&gt; If I say something to a few people and I know that one of them will misunderstand it (the reason doesn&#x27;t really matter) in a way that makes the statement untrue then I&#x27;ve just lied to that person.<p>If you can avoid the misunderstanding, then sure.  But even then you don&#x27;t always have the time to explain yourself fully.  Sometimes, the very ideas you are expressing are liable to trigger strong emotions in other people.  It can&#x27;t be helped.<p>But that&#x27;s why I like his disclaimers.  I know ahead of time that the point he is trying to make isn&#x27;t likely the one that is salient to me on my first pass.