Yesterday while watching the CBS Morning Show I learned about a new television show that uses comedy to skewer misconceptions.
So last night we watched the first 6 episodes OnDemand, the premise is great….. take on myths, urban legends, fallacies and issues that you had no idea were built on lies, fear and/or to fill people’s pockets….. and he lampoons these misconceptions with facts, statistics and historical data (noted in upper right corner through each segment)!
One segment was on polygraphs and I wanted to share. Video
The best part is not that they don’t work; it’s that the polygraphers and any agency employing them do not care if the test results are incorrect.
Thanks for the link to this entertaining segment about “lie detectors.” I have seen polygraphers state that “the interview before and after the test” is the important part. I am not surprised that law enforcement would sink to this level, what shocks me is that licensed “therapists” use these tactics. Even the ones who say they are on our side. Disgusting! I used to think that psychology had a place in our culture… not when it’s practiced to profit from the downtrodden!
Everybody is in it for the money and I agree that therapists with a degree should be the last person wanting to administer a polygraph or junk science test. They are sinking to that level and don’t really look intelligent advocating that these lie detectors actually work. I know they don’t believe in them, but they do bring in money! That is all that matters, and the lives of the sex offenders don’t matter one bit.
Of course it’s pseudoscience If it good way to detect when someone is lying then how come test results aren’t admissible in court? Hoe come having good cup of coffee can bring false positives? Or false negatives?