I'm Not Gonna Lie To You...
...except, I probably am! I'm a shameless exaggerator. Shameless. (In fact, my level of exaggeration is the one thing I don't exaggerate about, so you can trust me on this one point.) For instance, in our meetings I've been known to wave my hands around like I'm landing a plane -- all the while insisting that "the price of manure has skyrocketed and we've absolutely got to cover this s#$t!!!" (For the record -- the price is at a record high, but skyrocketed is a -- wait for it -- exaggeration.) I regularly used to inflate my age -- even when I wasn't in bars -- and now I regularly (sigh) deflate it. I'm 5'8" feet tall.* My cat can read. I failed geometry three times.** I took the trash out -- and I paid that bill in full! (It's a nuance, but I'm pro'ly a bit of a fibber, too, I realize.) Well, a small study in the journal Emotion says that this kind of exaggeration isn't really about deceiving other people -- it's simply a reflection of our hopes and dreams. (I hope and dream my cat will read -- and talk someday!) We're talking to one of the authors of the study, but we really want to to hear from you. So, 'fess up, y'all. What truth have you stretched -- and what have you simply snapped?
*5'3"
**Only twice.
Tags: exaggeration | fibbing
1:56 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink
