Apparently PG's essay can use some reflection, and there are a lot of perceptive, well written posts in this thread. Maybe one of the main points in several of

Apparently PG's essay can use some reflection, and there are a lot of perceptive, well written posts in this thread. Maybe one of the main points in several of the comments in this thread is very old: And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray's In deepest consequence. -William Shakespeare, Macbeth Act I, Scene iii For something deeper, there is the classic Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life with a good summary at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Everyday_Life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Eve... The main point is that some people in how they present themselves to others, "in everyday life", put on an act something like in a stage play or play a role and where the act/role is not who they really are but, under the circumstances, to manipulate others.