Cheating and deception

380 Pages·2017·16.978 MB·English

by  Bell, J. Bowyer;Whaley, Barton

CHEATING AND
DECEPTION

CHEATING AND
DECEPTION
J. Bowyer Bell
Barton Whaley
Wzth a new introduction by
}. Bowyer Bell
~~ ~~o~!~~~fl~up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Originally published in 1982 by St. Martin’s Press.
Published 1991 by Transaction Publishers
Published 2017 by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
New material this edition copyright © 1991 by Taylor & Francis.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 90-45018
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bell, J. Bowyer, 1931-
[Cheating]
Cheating and deception / J. Bowyer Bell, Barton Whaley.
p.cm.
Reprint, with new introd. Originally published: Cheating. New York,
N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, c1982.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-88738-868-X
1. Deception. 2. Deception (Military science) I. Whaley, Barton.
II.Title.
BJ1421.B69 1991
179'.8—dc20 90-45018
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-88738-868-2 (pbk)
FOR
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
• • •
Dopo il fatto, il consiglio non vale.

Contents
Introduction to the Transaction Edition ix
Acknowledgments nxv
Preface nxvii
Prologue 1
PART I: THE NATURE OF DUPLICITY
1. The Prevalence of Guile: The Ruses of War 15
2. The Structure of Deceit: A Theory of Cheating 45
3. Applied Theory: Wily Warriors 75
4. Deceivers and Dupes: Profiles 97
PART II: CHEATING-THE EIGHTFOLD WAY
5. Magic 129
6. Games and Sports 171
Vlll Contents
7. People and the Everyday World 224
8. Public Cheating: Politics, Espionage, and War 254
PART Ill: CHEATING THE CHEATERS
9. Illusion and Reality in the Arts 285
10. Hoaxes and Self-deception in Art and Science 303
Epilogue: Counterdeception 327
Index 333
Introduction to the
Transaction Edition
"DECEPTION" is one of those garden variety words, often used but
rarely defmed, that tends to summon up unpleasant connotations;
"deception" is a polite variant of cheating, and cheating is wrong if
not wicked. Even those deeply involved in cheating-cheating at
cards, cheating at love-must often find what have become standard
rationalizations to comfort themselves: I am driven by necessity,
there is no alternative, others do it, and, of course, no one will know.
Particularly for Americans and much of Western civilization, official
cheating-government duplicity, cheating as policy, conscious,
contrived deception-is usually beyond excuse except as a last resort
in response to the threat of extinction. Deception tends to be
considered a distasteful tool to achieve even vital national interests
unless it is used in conjunction with the deployment of military force.
Even in war, some oppose deception as beneath national dignity,
the means of lesser powers or immoral ideologies. Still, a general
may deceive a dangerous enemy under certain conditions without fear
of public condemnation: War is hell. Thus, surprise achieved through
deception is not only accepted, but often praised. In fact, there are far
more studies of "surprise," which is merely a byproduct of effective
deception (or at times self-deception, an entirely different matter not
being consciously shaped to purpose and to advantage), than there are
of military deception or strategies of deception. Surprise is seemingly
more valid than deception in strategists' eyes. All other policy,