Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
The quote suggests that effective deception requires memorization skills, using a public figure as an example.
In plain terms
Good liars need good memories to keep their stories straight.
What can you take from it?
Deception often relies on the ability to remember details consistently.

Where it applies

  • political discourse
  • interpersonal relations
  • storytelling

Putting it to work

  • verify claims
  • track inconsistencies
  • assess reliability

Questions to consider

  • Is memory the only tool needed for persuasion?
  • How do we detect lies without proof?

Another view

The quote conflates lying with memory without distinguishing truth from falsehood.

More from Christopher Hitchens

  1. Terrorism is the tactic of demanding the impossible, and demanding it at gunpoint.

    Permalink to quote #6
  2. The realization that American power could and should be used for the defense of pluralism and as a punishment for fascism came to me in Sarajevo a year or two …

    Permalink to quote #8
  3. Then the big white whale, Clinton. What about someone who is a war criminal, a taker of bribes from foreign dictatorships, almost certainly a rapist (plausibly…

    Permalink to quote #5

Related quotes

  1. All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.

    John ArbuthnotJohn Arbuthnot quote #1
  2. 'Clearly, [President Bush] lied. Now if he is an unconscious liar, and doesn't realize when he's lying, then we're really in trouble.'

    Al SharptonAl Sharpton quote #1
  3. Leo Ryan's life and his deeds are about a life that was so much more than Guyana. He was relentless in his search for answers, answers that were not readily av…

    Jackie SpeierJackie Speier quote #2