And speaking of beer, I attended an interesting lecture by Professor Dan Ariely on Saturday morning. I was invited along by Jewlicious Michelle and she’s written such a good summary of an excellent talk that I’ll encourage you to read that.
The name of the lecture, “Free Beer,” is an honestly dishonest title for such an event. We did not get drunk off free beer, there were no bottles of delicious Scotch whiskey, there wasn’t a bar with free wine like the one at the Presidential Conference; but there was coffee, cake, and lunch….
Ariely began his lecture by asking the audience how we perceive ourselves. As it turns out, the group (myself included) was unique in that, unlike the rest of the human race, we are wonderfully honest people who never lie. Truth be told, we all lie, we know we do, and yet we still think of ourselves as perfectly honest people. How can this be? Through his research, Ariely has discovered multiple reasons explaining this fact of life.
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“Little cheaters,” or those who take a little bit from various places, actually have a far more financially detrimental effect, but get little or no attention in society. On the other hand, the few “big cheaters” get all the attention, but actual damage done is far less devastating.
I do encourage you to read the whole piece, especially her conclusions about what a lack of honesty is doing for our society.
