I can't shake the feeling/belief that lie detectors are extremely effective (as in, far more than things we consider to be very impactful like eye-witness testimony).
I base this solely on two things I observe: first, if lie detectors were real and effective they would revolutionize justice and that would have a horrific effect on the billionaire class and for-profit criminal justice system. Second, despite them being all kinds of popular a few decades ago in popular media, etc., they are largely cast aside today and rarely mentioned.
Should you ever force someone to take one? Fuck no - you shouldn't make anyone testify in any capacity.
But should people be allowed to voluntarily take them if they work? Absolutely. Think how many people could be credibly acquitted with a 10 minute low cost test. "Where you in the city yesterday? No."
Obviously they're not 100% perfect. But are they better or equal than other forms of evidence (i.e., eye witness; photographic) that we allow as evidence today?
Or are they actually bullshit? I've not looked deeply into this issue so would love to have my belief affirmed or changed.
EDIT: Really appreciate the responses I definitely was not considering the other possibility: that they have been known to be bullshit for a long time yet still propped up by law enforcement for as long as they can.
My understanding is that it's an open secret that they're bullshit. Slowly this knowledge has percolated into the culture, which is why you no longer see them in media any more, it's not seen as realistic anymore.
The premise of the classic lie detector--the one drawing that line back and forth on a piece of paper--is that people become slightly agitated when they tell a lie; their body goes into a fear response at being found out.
Well, it turns out it's incredibly stressful being interrogated in general hahaha and there's actually no way to distinguish between 'oh shit i hope they don't fuck me up' and 'oh shit I hope they don't realize I'm lying and fuck me up' hahaha.
Even the more advanced ones based on pupil dilation and electro-conductivity in the skin are useless for that simple reason. They are not acceptable as evidence, as far as I know.
Indeed, police have known about this for a long, long time, and actually have used lie detectors for show. A lot of people believe they work, and so are more likely to be forthright if they think the police can use this contraption and suddenly see right through them.
So, don't worry, they're a glorified intimidation device at best, which doesn't work if you can see right through them ;)
Edit: Apparently 'they' have developed a new lie detector, which measures specific neural pathways in the brain, and can apparently distinguish a truth statement from a lie. But it's yet to have been tested in the real world :/ I... don't look forward to that era, should it come.
It says a lot about america that despite everyone knowing it’s bullshit at this point, it’s still a requirement to get security clearances
lmao ya. Just another absurd ritual of american culture; as meaningless and formal as all the rest
oh god oh fuck, at last; having a horrible memory will be our saving grace in the hellworld to come
Adding to additional conspiracy theory fuel, most forensic science is bullshit, hair, fire, whatnot.
https://theintercept.com/2015/04/24/badforensics/
Lie detectors are almost entirely bollocks, and eyewitness testimony is very unreliable
they’re mostly bullshit. if you watch any video of someone taking a lie detector test you can usually see one or two cases where it gets things wrong because people will get nervous when they’re telling the truth about an uncomfortable question.
it can also be easily “misread” in favor of convicting someone
They detect changes in physiological responses to stress that an observer might not spot on their own. That's all they do: are you more stressed when they ask a leading question than when they ask your name or what day it is? Then they think you're going to lie about it. What's more, since they don't actually provide objective proof the "technician" reading it can say whatever they want, meaning they're just a tool for a) getting people to confess to things because they get freaked out, and b) being able to claim that you're lying about whatever they want.
It's more useful for power to have something bullshit that they convince people works than have something that works that they convince people is bullshit.
There are many different types of lie detectors, some work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWoPI-VoFV0 (skip to 20:50 for the most interesting part)It depends on the type of lie. Things like "I've never seen this object/face before" they can detect.
Things like "I don't know that pass code" they cannot do much better than a skilled interrogator.Polygraphs and such are unreliable. The function of a polygraph is not to find out the truth, but to build a case to convict.
A bunch of libs on this site
Proof: there was a citations needed about this subject nobody mentioned (I think, these responses are too long for my baby attention span)
ooooh thanks so much looks like Episode 94 is what you're referring to
