Emma Levine's research finds humans lie in roughly 20% of social interactions.
Levine defines 'bad truths' as facts that cause emotional pain without offering a path to learning or growth.
Prosocial lies, like complimenting an ugly baby, are often acts of empathy that prevent useless harm, not character flaws.
Levine says an unspoken social code prioritizes the listener's well-being over absolute honesty when truth has no utility.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy administration withheld news of Soviet missiles for a week to prevent panic.
Levine notes that such political deceptions trade immediate stability for a long-term erosion of public trust.
The myth of George Washington's cherry tree is itself a lie invented to promote the virtue of honesty to children.
Society's rule is not 'never lie,' but to prioritize the listener's well-being over the purity of the transcript.