Monday, January 05, 2009

TV as Lie Detector

The battle against junk forensic science is never-ending. It is perhaps also a losing battle: the seductions of junk science are apparently overwhelming to a substantial segment of the popular mind. This discouraging thought was deposited into my mind by the news that we will now have the privilege of watching a TV show -- "Lie to Me" -- inspired by Paul Ekman's "science" of detecting lies by facial expressions and other bodily cues.

I will try to keep an open mind. But all of my warning bells suggest we are about to witness another spasm of pseudoscience. I only hope that jurors and juries will have enough common sense to resist using such pseudoscience in their deliberations. (I am less optimistic that police departments will have an equal degree of common sense.)

the dynamic evidence page

coming soon: the law of evidence on Spindle Law

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