FailureToReason

FailureToReason t1_j7sv3jv wrote

Reply to New species identified, from 3D models of prehistoric penguins’ humongous humerus, may be the largest penguin ever to have lived. ~350-pound ‘Kumimanu fordycei’ weighed as much as an adult gorilla; waded the waters off New Zealand about 60 million years ago by marketrent

Tomorrow's article: >Living remnants of prehistoric penguins found in Antarctic

Weekend article: >Strange obelisks and ruins located in Antarctic

Early next week: >Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

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FailureToReason t1_j288njg wrote

Reply to comment by allthejokesareblue in eli5: If Lie Detector tests are highly accurate, why are they not used in court? by NemesisSenpai

Absolutely, but let's not ignore that large part of criminal investigation is 'gut feel' and instinct, and both the polygraph and body language are useful for what they are useful for, but neither is valuable as incriminating evidence. There have been plenty of people who acted guilty as sin but were completely innocent, and plenty of psychopaths who seemed completely innocent until a compelling piece of evidence blew the investigation open.

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FailureToReason t1_j2876s4 wrote

Reply to comment by NemesisSenpai in eli5: If Lie Detector tests are highly accurate, why are they not used in court? by NemesisSenpai

Except that it doesnt work like that. What if you're nervous not about the questions relating to a crime, but simply the fact that you're jammed in a small, bright room with cops who accusing you of a crime? Or what if you're nervous that they might get a bad reading and think you're lying when you're telling the truth? What if you clench your anus at the wrong moment? I guarantee you an innocent person is going to be plenty nervous and stressed going into a polygraph, and that's exactly what the polygraph is trying to measure.

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FailureToReason t1_j2857l7 wrote

Reply to eli5: If Lie Detector tests are highly accurate, why are they not used in court? by NemesisSenpai

Short answer: they're not accurate, can be easily fooled, and are basically inadmissible because they have a very weak scientific foundation

What they ARE good for, is manipulation. You swear up and down you didn't kill your wife. Detective asks, 'would you take a polygraph?' And you start sweating bullets. You complete the polygraph, and the polygrapher comes in and tells you 'I know you lied to me.' And maybe they do, or are at least suspicous because of your body language or evidence that contradicts you. But in that moment, under that pressure, people crack.. The cop may have absolutely nothing, and is just fondling in the dark. 'I know you lied on some of these questions.' Next thing you're confessing to a triple homicide that you may never have been caught for.

Edit: body language isn't necrssarily evidence, corrected the phrasing there.

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