>> I might go on to say that I grew up in Boston—a lie, technically, since I really grew up in a small town about forty minutes outside the city.
> I am proud to say that I relate to none of those examples.
I can relate to the one I highlighted. People ask me where I'm from all the time. Usually, I'll ask what they mean, but if they press the issue I have to delve deeper:
"I'm from the United States."
"If I answered you, would that mean anything to you?"
"California."
"Near San Francisco. (well, actually a few hours away)"
"Santa Cruz."
"Actually, a suburb about 20 minutes away from Santa Cruz. According to the post office, it's in Watsonville, but according to itself it's named La Selva Beach."
Generally people have heard of San Francisco, but having heard of Santa Cruz is rare and obviously no one has ever heard of La Selva Beach unless they actually live there themselves.
It's always mystifying to me why people ask this question which is (a) incredibly awkward to answer, and (b) completely meaningless to them no matter how I choose to answer it. So virtually 100% of the time I'll answer "near San Francisco" (not a lie, but not particularly informative) or "Santa Cruz" (much more accurate, but also a lie).
If they ask me where my hometown is, I have to probe even further: The place where I was born? The first place I can remember? The place where I went to elementary school? The place where I went to middle school, high school, and college? And when I try to find out what they mean by the question, far and away the most common response is to be annoyed that I found their question confusing (never mind that they don't have an answer when I ask what they meant... apparently I should have just made something up).
So I can understand why people lie, even though I hate doing it. The social pressure here is enormous, and over a completely meaningless question.
It's not a lie because nobody expects the question to be answered with accuracy. It's just a topic that may start a conversation, so the more interesting you can make the answer, the better.
Hell, starting with the last one, where you say exactly where it is, and even going on to describe what it's like, what's nice about it, etc is the way the question was INTENDED to be answered.
> It's not a lie because nobody expects the question to be answered with accuracy.
Well, if Michael Corleone takes the stand to affirm that he doesn't know what anyone is talking about, he is not and has never been a mob boss, and in fact no one in his family has ever been a mob boss, that won't surprise anyone (they might be surprised that he agreed to testify in the first place, but no one will be surprised by what he says). Can we conclude that he isn't lying?
> I am proud to say that I relate to none of those examples.
I can relate to the one I highlighted. People ask me where I'm from all the time. Usually, I'll ask what they mean, but if they press the issue I have to delve deeper:
"I'm from the United States."
"If I answered you, would that mean anything to you?"
"California."
"Near San Francisco. (well, actually a few hours away)"
"Santa Cruz."
"Actually, a suburb about 20 minutes away from Santa Cruz. According to the post office, it's in Watsonville, but according to itself it's named La Selva Beach."
Generally people have heard of San Francisco, but having heard of Santa Cruz is rare and obviously no one has ever heard of La Selva Beach unless they actually live there themselves.
It's always mystifying to me why people ask this question which is (a) incredibly awkward to answer, and (b) completely meaningless to them no matter how I choose to answer it. So virtually 100% of the time I'll answer "near San Francisco" (not a lie, but not particularly informative) or "Santa Cruz" (much more accurate, but also a lie).
If they ask me where my hometown is, I have to probe even further: The place where I was born? The first place I can remember? The place where I went to elementary school? The place where I went to middle school, high school, and college? And when I try to find out what they mean by the question, far and away the most common response is to be annoyed that I found their question confusing (never mind that they don't have an answer when I ask what they meant... apparently I should have just made something up).
So I can understand why people lie, even though I hate doing it. The social pressure here is enormous, and over a completely meaningless question.