What lies do you tell?

Lies--everyone tells them occasionally, and if someone tries to refute that they don't lie themselves, then chances are that they're not telling the truth either. But what defines something as a "lie" anyways? The dictionary defines it as, "1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood," and also as, "2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression." This holds some truth, but I have my own definition of what a lie is: something said or done with the purpose of some type of advantage or benefit to the culprit. And there's not just one type of lie either, but many different kinds used in many different situations. Essentially, lies fall into three major categories: small white lies, embellishments, and the dreadful "look-your-mother-straight-in-the-eye-and-not-tell-the-truth" type of lie.

Small White Lie is the youngest of three brothers. He's seemingly harmless, but is actually also known by the name of "gateway fib."

Jonas og Thomasine Lie med tre av sine barnebarn

Jonas og Thomasine Lie med tre av sine barnebarn

Lies and Galia

These are the false statements that make things more convenient for the offender. Late for work again? Simply tell a Small White Lie to your boss and things are magically better. He's instantly no longer mad at you because you gave him the explanation that "you had to take your grandmother to see the doctor." Now, how can he be angry with you for caring for your granny? So he lets your lack of punctuality slide. But one does not think of the consequences. It was so easy avoiding punishment, so the cognitive thinker realizes using Small White Lie actually works, and they naturally use him as a defense. Any time something goes wrong, the first option is to tell a Small White Lie. And this goes on for some time, just a few small harmless lies here and there, until something bigger happens. When Small...