The noun deception comes from the verb to deceive. It means "to mislead or falsely persuade others" or "to mislead by a false appearance or statement." Words that are rough synonyms for deceive include trick, fool, cheat, con, dupe, hoodwink, swindle, beguile, and bamboozle.
In this year's RU Connected camp, we will explore the idea of deception. We'll talk about times we have been deceived and times we may have deceived others. We will investigate some specific examples of deception and discuss how exactly they "worked." And we will think about the many different types of deception that are possible.
Here are some visual representations of some possible examples of deception. Which of these have you experienced? Which of these would you count as an example of trickery?
In this year's RU Connected camp, we will explore the idea of deception. We'll talk about times we have been deceived and times we may have deceived others. We will investigate some specific examples of deception and discuss how exactly they "worked." And we will think about the many different types of deception that are possible.
Here are some visual representations of some possible examples of deception. Which of these have you experienced? Which of these would you count as an example of trickery?
These four images illustrate four very different types of deception--and no doubt we will think of many more over the next few days.
But why should we spend our time this summer thinking and talking about deception? Good question. One answer is that deception is a fascinating topic that we expect will be fun for us to explore. It has so many intriguing angles and facets--from animal camouflage to optical illusions, from magic to espionage, and from advertising to political propaganda--that we're confident you'll find at least one angle or facet that grabs your interest.
Another answer is that today, with the spread of the Internet and with a bigger and bigger part of our lives happening in digital spaces, we may be exposed to more deception than ever before. Deception is all around us! Digital photos can be doctored, new identities (on social media websites, for example) can be invented in minutes, and rumors and opinions can be repackaged as the latest "news." So what are we to do? The benefits of the Internet are many, and we don't want to miss out on those. Yet the dangers of being deceived are arguably greater than ever.
But why should we spend our time this summer thinking and talking about deception? Good question. One answer is that deception is a fascinating topic that we expect will be fun for us to explore. It has so many intriguing angles and facets--from animal camouflage to optical illusions, from magic to espionage, and from advertising to political propaganda--that we're confident you'll find at least one angle or facet that grabs your interest.
Another answer is that today, with the spread of the Internet and with a bigger and bigger part of our lives happening in digital spaces, we may be exposed to more deception than ever before. Deception is all around us! Digital photos can be doctored, new identities (on social media websites, for example) can be invented in minutes, and rumors and opinions can be repackaged as the latest "news." So what are we to do? The benefits of the Internet are many, and we don't want to miss out on those. Yet the dangers of being deceived are arguably greater than ever.
One path forward--the one we will take in RU Connected--is to learn more about deception and about the new forms it can take on the Internet. As we learn more about digital deception, we will develop our ability to detect it, ask questions, and fight back. We'll get better at distinguishing relatively harmless kinds of deception from more dangerous kinds. And we'll develop our own ability to use the lessons of deception (lessons about how attract and guide people's attention) to accomplish our goals of communicating with others powerfully and persuasively.
One of our camp activities will be to "discover" new types of deception and, like scientists describing a new species of bird or insect, describe them and say how they're different from other types of deception. Let's see how many new types of deception we can discover!
To visit our "Types of Deception" Google Doc, click here.
Image credits:
Image 1 (top) is by Barry Silkstone at the National Geographic Kids website at http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/gallery/animal-camouflage/. It shows three tawny frogmouth birds sitting on a branch. These birds sleep during the day and sit perfectly still for hours. They are found in Tasmania and Australia.
Image 2 is from BGR website at http://bgr.com/2013/05/07/t-mobile-att-pipes-ad/.
Image 3 is from New International Trade Crossing website at http://buildthedricnow.com/category/michigan-truth-squad/.
Image 4 is from the MySpecialNumberomar website at http://myspecialnumberomar.wikispaces.com/illusions+!.
Image 5 (bottom) is from the Male Pregnancy website at http://www.malepregnancy.com/.
Image 1 (top) is by Barry Silkstone at the National Geographic Kids website at http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/gallery/animal-camouflage/. It shows three tawny frogmouth birds sitting on a branch. These birds sleep during the day and sit perfectly still for hours. They are found in Tasmania and Australia.
Image 2 is from BGR website at http://bgr.com/2013/05/07/t-mobile-att-pipes-ad/.
Image 3 is from New International Trade Crossing website at http://buildthedricnow.com/category/michigan-truth-squad/.
Image 4 is from the MySpecialNumberomar website at http://myspecialnumberomar.wikispaces.com/illusions+!.
Image 5 (bottom) is from the Male Pregnancy website at http://www.malepregnancy.com/.