“Liar, liar, pants on…they make your butt look great, Honey.”

Apparently, in any conversation lasting 10 minutes, the average person will lie three times. That’s according to renowned psychologist Paul Ekman. I’m not going to lie: when I first heard this statistic I thought to myself, “Well, I don’t lie that often.” But, maybe I do. Read on.

Here’s my second non-lie: I haven’t actually read any of his work, so I have no idea what Ekman considers a lie to be. My Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a lie as “to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive”. Ouch. The second definition: “to create a false or misleading impression”. Not quite as harsh, but hardly flattering. “To lie” has such a negative connotation; it’s something ugly and hurtful. But what if the liar creates a “misleading impression” in order to spare a friend some hurt feelings? Or if a poor, beleaguered husband gives an “untrue statement” to bolster his wife’s self-image (see title)? Lies? Yes, technically. Necessary for the ongoing good of mankind? I think so. True, not all “misleading impressions” are created for the altruistic purpose of being nice to others. Most of the time they’re for covering our own butts. But I’m not here to judge. Whether right or wrong, we “average persons” have a tendency toward wanting to walk the smooth road, and sometimes it takes three lies every ten minutes to do it. And that’s no lie.