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Why do people lie about stuff they have absolutely no need to?

JEDI

JEDI

Lifer
I was at the doctor's office for a check-up. In the waiting room, i noticed a guy in his 30's wearing a nice looking tie and asked him about it. He said he got it at a tie store in the mall. i said i pass that store all the time since i eat lunch at the mall often, and i never noticed them selling that style of tie before.

then he begins to backtrack, and finally says his wife bought him the tie.

WTF?!?!!

Why lie when you have absolutely no reason to?!

Anyone have insight to this?
 
Some people just cant help it. I have a friend who I have caught lying to me about 20-30 times and that too about minor stuff like "What did you do lat weekend?". After confronting him the first few times and getting more BS in return, I have come to accept that some people are just liars by nature. Needless to say, everything he says to be goes through a BS filter before I believe a word of it.
 
because he didn't want to talk to you

no but seriously, if you live in a large city, people lie, cheat, steal, scam each other like nothing. Maybe that's just my experience
 
Many, many people "lie" about insignificant things in order to keep it short, simple, one-sided, etc.. Myself included.

This tie incident isn't really one of those situations, so it is a bit more strange.. But sometimes you need to explain something to someone without telling them the whole backstory, in which case you rearrange or change details slightly so they will understand it.

At least that's what is going through my head when I do it. It's not like I would make up some grand story to make my weekend seem better than it really was if someone asked what I did or something. That's a "real" lie.
 
Originally posted by: JEDI
I was at the doctor's office for a check-up. In the waiting room, i noticed a guy in his 30's wearing a nice looking tie and asked him about it. He said he got it at a tie store in the mall. i said i pass that store all the time since i eat lunch at the mall often, and i never noticed them selling that style of tie before.

then he begins to backtrack, and finally says his wife bought him the tie.

WTF?!?!!

Why lie when you have absolutely no reason to?!

Anyone have insight to this?
Click to expand...
I bet he's got a lot of ties, and when you asked him about that one, he couldn't remember exactly where it came from, so he offered you the most probable and easily acceptible answer he could conjure in the moment. During your subsequent inquiry, he probably discovered in his memory that he was mistaken, and corrected himself.

A related question might be "Why did you automatically assume he was lying and not simply mistaken?"

-Garth

 
I make stuff up all the time. He is a wuss for giving in so easy. The other day, I was at a restaurant in a suit and tie having just atteded a wedding. When the waitress asked why I was dressed up, I told for work. Just didn't feel like talking about it.
 
Originally posted by: DainBramaged
I make stuff up all the time. He is a wuss for giving in so easy. The other day, I was at a restaurant in a suit and tie having just atteded a wedding. When the waitress asked why I was dressed up, I told for work. Just didn't feel like talking about it.
Click to expand...
Exactly.

I guess technically, it is a lie.. But in your mind, it is different.. heh.
 
It sounds to me like you were a little confrontational. Who asks someone about something they're wearing and then responds with some nonsense like, "I go by there all the time and I never saw that style." I would immediately assume you to be some kind of a freak and say whatever necessary to drop the conversation.

 
Originally posted by: DainBramaged
I make stuff up all the time. He is a wuss for giving in so easy. The other day, I was at a restaurant in a suit and tie having just atteded a wedding. When the waitress asked why I was dressed up, I told for work. Just didn't feel like talking about it.
Click to expand...

It seems sad that you're so dismissive of someone that you'll just lie to their face.
 
Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: DainBramaged
I make stuff up all the time. He is a wuss for giving in so easy. The other day, I was at a restaurant in a suit and tie having just atteded a wedding. When the waitress asked why I was dressed up, I told for work. Just didn't feel like talking about it.
Click to expand...

It seems sad that you're so dismissive of someone that you'll just lie to their face.
Click to expand...

Actually, I just made up that story. 😛


j/k That was a true story but now you will never know.
 
