#lies

The only ethical principle which has made science possible is that the truth shall be told all the time. If we do not penalize false statements made in error, we open up the way for false statements by intention. And a false statement of fact, made deliberately, is the most serious crime a scientist can commit. ↗

— Dorothy L. Sayers

#falsification #honesty #integrity #lies #scholars

You want to tell a story? Grow a heart. Grow two. Now, with the second heart, smash the first one into bits. Gross, right? A bloody pulpy liquid mess. Look at it, try to make sense of it. Realize you can't. Because there is no sense. Ask your computer to print out a list of every lie you have ever told. Ask yourself how much of the universe you have ever really seen. Look in the mirror. Are you sure you're you? Are you sure you didn't slip out of yourself in the middle of the night, and someone else slipped into you, without you or you or any of you even noticing? ↗

— Charles Yu

#hearts #identity #lies #mirrors #sense

Because if we were all created idealists, then life was bound to be one relentless disappointment. But then, there was also music. We unlearned the lies with one hand and repeated them with the other. ↗

— Nikolai Grozni

#lies #life

I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't. ↗

— Mark Twain

#lie

I guess sometimes you have to lie to find the truth. ↗

— Scott Westerfeld

#lies #truth #lie

Half of writing history is hiding the truth. ↗

— Joss Whedon

#foucault #history #lies #truth #lie

When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts. ↗

— Michael Ende

#lies #power #belief

Phoebe realized how very wrong she’d been about this house, this family. It was far darker, more dangerous than the places she’d grown up in. In the dingy little apartments her mother rented, everything was out in the open. Their lives were dirty and squalid, but they didn’t pretend to be anything else. Here, things seemed so normal, so perfect, but it was all a deception. ↗

— Jennifer McMahon

#families #family

Truth hurts. But lies can kill. ↗

— Karen Marie Moning

#karen-marie-moning

I need some space." "Because of my past?" "No, because of mine. When I'm around you I feel like I'm falling. I need to stop before I smash into the ground." "Are you always so honest?" "No. Mostly I'm a liar like you. ↗

— Anna McPartlin

#falling-in-love #humour #lies #love