DailyDirt: I Would Never Tell A Lie...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Wed, Sep 21st 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Wonder woman had a lasso that forced bad guys to tell the truth -- which always seemed a bit ridiculous. But forcing people to tell the truth is an interesting area of research, and folks have made some progress over the years. Here are just a few quick links on some projects about lying.

Lie detectors made out of cameras with thermal imaging and facial analysis software could be available as smartphone apps someday. And an app to train you how to be a better liar will be sold immediately afterwards. [url]
Zapping your brain with magnetic pulses could prevent you from lying (as much as you normally would). In other news: tin foil hats sales are expected to grow exponentially through 2015. [url]
Truth serums generally don't work and were deemed unconstitutionally coercive in the 1960s. Putting terrorists' heads in a magnetic field seems a bit more friendly than waterboarding, though... [url]
To discover more interesting articles on the human mind, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: lie, recognition, serum, software, tms, truth

10 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2011 @ 6:05pm

Putting terrorists' heads in a magnetic field seems a bit more friendly than waterboarding, though..

Not if you have experienced high intensity magnetic fields.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2011 @ 6:13pm

Re:
or if you're a robot terrorist!
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2011 @ 6:53pm

Re: Re:
only if your head is magnetic. Deplete your self of magnetically reactive elements and you can lie till the cows come home.
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Beta (profile), 21 Sep 2011 @ 6:54pm

sounds familiar
"One [problem] is how to discover, against his will, what another human being is thinking... In so far as scientific research still continues, this is its subject matter. The scientist of today is... a mixture of psychologist and inquisitor, studying with real ordinary minuteness the meaning of facial expressions, gestures, and tones of voice, and testing the truth-producing effects of drugs, shock therapy, hypnosis, and physical torture..."
--George Orwell, 1984
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2011 @ 6:57pm

Tinfoil Hat Fashion Copyrights
Aha! Here is a looming opportunity for the fashion industry. Of course there is a lot of (really bad) precedent out there, so 'Tinfoil Hat Fashion Copyrights' might run into prior 'art', or obviousness issues.

No matter. The lawyers will win either way.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2011 @ 7:14pm

Re: Tinfoil Hat Fashion Copyrights
No chance of that getting off the ground. They'd just have the police start kicking the snot out of everyone who wears a tinfoil hat.
I mean, they already dish out random beatings for public waltzing and open WiFi, why not tinfoil hats too?
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Pixelation, 22 Sep 2011 @ 7:44am

Magnetic truth fields...
Time to set them up in all government buildings.

Ollie North..."Yes Senator, I recall very clearly..."
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 22 Sep 2011 @ 8:54am

They should just have asked Hollywood about how to make a working truth serum.
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Michael Ho (profile), 22 Sep 2011 @ 3:21pm

Re: Magnetic truth fields...
Unfortunately, it's likely that politicians are able to brainwash themselves into actually believing all the things they say....
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Pixelation, 22 Sep 2011 @ 4:43pm

Re: Re: Magnetic truth fields...
"Unfortunately, it's likely that politicians are able to brainwash themselves into actually believing all the things they say...."

Bill Clinton..."I've never seen that intern in my life and I don't even use a desk..."
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