Hacker News Reader

> I can't really think of a single example where lying is actually a good thing

Comforting a toddler/child often requires bending the truth and is pretty essential imho.

Correct me if you disagree, but this is more because children have poor world models and don’t fully understand the complexity of certain concepts than that lying itself is necessary. The intent should be to tell them something that is as close to the truth as possible with the ideas they can comprehend, even if it would be considered a lie if you said the same thing to an adult

> The intent should be to tell them something that is as close to the truth as possible with the ideas they can comprehend

Or, you straight up lie and say "Yes, puppy now went to heaven and eats ice cream all day long" with absolutely zero regards for "coming as close to the truth as possible" as your 3-year old is endlessly crying. It's fiine.

Or you teach your kid that getting a pet also includes the experience of seeing it die. Then let him cry when the time comes.

You can do both, one doesn't exclude the other, they might be differently helpful in different situation/at different stages.

I'll keep that in mind.

Can you give some examples?

I have a pretty poor world model

Reply on news.ycombinator.com