Letters; December 2005; Scientific American Mind; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Ah, the virtues of lying. The second issue of Scientific American Mind for 2005 explored the evolutionary benefits of fibbing--a kind of social glue that helps us get along with our fellow members of the human race--as explained by David Livingstone Smith in "Natural-Born Liars." Naturally, the editors were all very interested to receive reader feedback on Smith's article and the others in the issue. Yeah, that's right. We got bags of beautifully handwritten notes, many of them rosescented, congratulating us on the finest issue ever produced. In fact, the whole edition will soon be used as the basis for a major motion picture, starring our dear friend Morgan Fairchild. Yeah, that's the ticket.

David Livingstone Smith's article, "Natural-Born Liars," states that "perhaps mental health rests on self-deception, and becoming depressed is based on an impairment of the ability to deceive oneself." He's right on the money.