I find it strange how in the US we know our 16th President Abraham Lincoln as having been particularly "honest" -- thus the nickname, "Honest Abe." I wonder how many times I may have heard this as a youth, such that it is deeply programmed into my own brain. Can a person spend their entire life without lying? It seems impossible. Although I do think it is possible that one can evolve later in life such that they come to the conclusion that lying is not such a great thing to do, and thus attempt to become more honest instead of less. What is the value of honesty?
Lying tends to get you into trouble. We know this from experience. A lie, when introduced into the space of people, tends to morph out of control. It gets chaotic and can often spin into something terrible. But what affects the liar the most, is when the trail of chaos leads back to the liar himself. In this case, they are officially christened as a "liar." I think the worst case though is when the real liar can go free when during the backtracking process the wrong person is pointed to as being the source of the lie. Lying is bad stuff.
Honesty is said to be "the best policy." When you're honest, then you're really saying what you think. But saying what you think can also get you into trouble. Even if what you say is the 100% truth, people can still come after you with might. Being right sometimes doesn't matter so much when everyone thinks you are wrong. Like the scientist Antoine Lavoisier "the father of modern chemistry" was executed for being right. The late 1700s in France: a bad time to be an innovator for sure.
Both lying and being honest can cause problems. When being creative, you really have to lie to yourself that you think you are doing something new. If you are truly honest with yourself, you'll just look at the work of Klee, Mondrian, Duchamp, etc. and realize it's best to just keel over and disappear.
By lying to yourself, you are often able to innovate. You trick yourself into believing you are headed into something exotic and wonderful where no one has gone before. You imagine the thrill and seethe in the selfishness of seeing the chest of gold for the first time. You bask in your own glory that you are truly right and everyone else is wrong. And if you stay there too long, nobody will care for you. You are stuck in your own world. Your happiness is your happiness. That is that.
So in conclusion, a careful cocktail of lying and honesty seems to be a good apertif when approaching a creative task. Start from the lie, and find your way back to honesty. Pinocchio had it right.
Posted by maeda at February 24, 2007 03:46 PM