I've found that using a "translation filter" with different people works best. People bend and use the truth in different - but usually consistent - ways. So after getting to know someone, I apply a translation filter to how they react (say or do) to situations. This is probably not a great revelation to people (I think people do this unconsciously all the time). It is - imho - what makes conversations with a variety of people not maddening viz logical dissonance on a single topic.
In the end, what I find more maddening than a logical dissonance between two people's accounts (or between a person's statements and actions) is when someone does something completely out of character (or what I perceive to be), whether I agree or disagree with their reaction. There is a difference in my book between spontaneity and erratic/chaotic behavior. One can have a spontaneous character, and I can anticipate that. However, doing something erratic to one's normal condition is what causes - for me - a major logical dissonance. (One of the main reason why I don't like to deal with drunks. "Umlud, when have you had to deal with drunks?" I hear you ask. Well, that's a different story, but suffice it to say that I used to work at a club.)
However, I usually find truth in a person's actions based in the context in which the said action took place. The commitment to an action is usually closer to the truth of that person than a mere statement (save in the case of psychopaths or sociopaths).
Of course, everything one writes (or comments upon) in a blog are but mere statements, the veracity of which is not up for close scrutiny, save for those close to the writer (who actually read what is written).
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