At 02:49 PM 11/21/03 +0000, you wrote:
>I'm sure these are all commonplaces for you, but I
>guess what I want to ask is how it is possible to lie
>so badly and get away with it, particularly when it's
>the liar who exposes his own fraud!
Its not enough to be able to lie with a straight face; anybody with enough gall to raise on a busted flush can do that. The first way to lie artistically is to tell the truth-but not all of it. The second way involves telling the truth, too, but is harder: Tell the exact truth and maybe all of it, but tell it so unconvincingly that your listener is sure you are lying.
Robert Heinlein, _Time Enough for Love_
^^^^^
CB: Isn't one of the tests for whether a computer is conscious whether or not it can lie ?