentation rather than the content. People can and will disagree about the truth, but inflicting pain does not increase the value of one's viewpoint and hinders its consideration. One can and should express his understanding of the truth, but there is no additional value in negativity. Truths are not inherently "happy" nor "painful"; ''these modifiers come from their presentation''. * For 20.4.186.128 and the changes in Rev36 * When I set up the page, it was a strawman for a number of concepts difficult for me to articulate, following is an unordered list of '''"things" that have connections to each other''': ** '''Pursuit.Of.Truth.Isa.Pathway.To.Longterm.Happiness''' ** '''Highest.Achievementis.Contentmentand.Happiness''' ** '''HappinessIs (HappinessIsElusive?) ''' Perhaps it is a combination of some short-term feelings, blended with longer term satisfication ** '''Freedom.From.Internal''''''Conflict.Isa.Pathway.To.Longterm.Happiness''' ** '''Post.Baby''''''Boomers.Focussedon.Form''''''Without''''''Substance.Anditresultsin.Disintegrationin.Civilisation''''''And''''''Society''' ** '''Post.Baby''''''Boomers.Seek.Shortterm.Happiness.Anditcauses.Misery.Foreveryone.Including.Themselves''' ** '''Globalisation.Meant.Wecannot.Be''''''Happyand.Ignore.Otherpeoples.Misery''' * Sorry for the complexity for now * I do not understand "these modifiers come from their presentation". Please explain * Have you got comments related to the statement ''Happiness is knowing you tell yourself the painful truth ''? ---- '''"True Enough" and the "Whole Truth"''' "If you're going to investigate a proposition's truth value honestly you have to look at the counter-examples, the edge cases, the boundaries, the ambiguities. If you just look at the cases that support the proposition, then you're not dealing with truth at all but a "reasonably useful approximation" at best. To then claim that this reasonably useful approximation is an absolute truth is the height of intellectual dishonesty. And when you look at edge cases for the concept of "absolute truth", edge cases you'll never be familiar with without going into philosophy, then you find that the very notion of absolute truth is absolute crap as an absolute truth." -- copied from NoAbsoluteTruth at TheAdjunct See BinaryMilestone, where ScottJohnson says "almost" is a synonym for "not". * ''True''''''Enough :)'' ---- '''Random quote''': (No, I don't recall the author) Beware of the person who feels compelled to be ''"BrutallyHonest;"'' there is honesty and there is brutality, and they are seldom the same. * There is a difference being honest, but came across as brutual due to a lack of tact, vs the intention to be brutal under the guise of being honest ---- CategoryQuote CategoryBigPicture CategoryCommunication