Ben Carson Origin Story in Question

[Rhea]

Why does he squint his eyes so much!? Pictures of him from years ago do not show this. Whassup?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Maybe he tried to perform neurosurgery on himself.

 

[Bacillus anthracis]

Delusional embellishment. My experience with evangelicals is that the testimony gets more intense as time goes on. The glassy-eyed oohs and aahs that the teller gets from fellow believers reinforces the narrative. I think many come to believe the story that they tell.

I do not believe that habitual liars begin to believe their embellished, or completely made up, stories. Not for one second. They are just very good liars.

Partly. You're right that Carson isn't delusional, he's just a bullshitter--a liar who suddenly has to account for his bullshit. He's gone around for all of his professional life never being questioned by lay people because of his profession. He's been able to say anything he wants because he's used to not being questioned about it.

"He's a neurosurgeon so he must be brilliant."

That's where this comes from. And he's never had to be a particularly good liar because he's never had to worry about getting caught. In the presence of a perceived authoritative figure, most people will doubt themselves rather than the obvious lie just told to them.

 

[RavenSky]

Maybe he tried to perform neurosurgery on himself.

That would explain a lot.