Truth summary

How do we form an opinion about a public figure, a country we’ve never visited or an imported “superfood”? It can all begin with a comment heard on the radio or a headline glanced at in passing. 

What we hear first often shapes our subsequent ideas about something. For example, take the following story about a new health-food craze. Sometime in the mid-2000s, the West “discovered” quinoa and began importing it from Peru. It was celebrated by food writers like Yotam Ottolenghi, while NASA declared it to be one of the most balanced foods on Earth. However, there were soon reports about this growing demand damaging the environment in the Andes, where quinoa is grown.

The way we wield the truth matters. Well chosen, a selective truth can raise people’s spirits, snap them out of bad behavior or get them successfully from point A to B. Equally, selective truth can be used to deceive and exploit the worst in us. 

Let’s look first at how selective truths can be used responsibly. A good example is when we visit the doctor and ask her for a diagnosis. Rather than giving us a detailed lecture on all of the biological processes that have led to our illness, the doctor will stick to a few clear facts so that we know how to act next. Instead of worrying us with unnecessary scientific analysis – like, for example, the cellular anatomy of a tumor or a lesson on virology – the doctor will tell us to prepare for treatment, get a prescription or take some rest. 

To simplify things, let’s separate the different types of communicators into three camps.

The first type are the advocates. An advocate uses competing truths that create a fairly accurate impression of reality in order to achieve a constructive goal. So the government official making a public announcement about what to do in the event of an epidemic would be an advocate. By selecting the right information and omitting unsettling details, the official’s goal would be to protect the citizens of her country. 

We’ve all heard the saying “history is written by the victors.” Well, as we will see in this blink, it’s also re-written by corporations, states and even the losers of historical conflicts.

Through selective storytelling, key events can be removed from our understanding of the past. 

In this blink, we’ll look at how different societies in antiquity held radically different beliefs and how the opium addicts of the nineteenth century would be judged by today’s standards.

Let’s look first at how moral truths differ across societies. In the Dissoi Logoi, an anonymous text from Classical Greece, the Greek author compared the dramatically different moral standards of nearby ancient peoples to his own. He noted that the nomadic Scythians believed that whoever killed a man should scalp him and wear that scalp on his horse’s bridle. Then, they thought it perfectly acceptable to gild his skull and use it as a drinking vessel when paying homage to the gods. 

We’re inundated with numbers. Governments tell us how much they’re going to spend, and the headlines alarm us with statistics. Meanwhile, supermarket shelves are a bewildering array of percentages. How do we begin to decode them all?

By changing the way something is measured, numbers can be used to fit a particular truth. Consider this statement: “Canada and Australia have the highest rates of kidnapping in the world.” It’s true. Not because they’re particularly dangerous countries, but because their governments include parental disputes over child custody in their kidnapping figures. 

Ever been stuck in a rut at work? Wondered why you were doing it at all? Then you’ll know how important a rousing speech from the boss can be. 

Chosen wisely, the right competing truths can be used to motivate and inspire employees. Let’s imagine that you’re taking on a new recruit at your company. What could you tell her about her new role? That she will probably not get a pay raise for a couple of years? That her co-workers are badly organized? That the work can be a little dull? This all might be true. But it’d be better to tell her about the opportunity to learn a new skill, the chance to travel to company offices abroad and her exciting role in a growing business.