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Courtesy of '(Dis)Honesty'
(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies
“The bigger the brain, the larger the capacity to lie.” / Murali Doraiswamy, Psychiatrist / Duke Institute for Brain Science
The title says it all in this documentary film about lying.
Our host is Dan Ariely who is—and let me take a breath here—James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. His career is devoted to the study of human lying. The goal is to learn ways to improve human society. Ariely has a good sense of humor—he is also founder of the Center for Advanced Hindsight.
Ariely is the perfect host. He shares his researches and findings with charm, humor, and candor. I was not surprised to see his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees in Charm from Massachusetts Institute of Technology hanging on his office wall.
In-between Ariely’s presentations director Yael Melamede includes interviews of people who have lied and paid dearly for same.
(Dis)Honesty has enjoyed much-deserved wide press coverage. Melamede's film grabs you immediately and doesn’t let go. Chances are you will want to view the bonus interviews of convicted felon and former CFO of Crazy Eddie, Sam Antar; US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara; CEO of Ashley Madison, Noel Biderman; former NFL Player, Rashod Kent; transgender author and professor, Joy Ladin; filmmaker Albert Maysles; Senator John McCain; and former DC police detective, Jim Trainum.
It seems that Ariely's goal of improving society is retreating faster than he can research. To address the proverbial Elephant in the West Wing, as this Kino Lorber DVD plays, ruminations about the last two years of our United States’ political history—as well as the daily or hourly creation of same—are unavoidable. 'Lies' has a new synonym: Alternative Facts
Pictured: Dan Ariely