Bad Brakes, Too Much Gas, and the Little Rascals—a Quick Lesson on Deception Through Twisting Perception…
Those of you up to speed on your Little Rascals might have realized where I got the inspiration for the title of my last post: “Breaks is Gone, We’s Free-Wheelin!”. It came from the episode where Spanky and Buckwheat start downhill in their car fashioned from an old crate, and mid-way down realize their brakes (also homemade) are out.
I never questioned the title until I re-read it this week, and something ironic occurred to me.
The Toyota story wasn’t about bad brakes; they worked fine, didn’t they? The problem was just the opposite: Too much gas!
But consider this, having no way to stop and having too much power brings the same exact result: An out of control vehicle.
Is a little strange that two opposites could be contained in the same thing? You may have seen a version of the drawing here… it appears to be an image of one person, but if you stare at it long enough, another image appears.
This is a great metaphor for the way deception—when employed at its best—works: A person makes a statement that leads you to a false conclusion.
Suppose you believe John went to Miami last week, and you ask, “John, did you have fun in Miami?” If he didn’t go to Miami, but would like to believe he did, he can simply say, “Who can’t have fun in Miami? I always have a blast there!”
Confirming false notions is just one way people deceive others without having to tell an outright lie. John leads you to conclude he did in fact go to Miami… without actually saying it.
So deception is usually a matter of twisted perception—ours. One of the most common techniques is to throw just enough information out that we’re lured into drawing a false conclusion, the one they want us to leave with, of course.
You’ve heard the worn-out saying about whether the glass in half-empty or half full? When you’re evaluating the words people speak, always ask yourself: “What’s in the glass… and what’s missing?”
So if you’re interested in how to spot deception, here’s The Golden Rule nobody ever told you: Don’t do the work for them… if they didn’t say, be careful not to infer it.
-jef
Tags: Deception
We deceive ourselves because of self preservation. We deceive others for self preservation too.
The reason why I got hooked with ‘Deception Secrets’ is that I just want to live in the real world, see things as they are, be real and really live. Why? Self preservation.
Jef, you asked ‘Is a little strange that two opposites could be contained in the same thing? ‘ What a great insight. You just gave me a strategy here. Whenever we find ourselves in conflict with someone, or when we are in some kind of negotiation, we can always ask the question, what is the common objective or desired result in this situation? Many people get stuck in the struggle, they get stuck in competing with others, focusing on winning, and proving themselves right, instead of focusing on the the real issue or objective. When we are able to identify this, the struggle will end. Am I making sense? Maybe you can complete my thought..
Thanks Jef, keep on posting.
***Jeannie
Jeannie, well said… I like that you drew a correlation to negotiation, never thought of that but you’re right on! Self-preservation… HUGE motivator in everything. Thanks for your thoughts Jeannie!
-j