What if Congressman Adam Schiff is right?

In the wake of the accusation --- via a tweet, of course --- that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, Congressman Schiff has asked an interesting question.

If he's correct, the psychiatrists and psychologists on our college campuses may be the most important assets we higher ed folks have in our fight for truth, justice and the American way.

This leads me this morning to speculate on the question: is there such a thing as an otherwise perfectly sane person, who simply cannot distinguish truth from fiction?

Rifling through my own memory bank, I can recall a guy who worked for me way back in the days when I was the public information officer for the Great Lakes (9th) Coast Guard District.  In case he's still alive out there, perhaps in some old-sailors' home, let me call him "Sam."

Sam was a photographer's mate --- an enlisted man whose rating was photographer.  He told me some amazing stories over the years.  For example, he claimed that just days after reenlisting for another four years in Charlie Gulf, he was offered a job with LIFE Magazine.  He had many other such tall tales, which he shared readily with anyone who would listen.  His mates and I finally concluded that he was sincere in his belief that every one of these stretches was God's own truth.  Since Sam was harmless, and seemed happy in his illusions, we never called him on it.

A little cursory research reveals that there are number of gradations of "big time" liars:

A sociopath is defined this way: "A sociopath is typically defined as someone who lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little concern for others. A sociopath is often goal-oriented (i.e., lying is focused—it is done to get one’s way). Sociopaths have little regard or respect for the rights and feelings of others. Sociopaths are often charming and charismatic, but they use their talented social skills in manipulative and self-centered ways."

A compulsive liar this way:  "A compulsive liar is defined as someone who lies out of habit. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions. Compulsive liars bend the truth about everything, large and small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth is very awkward and uncomfortable while lying feels right. Compulsive lying is usually thought to develop in early childhood, due to being placed in an environment where lying was necessary. For the most part, compulsive liars are not overly manipulative and cunning (unlike sociopaths), rather they simply lie out of habit—an automatic response which is hard to break and one that takes its toll on a relationship."

I think most of us, who do not swallow all his prevarications whole, have assumed that you-know-who is one or both of the above.

Representative Schiff has suggested that he may be something rather more than that.  It seems to be something like this: "Intentional dissimulation...is associated with a range of diagnoses, such as antisocial, borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. When it comes to compulsive liars, says Charles Ford, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama Birmingham, 'words seem to flow out of their mouths without them thinking about it.' Ford, the author of Lies! Lies!! Lies!!! The Psychology of Deceit, says that pathological liars may slide easily from the notion that something could have happened to the conviction that it did. When pressed, many will admit what they are saying isn't true."

His mates and I never pressed Sam.  We were too kind.  We can't be so kind now.

Professor Ford and others in his field certainly have a wonderful opportunity to expand their researches in the four years that 'lie' in front of us.  And as teachers, they should take very seriously their responsibility to educate the rest of us.  Understanding the pathology of the pathological liar and developing counter-strategies may be one of our most important collective tasks facing those of us who are in higher education.