Thread: How could you tell if someone is lying/telling you the truth?

  1. #1
    TransparentMember correlcj's Avatar
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    Question How could you tell if someone is lying/telling you the truth?

    Ive always wanted to ask this question. Their are military ops people who can pass a polygraph any day of the week. But does anyone know of any obvious signs eg; eyemovement, sweatty palms; pupils dilating, etc...
    "Be formless, shapeless, like water... You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot... Now water can flow, or it can crash, be water my friend."
    -Bruce Lee

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    Toaster Zach L.'s Avatar
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    Decide the truth beforehand (very easy - requires absolutely no previous knowledge). Then assess the validity of their statements on what you already know to be correct.
    The word rap as it applies to music is the result of a peculiar phonological rule which has stripped the word of its initial voiceless velar stop.

  3. #3
    From personal experience:

    People tend to tell you too much information when they're lying. i.e. If someone is refering to a past event and are covering something up or just plain making something up, they will tell you details that they would never have bothered with if they were telling the truth.

    People also tend to touch their face more or avoid eye contact more when lying. Eyes (especially) and expresions remain more constant until the point where they reach the "climax" of the lie, at which point they usually look at you expentantly. As if waiting to see if you bought it. More blatantly they will look away then sneak "covert" glances to assess your belief level.

    Different people also have diferent habits. Once you're a little used to a persons speach habits, its easier to discern the changes in them that indicate altered though process (i.e. lying, withholding information, hinting, attempting to redirect conversation, etc).

    I'm a social animal and I like to watch other peoples interactions as well as watch my own. You can larn a lot by watching how you react in different situations. Its become so easy to determine what people are up to that I dont even say anything. I just play along and watch it unfold. People are very interesting creatures.
    "There's always another way"
    -lightatdawn (lightatdawn.cprogramming.com)

  4. #4
    Rad gcn_zelda's Avatar
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    and also, lying takes more thought, so new technology has machines you put on your head and detects higher thought levels

  5. #5
    Pursuing knowledge confuted's Avatar
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    If you want to be able to pass a polygraph test, practice lying all the time. It measures things such as increased heart rate, sweaty palms, and the things already mentioned in order to determine if you are lying. The only reason it works is because people get nervous when they lie - especialy when hooked up to a machine they believe to be infallible at detecting whether they are lying or not. So, just know that the machine can't tell what you are thinking if you aren't nervous, and lie with confidence.
    Away.

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    I've heard that when someone is lying, there pants are actually on fire.

  7. #7
    Toaster Zach L.'s Avatar
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    Originally posted by Sean
    I've heard that when someone is lying, there pants are actually on fire.
    That would work quite nicely. Find the target of the interrogation, set their pants on fire, and then conclude they are lying since their pants are in fact on fire. All makes perfect sense.

    ... Its been a long month ...
    The word rap as it applies to music is the result of a peculiar phonological rule which has stripped the word of its initial voiceless velar stop.

  8. #8
    Rambling Man
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    No, silly, their noses grow not their pants are set on fire...Geesh...

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    To pass a polygraph you have to put yourself in a state of mind where you actually believe you aren't lieing. My grandad has an old one and I used to mess around on it.
    "When I die I want to pass peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

  10. #10
    Toaster Zach L.'s Avatar
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    Originally posted by TechWins
    No, silly, their noses grow not their pants are set on fire...Geesh...
    But there's so much hassle involved in giving someone plastic surgery before you can accuse them of lying... its just so... so messy.
    The word rap as it applies to music is the result of a peculiar phonological rule which has stripped the word of its initial voiceless velar stop.

  11. #11
    Rad gcn_zelda's Avatar
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    Just get Michael Jackson :P

  12. #12
    Toaster Zach L.'s Avatar
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    Forget whether he's lying or not, can someone tell me if he's even human?

    I mean really - a nose like that? Then again, I guess we'd have trouble accusing him of lying.
    The word rap as it applies to music is the result of a peculiar phonological rule which has stripped the word of its initial voiceless velar stop.

  13. #13
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    Supposedly pupils get larger when people are lying. How you are ever supposed to get close enough to actually observe such a ridiculous thing is beyond me.

  14. #14
    Mayor of Awesometown Govtcheez's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Bubba
    Supposedly pupils get larger when people are lying. How you are ever supposed to get close enough to actually observe such a ridiculous thing is beyond me.
    Someone's watched a lot of Blade Runner

  15. #15
    pronounced 'fib' FillYourBrain's Avatar
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    if they weigh the same as a duck, they float and thus they're made of wood. you can then see that they would burn just like a witch and therefore they're lying.
    "You are stupid! You are stupid! Oh, and don't forget, you are STUPID!" - Dexter

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