There is a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal on a study done on cheating in tests and what made people cheat more or less. Do you wear designer knock offs? Apparently you are more likely to cheat. But swearing an oath on the bible really makes people more honest.


http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304840904577422090013997320-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwNzEyNDcyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email

Do you think these seemingly petty crimes are really the slippery slope for an ethical society?

Cheating in whatever form and scale is never okay. As it goes with a lot of things, thinking of doing an act that constitutes to cheating is almost the same thing so people really have to be careful with what they are going to do and how they are going to respond and act accordingly.

From whatever stuff, be it cheating with a person or cheating on a test, that is totally unacceptable.

The act of cheating implies that there are agreed rules or standards against which the dishonesty or unfairness can be measured.
It may be argued that in order to test the efficacy of rules or standards then the boundaries they represent must be tested, for without such a test how can they be considered effective.
So in this discussion what does "a little bit" mean?
Does it refere to the flexibility of the fence, the greyness of the line, or should we assume that the line is infinitely thin and therefore transgression is fully binary?
The ethical dilema is a nexus of the means of cheating, the henious nature of it to expected standards, and the common understanding of the fairness and definition of the rules.

Would we expect the participants in the Variety Annual Bash to stick scrupulously to the rules? It would spoil the fun and reduce the charitable return!!!

Rules at levels whether law or board games rely on the particpant's aquiescence to them - it is that common acquiescence that protects us from anarchy.

In baseball to position oneself closer to a certain area than is normal or expected is to "cheat": it is not against the rules.. it is a tactical move - (The shortstop cheated toward second base) - wouldn't do in cricket would it????

There is one cheat in which we would all like to participate a little... to elude, escape, cheat death - even a little.