Ms. Kahn’s class is talking about when it is and is not okay to lie. “I think it’s always better to tell the truth,” says Marian. “It’s the right thing to do, and it just makes life simpler—you don’t have to rationalize your dishonesty or keep track of what you told somebody.”

“It’s unethical to lie about important things,” says Aliyah. “But I think some little lies can make things simpler and easier. For example, if someone asked you whether you liked their new shoes, and you didn’t, what would be the benefit of telling the truth?”

“Wait,” says Jamal, “this morning you told me you liked my new shoes. I think I detect a lie.”

“I can’t conceive of how you could tell if someone were lying,” says Marian. “I don’t think it’s that easy. For example, if I say ‘I love snack food’ and ‘I hate potato chips,’ how would you know which was true?”

“That would be difficult to say, since we can’t tell by looking,” says Ms. Khan.

“But don’t some people use body language to detect lies?” says Jamal. “I heard that people often break eye contact when they tell a lie.”

“You just gave me a great idea, Jamal,” says Ms. Kahn. “Let’s do an experiment to see if we can detect each other’s lies!”

Discussion Question:

What could be some benefits and some disadvantages of being able to detect every lie that someone tells you?