- For the English law definition of deception for the purposes of the deception offences and the Theft Act 1978, see criminal deception. For the album by The Colourfield, see Deception (album). For the PlayStation series of video games, see Deception series.
Deception (or mystification) is to intentionally distort the truth in order to mislead others. Deception is involved in propaganda and game theory (to deceive the opponents). Deception, rather than falsehood, is the essence of the lie. Thus, fiction is not true by definition, but is not taken as a lie or a deception. The reader of fiction has the duty to protect himself from deception. What one believes to be true is not a lie, though not true. Thus, freedom of speech gives the right to express statements that are in fact not true, and which may or may not have the intent to deceive.
In many cases it is difficult, even in hindsight, to distinguish deception by somebody or an organization from providing unintentionally wrong information. One of the reasons is that a person or an entire organization may be self-deceived. Deception is a reality and therefore a fascinating paradox.
There are two classes of deception: concealing the truth (dissimulate or gloss over) and exhibiting false information (simulate).
Dissimulation
Dissimulation consist in concealing the truth, like inconvenient or secret information. There are three dissimulation techniques: camouflage (blend into the background), disguise appearance (altering the model) and dazzle (obfuscate the model).
Camouflage
The camouflage of a physical object often works by breaking up the visual boundary of that object. This usually involves colouring the camouflaged object with the same colours as the background against which the object will be hidden.
- See also: glittering generalities and transfer within the techniques of propaganda generation
Example:
Disguise appearance
A disguise is an appearance to create the impression of being somebody or something else; for a well-known person this is also called incognito.
Example:
- The fictional Sherlock Holmes often disguised himself as somebody else to avoid being recognized.
In a more abstract sense, 'disguise' may refer to the act of disguising the nature of a particular proposal in order to hide an unpopular motivation or effect associated with that proposal. This is a form of political spin or propaganda. See also: rationalisation and transfer within the techniques of propaganda generation.
Example:
- Depicting an act of war as a "peace" mission.
Dazzle
- See also: distraction by phenomenon within the article Media manipulation
Examples:
- The defensive mechanisms of most octopuses to eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators.
Simulation
Simulation consist in exhibiting false information. There are three simulation techniques: mimicry (copying another model), fabricate (making up a new model), attract (offering an alternative model)
Mimicry
In the animal world this is via resemblance of one organism to another, or to a natural object. Animals often attempt to deceive predators or prey by their appearance or behavior.
Fabricate
To make something that in reality is not what it appears to be. For example, in WW2, it was common for allies to use hollow tanks made out of cardboard to fool German recon plans into thinking a large armor unit was on the move in one area while the real tanks were well hidden and on the move in a location far from the fabricated "dummy" tanks.
Attract
To get someone's attention from the truth by offering bait or something else more tempting to divert attention away from the object being concealed. For example, a security company publicly announces that it will ship a large gold shipment down one route, while in reality take a completely different alternate route.
See also
References
Some of the information in this article or section has not been and might not be reliable. It should be checked for inaccuracies and modified as needed, .
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