SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES

Here’s some bad news for those who believe that the tendency in an increasing number of people to believe in lies can be mitigated if information is shaped and shared in a more responsible and mindful manner.

According to the anthropologist Marcel Danesi, once people begin to believe in lies, they are unlikely to change their minds even when confronted with evidence that contradicts their beliefs. Danesi wrote, “They turn the contrasting information on its head, so as to make it fit their...