Societal Sin

I don't know where I saw it or read it--it was a long time ago.  It's scrawled on a little piece of paper in a pile of blog post things that I haven't written.  It's interesting.

Social engineering means "the art of gaining information by lying." 

There's a fancy, smart-sounding euphemism for lying to get what you want.  Amazing.  I really wish I could remember the context of that--what I thought of it at the time. 
On the back of the paper it says:
Socialite
social media
social networking
social gathering
sociopath
social climber
Tonight I add:
social situation
social security--don't get me started
social norms
A lot of those could have a slightly deceptive or manipulative (out for gain) undertone, couldn't  they?

I think if I was honest, I socially engineer at times.  I say things in a way to get the information I want.  I don't lie.  I'm a horrible liar.   I do, however, think long and hard about how to say things so that I will find out what I want to know and I interpret every word and try to assign it meaning.  I also omit. 

Lucy was telling me the other day about laying (I never remember if it's laying or lying) in bed thinking about a conversation she had and how she could have done it differently and why didn't she do this or say that.  I stopped her mid-sentence and told her to figure out how to not do that while she's still a teen because it will eat away at her later in life.

That's social engineering, right?  Plotting; maneuvering in conversation--whatever you want to call it.  Then there's the debrief afterward when you think,  "Wait a minute, did she mean....."  I'm thinking that in dissecting this and giving it attention that I now know it's a behavior I have to change.  Drag.  Another sin I commit that I didn't even realize.  That's the bad thing about a blog that's so self-focused, you find out all your flaws.

Okay, anyone who has this blog address doesn't need to worry.  I'm pretty open with all of you------or you wouldn't have the address.