Exactly

The following excerpt is taken from Chuck Klosterman's book, Eating the Dinosaur:

"...When I am in the active, physical process of writing, I am writing literally. It is always a literal, present-tense depiction of what it cognitively happening in my mind. Now, once a given sentence exists, that might change. Sometimes it changes just four seconds after I type it."

This pretty much sums up how people can be telling the truth and be seen as liars in the same instance. Perhaps while you are writing something, it feels true and you know it to be true. But, like he says, four seconds later your feelings and ideas could change. Mostly, this sort of quick change is inconsequential. But what about when it's relationship oriented? In the heat of the moment, you probably DO mean everything you are saying and thinking, but maybe five minutes later you don't. Why does this happen? How can we have such minute to minute, unique perspectives on things? Is this because we are fickle? Or is it because most of us aren't literal-minded people?
Previously in this particular essay, Klosterman discusses Ralph Nader and his inability to deviate from the literal. Everything he says and does is exactly as he means it to be. Is the ability to be literal all the time something one should admire? Or does it mean that you are missing out on certain aspects of life - like all the metaphors and similes and alternate endings available. Maybe if you are a literal type of person, you only see things in black and white, so to speak. I certainly feel that things are mostly in shades of gray, but that doesn't mean that there aren't certainties. They just change every four seconds.