I THINK YOU’RE FAT by A.J. JACOBS
Like a true immersionist (I invented that word by the way) Jacobs isn’t scared to dive into his subject and figure it out by becoming it. Before reviewing the Encyclopædia Britannica, he read every word. When putting together a book about the bible he obeyed every tenet it contained including stoning adulterers and not trimming facial hair.

(this is what lies look like)

I THINK YOU’RE FAT by A.J. JACOBS
Like a true immersionist (I invented that word by the way) Jacobs isn’t scared to dive into his subject and figure it out by becoming it. Before reviewing the Encyclopædia Britannica, he read every word of every edition. When putting together a book about the bible he obeyed every tenet it contained including stoning adulterers and not trimming facial hair.

The brilliant thing about “I Think You’re Fat” is Jacobs follows all their rules but retains the sanity of an outsider. The story is about an almost perfect cult called Radical Honesty where followers are told 1: never lie and 2: say whatever the fuck is on your mind at all times. Jacobs discovers the merits of the first part and enjoys a stress-free life where bad gifts are never received more than once and he doesn’t to tell a kid that dead bird is “just napping.”
You should try it. You’ll be amazed how often you tell white lies to your friends and how often they lie to you. When your buddy has crawled back to his crazy ex-girlfriend he’s not going to admit it when you call. He’s going to turn his phone off and say he fell asleep. When you’re out at a bar and another friend wants you to give him an Adderall it’s way easier to say you’re out than to put on your jacket, walk three blocks, go up the stairs, wake up your girlfriend, grab your last pill, and truck all the way back. Lies have become intertwangled (I also invented that word) in the fabric of our society because they’re easy but we all know it would do us a world of good to unweave this twangled web.
Jacobs successfully rids his life of lies and is enjoying the freedom this new philosophy brings until it’s time to employ the second rule and he’s forced to say whatever comes to his mind. As you will soon see, this part of Radical Honesty is Radically Retarded and does Jacobs way more harm than good.
PULL QUOTE: “If you speak whatever’s on your mind, you’ll be talking about sex every three minutes.”

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

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