Johnny thought he could talk his way out of anything, until his teacher held up two history tests. With matching answers, a classmate’s paper, and his own confidence suddenly under scrutiny, he insisted that studying explained everything. But one question about an American president was about to turn his smooth defense into a very public and humiliating classroom conf…

When Johnny’s history teacher suspected him of copying Mary’s test, he wasn’t ready to admit a thing.

The teacher pointed out that their answers to questions about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were identical. Johnny had an explanation ready: he had studied hard the night before. After all, two students getting the same facts right wasn’t necessarily proof of cheating. For a moment, his argument sounded reasonable enough. Then the teacher moved to the question that made his entire story fall apart.

The question asked who was president during the Louisiana Purchase.

Mary, unable to supply the answer, had written, “I don’t know.” Johnny hadn’t named a president either. Instead, his response was, “Me neither.” Those two words did what the matching correct answers couldn’t: expose exactly where his inspiration had come from. He had tried to borrow Mary’s knowledge—and ended up borrowing her uncertainty a little too honestly.