Chris Monroe, age 12, of Sodus, New York, for his question:

Is it easier to explain a lie or the truth?

Let's face it, most people dislike the truth when it does not suit them. That's human nature. Parents and friends usually prefer to hear that you are perfect. When trouble strikes, nobody seems to care about listening to your tale of woe. At such times, a person suspects that a lie is easier to explain than the truth. Indeed it may be so    at the moment. But in the long run it is a nuisance because it is bad mathematics. Suppose for example you lose a library book and can't replace it without embarrassment. Consider all the people and factors involved in this simple incident.

You can tell a quick, easy lie and maybe get yourself off the hook. But then you have to dash around covering up all the items in the true equation    and a detail may escape you. True, you may never be found out. But you go on worrying, and this takes a piece of your mind that should be free for happier thoughts. The consequences of a lie are never easy because they go on and on and on. The truth may be harder to explain, and maybe more painful. But it states the mathematical equation correctly  ¬and when it's done it's done.