[sethammons]

Curious outlook. I, for one, avoid lying. The closest I get is omission. I'm not interested in remembering false realities depending on the person I'm talking with. The last lie I recall was a number of years ago where I said to a store clerk that I had recently been somewhere when in fact it was not very recent. Immediately after I felt bad. I value honesty.

[InvertedRhodium]

Lying is such a fundamental part of human psychology that we lie to ourselves without even knowing we're doing it, and children learn to lie without any instructions. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's instinctual, but it's very close to it.

Taking it even a step further - your memory is imperfect, the degree to which you can accurately recall events is significantly poorer than most people believe, which leads to incidental lies. We call them mistakes, but from the outside perspective that's just a question of intent.

That being said, despite my pessimism towards human nature, I too value honesty. But, like everyone, I lie occasionally - and I note that you don't claim to not lie, nor to have never lied. I'd call it honesty on a best efforts basis.