Originally posted by: JEDI
I was at the doctor's office for a check-up. In the waiting room, i noticed a guy in his 30's wearing a nice looking tie and asked him about it. He said he got it at a tie store in the mall. i said i pass that store all the time since i eat lunch at the mall often, and i never noticed them selling that style of tie before.

then he begins to backtrack, and finally says his wife bought him the tie.

WTF?!?!!

Why lie when you have absolutely no reason to?!

Anyone have insight to this?
Click to expand...

why are people stupid enough to turn small talk into a debate? hmmmm.

OP wants to know.
 
I do this all the time. I want people to think I am "normal". I don't like having conversations with people I will never see again. I don't like probing questions.

A white lie spares me the tension and akwardness associated with discussing something I don't want to discuss, and spares the other person the discomfort associated with me ignoring them or telling them I don't really care.

Two prominent examples I can think of. I deposit graduation money in the bank. Teller looks at the size of my balance and asks "do you want to go ahead and open up a checking account" No. If I wanted a checking I would have researched them, gone to the appropriate bank and asked to open a checkings. I tell him I am not 18 (true, but dismissive). He responds "I can make an exception" (read: we like the size of your account). I tell him I already have a checking account at another bank. I was "caught."

If people ask me where I go to school, I just respond with the local state U. People ask if you have a girlfriend -- just say no. Etc. Etc.

Of course, all this only applies if you don't feel like conversation.
 
Originally posted by: MisterPresident
I do this all the time. I want people to think I am "normal". I don't like having conversations with people I will never see again. I don't like probing questions.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: MisterPresident
I do this all the time. I want people to think I am "normal". I don't like having conversations with people I will never see again. I don't like probing questions.

A white lie spares me the tension and akwardness associated with discussing something I don't want to discuss, and spares the other person the discomfort associated with me ignoring them or telling them I don't really care.

Two prominent examples I can think of. I deposit graduation money in the bank. Teller looks at the size of my balance and asks "do you want to go ahead and open up a checking account" No. If I wanted a checking I would have researched them, gone to the appropriate bank and asked to open a checkings. I tell him I am not 18 (true, but dismissive). He responds "I can make an exception" (read: we like the size of your account). I tell him I already have a checking account at another bank. I was "caught."

If people ask me where I go to school, I just respond with the local state U. People ask if you have a girlfriend -- just say no. Etc. Etc.

Of course, all this only applies if you don't feel like conversation.
Click to expand...

So, basically, you have mental problems?
 
Maybe he thought his wife got it at that store, so when you asked where he got it, he figured you wanted to buy one like it, so he told you what store he thought it was from.

 
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: MisterPresident
I do this all the time. I want people to think I am "normal". I don't like having conversations with people I will never see again. I don't like probing questions.

A white lie spares me the tension and akwardness associated with discussing something I don't want to discuss, and spares the other person the discomfort associated with me ignoring them or telling them I don't really care.

Two prominent examples I can think of. I deposit graduation money in the bank. Teller looks at the size of my balance and asks "do you want to go ahead and open up a checking account" No. If I wanted a checking I would have researched them, gone to the appropriate bank and asked to open a checkings. I tell him I am not 18 (true, but dismissive). He responds "I can make an exception" (read: we like the size of your account). I tell him I already have a checking account at another bank. I was "caught."

If people ask me where I go to school, I just respond with the local state U. People ask if you have a girlfriend -- just say no. Etc. Etc.

Of course, all this only applies if you don't feel like conversation.
Click to expand...

So, basically, you have mental problems?
Click to expand...


Nah, the last line is kind of a disclaimer.
 
Heres an example.

I used to work at a grocery store as a bagger, and we would help people to their cars, the whole nine yards. Well some people, instead of saying no, would make things up, like, I have a full car and need to rearrange things it in, or I have a big dog that doesn?t like strangers in the car. Either way, I would still insist on taking their groceries out and come to find they have no dog, and their car is as empty as a church on Super Bowl Sunday.

Maybe people think it?s easier to make up a lie like that, than be honest and just say no, I don?t want your help. Who knows, people are weird.

seth
 
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