Honesty is the best policy

World-renown psychologist Paul Ekman's research shows that people lie an average of once every 8 minutes. That means most people lie almost 200 times a day. But within these 200 lies, there are things we lie about as a formality, and things we lie about to be polite to others. In contrast to lies we tell to maliciously deceive others, these lies we believe we're telling for the benefit of others. A joint study between the evolutionary psychology departments of an English and Finnish university showed that white lies sowed a greater sense of community within society.
Yet regardless of intentions, a lie is still a deception, and a white lie can often give false hope. So can we really claim that some lies are told to help others? Or is it always a selfish act?
This week, Shooters asks, "Are some lies kind?"