Another Thing

I thought of this after I signed off last night. In that experiment with the suicide notes, the experimenters admitted to the subjects that they had lied to them about how many notes they had identified correctly. The experimenters were then surprised that the subjects still believed the lie they had been told earlier rather than the truth that they were told later. Okay, those people were faced with two contradictory statements, at least one of which was a lie. So how were the subjects supposed to know which statement to believe? The experimenters knew which statement was true, but the subjects knew no such thing. For all they knew, both statements might have been lies. If the statements had come from two different sources, it would have been natural for the subjects to believe the earlier statement but, since both statements were made by the same person, and that person admitted that he had lied the first time, it would be reasonable to believe that the guy was a just a damn liar and not believe anything he said after that.

This reminds me of a story, I think that Uncle Ken has heard it, but I don't think that Old Dog has.
Soon after the State of Wisconsin passed their first hunting and fishing regulations, Old Zeke was caught, literally red handed, dressing out a deer that he had just shot illegally. Zeke entered a "not guilty" plea and demanded a jury trial. At the trial, the prosecutor called Old Zeke to the witness stand:
Prosecutor: Did you shoot the deer?
Zeke: Yes sir I did.
P: Did you shoot the deer out of season?
Z: Yes sir I did.
P: Did you have a hunting license?
Z; Nope, don't believe in them.
P: And did the game warden literally catch you red handed?
Z Yep, caught me fair and square.
P: Your Honor, I rest my case.
Judge: Defense counsel, call your first witness.
Defense: Your Honor, we have no witnesses. The defense rests.
The jury was then sent to deliberate, and soon came back with a verdict of "not guilty".
Judge: How can you say "not guilty"? He admitted everything!
Jury Foreman: Your Honor, we've all known Old Zeke for years. He's a notorious liar, nobody believes anything he says.