Two Fish, Two Boys and A Lie: The Science of Deception
Alix Spiegel takes questions from the audience. Emily Hellewell/NPR hide caption
Alix Spiegel takes questions from the audience.
Emily Hellewell/NPRLast night, NPR Science Desk Correspondents Jon Hamilton, Alix Spiegel and Shankar Vedantam were live on stage at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., to tell a story about a fish. Two fish, actually. And the two boys who lied about catching those fish.
NPR Science Desk Correspondents Jon Hamilton, Alix Spiegel and Shankar Vedantam on stage at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. Emily Hellewell/NPR hide caption
In front of a full house, Jon, Alix and Shankar dissected the fish lie--as well as the lies we all tell--from the perspective of the latest research in neuroscience, sociology and psychology. Each angle provided a unique perspective about deception and even self-deception.
One of the more interesting conclusions reached over the course of the evening? Lying just might come more naturally to us than telling the truth.