
Trust Me, I'm Lying - Kenan
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/05/trust-me-im-lying.html
======
paulsutter
Ask yourself:

-is it true?

-is it useful?

If the answer is no to either question, just skip it

~~~
baddox
Presumably you're using those two questions to determine whether you should
say aloud a thought in your head. The problem is that "is it useful?" is
pretty much semantically the same as "should I say it?"

~~~
paulsutter
There are useful statements that should be avoided.

Some statements are true but not useful. Like telling your grandmother that
she looks like an old hag. Some statements are useful but not true. Like
pretending to be sick to avoid school. The damage from the latter can be more
subtle but runs deeper.

Things that are both useful -and- true, those are worth saying.

It isn't always easy to tell what is useful, so it's best to rely on your
intention. It's good enough to mean the best. When uncertain about usefulness,
err on the side of being truthful.

------
th0ma5
I think in the modern business climate there is an emotion around wanting to
do the right thing, and it could be something of a appealing idea to latch on
to always being truthful, or radically honest. However, I think this is an
easy way out, for several reasons, most notably that honesty is not the same
as fact, and I would say facts are much more valuable than your honesty, and
ideally have nothing to do with you personally.

When talking about opinions I think many people can't help but be absolutely
honest when absolutely necessary, too, and this kind of honesty is different
than say "tough love" or even at times "straightforwardness." This is the
continuum of communication, I'm trying to speak to, and perhaps radical
honesty is a part of it. But if everyone were radically honest or straight
forward I just simply have to lie or be subtle or sarcastic or cynical or just
be silent to get any attention, or at least that's how I feel I might react to
it.

------
billsix
Why is this posted on hackernews?

~~~
mustafa0x
<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

> On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes
> more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the
> answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.

Someone found it interesting?

~~~
billsix
Thanks for that link.

I'm just surprised that this article is near the top of the front page, next
to Apple, John Carmack, Android ported to C#, and an OpenBSD release.

Seems to me that a few writer's articles always shoot to the top of this site,
regardless of topic. No disrespect intended towards those authors.

~~~
mustafa0x
I share your sentiments.

