We're hardwired to become leaders of the pack. Well babies will fake a cry, pause, wait to see who's coming and then go right back to crying. One-year-olds learn concealment.
Two-year-olds bluff. Five-year-olds lie outright. They manipulate via flattery. Nine-year-olds, masters of the cover-up. By the time you enter college, you're going to lie to your mom in one out of every five interactions. By the time we enter this work world and we're breadwinners, we enter a world that is just cluttered with Spam, fake digital friends, partisan media, ingenious identity thieves.