Truth and Honesty

Truth, refers to conveying information accurately, basically providing correct details about whatever matter is being discussed.

Honesty is a more complex beast as it involves the intent of the person sharing the message, honesty refers to the intention to convey information without deception, thus honesty requires that one provide relevant and complete context for information and also acknowledge where one’s information may be incomplete or uncertain. Further there is a third Dunning-Kreisler scenario that one must always consider where the person sharing information intends and believes they are acting honestly while they lack either or both critical information or critical thinking abilities without knowing it.

Why the Truth is Important

A mix of cultural, religious and family values mean I was always led to believe that honesty was one of, if not the, highest virtue. It took me many years to realize that to many people truth isn’t a duty but rather more of a social convenience. So for those who may not understand why truth and honesty benefit, humans a very brief recap.

Lets consider a fictional Stone Age tribe where Ig  is elected Chief and made responsible for the tribe’s food stores. A few members of the tribe collects food and delivers it to a cave from where it is distributed, under Ig’s supervision, to everyone. Ig assures all members of the tribe at the quarterly meetings that there is much more food coming in than going out. In fact, due to his incredible management, there is so much more food coming in than going out that he assigns everyone extra rations. And at each quarterly meeting he is re-elected to be chief and among other things, be responsible  for the food storage and distribution . When Ig lies nobody knows it the first, second, maybe third or fourth time. However the moment they actually run out of food – the impact of a string of ‘small’ or ‘irrelevant’ lies all occur at once.

Instant and absolute. When we follow charlatans the damage they do is long lasting and often permanent. Lies are bad.

That is the end point of following charlatans and liars. There is significant cost and damage to having deceitful societies before this point too. Modern societies with high trust and transparency operate far more efficiently than those without. Even something as simple as using a particular currency or preventing bank runs are functions of institutional trust.  Institutional trust literally reduces the cost of transactions.

If we compare doing business between Canada and India – high and low trust cultures in terms of institutional trust the differences are stark.

In Canada, a foreign entrepreneur can incorporate a business online in under 24 hours for $200, obtain necessary permits through standardized government portals, and hire any CPA from a directory knowing they’re bound by consistent national standards. Tax obligations are clearly documented, appeals processes are transparent, and contract disputes follow predictable legal timelines.

Compare this to India, where the same entrepreneur faces months of bureaucratic navigation. Business registration requires multiple in-person visits to different offices, each with varying unofficial “expediting fees.” Finding reliable legal help means networking through expatriate communities or Indian business contacts to identify trustworthy lawyers, since professional credentials don’t guarantee competence or honesty.

A simple trademark registration that takes 12-18 months in Canada can stretch to 3-5 years in India, often requiring periodic follow up (insert a polite euphemism for bribery here!) with officials. Foreign companies regularly budget 6-12 months just for regulatory approvals that would take weeks in transparent systems. The lack of institutional trust forces businesses to invest heavily in local relationship-building, redundant verification processes, and insurance against bureaucratic unpredictability – these costs can easily double the expense and timeline of even basic business operations.

Trust and transparency are important because vaccines save lives and people need and deserve to be able to tell the difference between credible scientists and those who operate more like Chief Ig.