“Everybody lies,” so asserted Dr. House, the hero of one of today’s most popular TV series. And Dan Ariely, known for his books “Behavioral Economics” and “Positive Irrationality,” has proved through dozens of experiments that we not only lie, but also cheat.

The author has a theory that our behavior is determined by two conflicting motives. On the one hand, we want to perceive ourselves as honest and respectable people. On the other, we want to get the benefits of life. And each time we perform a kind of “balancing act” and play with the shifting boundaries of our ethics. We each have our own boundaries within which we can cheat as long as it does not become a “sin.