How to beat a lie detector test | Amit Katwala | TEDxAthens

Amit Katwala, journalist and author of Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession and the Birth of the Lie Detector, explains the dark history of lie detectors, from the true crime stories behind the invention of the polygraph to the new wave of lie detectors based on brain scans and AI.
Amit Katwala is a senior writer at WIRED with a focus on longform features, science and culture. His work has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, FourFourTwo and Sport magazine, for which he interviewed some of the world’s most iconic athletes.
He graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Experimental Psychology and is the author of two books: a WIRED guide to quantum computing, as well as “The Athletic Brain”, which is about the rise of neuroscience in sport and weaves together cutting-edge science and interviews with elite athletes.
Katwala has appeared on the BBC, CNN, Sky Sports and BT Sport and has spoken at the SXSW conference and other events.
His upcoming third book, “Tremors in The Blood”, blends true crime stories with the birth of the lie detector. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@deannagwin5864]

I requested a polygraph test because my ex kept falsely accusing me of abusing my son 5 years ago. My daughter was taken from him, and to get her back, i believe, he had my son add new ‘details’ to a report. I haven’t seen my son in 5 years. There has been a ton of parent alienation and badmouthing and lying about me. I wanted this to stop and for our family to get help, so i requested a polygraph. I was so nervous and what I’m being accused of is horrific. The examiner said i was being deceptive. Called me a monster. It was awful. I told the truth!! DCS used the test results to take my daughter away. I’ve lost my teaching job. I’m still fighting, but this is the worst thing ever. How can i prove my innocence? How can i prove that i failed because i was so nervous?

[@uberfu]

Character witnesses > hire investigators that can dig up evidence to support your claims > really good lawyers > you might be able to find a non-profit org that specializes in wrongfully accused cases like The Innocence Project. TIP however typically takes on cases of folks already convicted of crimes where evidence wasn't previously avaiilable or it was withheld (like someone in prison before DNA testing became available etc). BUT you might either find similar orgs to help out - or call them to see what they do or someone there might know of other orgs that would look into your specific situation. The Hospitals should have just let Darwin work his magic !!

[@letsjoinhands]

Loved it! I watched this after reading in full his book 'Tremors in the Blood'. The talk summarised the gist of his book in most fluent and elegant manner. In fact, many a time when I got lost in the details of the events related to the book's characters I didn't get to read the 'moral of the story' or read in b/w the lines to see the bigger picture or conclusion being arrived at by Amit Katwala. This talk by the author really extracted the essence of his research that has been deftly woven into an unputdownable story in the book. Thank you Amit, it was a great learning experience watching and hearing you speak. More power to you in your efforts to bring new tech, tools and techniques in the correct perspective.

[@davidLAMF]

amit katwala was one of the cheerleading journalists for the destructive lockdowns during covid that were particularly harmful to the poor and working class (not him)

[@stebbo1988]

I bet you are fun at parties

[@johnconway6976]

@@stebbo1988 I bet he wasn't afraid to go to parties in 2020 😄

[@uberfu]

Let's pretend the poor and working class weren't under lockdown - oh wait - some States and Cities did not lockdown their citizens ... that's right ... guess what - in those areas there were higher percentages of ICU cases / comas and death as a result of folks not isolating and being locked down because they parroted the anti-vax mantra. LOVE THE HYPROCRITES going to the hospitals for medical aid AFTER they decided to ignore any safety precautions during COVID and wasting hospital time and resources that could have been better applied to people that actually needed help. AND NO Anti-Vaxxers should NOT have been at the hospitals crying about how they got sick since they don't believe in modern medicine.

[@ideiben3190]

IT doesn't bode well for a society that needs professionals to teach them how to be good liars. We instead need people to teach us WHY it is more valuable to tell..the..truth.

[@apex_prey]

Nah.

[@IffyEdem]

The poly is a joke

[@apex_prey]

Blah blah blah dude get to the point.