Everybody lies
Our language is like a communication protocol. With time, we add more and more rules to it, but the first words that we start with are just simple adapters that connect equivalent symbols in internal worlds of different individuals.
We can have a meaningful conversation using a very limited set of words. All the context around them should be already shared because we exist in the same environment and explore it. This is why you can talk to your dog using them "talking buttons".
Since words are being saved as symbols themselves, we can casually extract them from our memory, play with associations, "talk to ourselves", and use the results in our next programs.
And yes, while looking for the best ways to achieve our goals, we realize not only that having more resources is beneficial, but also that we can get them by abusing our language.
As it turns out, we can send all sorts of signals to our neighbors. They don't have to match our internal worlds at all. Victims won't notice a trap without any access to our memory, and we'll trick them into giving us more resources.
Technically, you can lie to yourself and trick your own system into spending resources on something that you wouldn't normally choose to do. But you have to be careful. You'll arrange a cognitive dissonance in your own memory by doing that. It's like a pact with the devil. You can get something right now, but you'll have to pay for that later on.
Lies, both external and internal, are getting revealed once a deceived collects more information. They work better as tactical tools rather than as strategic ones. We mostly use them for momentary benefits. Our primitive reality checkers tell us that it works. We do it again. And again. And again.
The problem is, when everybody lies, all our efforts cancel each other out, and instead of collective evolution we end up in a swamp. Something is happening, yet everything looks the same, day after day. Same conflicts. Same lies. Same options.
Would you like to live in a different world? In order to get there, we have to move. Not steal from each other in a circle, but align our forces, trigger big changes, and enjoy the ride.
So, what have you done today for tomorrow?
Did you cooperate with somebody? Did you make a step forward? Share your progress! Or did you lie and steal, and allow others to steal from you? Will our tomorrow look like yesterday, thanks to your actions?
Are you lying to yourself right now?