I've come up with something that I keep in mind both for cons and politics: "there's no defense against someone lying to you about something you don't know." Th

I've come up with something that I keep in mind both for cons and politics: "there's no defense against someone lying to you about something you don't know." This isn't to stop people from listening to others, but to limit one's personal (emotional and/or intellectual and/or financial) investment in what someone, often a stranger, says. You don't have to decide whether you believe what someone is saying on the spot, but someone with ulterior motives will try to convince you to do so. This is how I think of hustles: trying to get someone to do something before they'd normally be ready to, to commit to meaning in some way, but quickly. The literal sense of "hustle" is always in operation here. And I'm sure I've been conned in ways I don't even realize and never will, but I've also known when I've been conned, but the above are my survival techniques I've deduced as a result.