Select few 'can identify liars'

[emad]

BBC News


A select group of people have a unique ability to spot when someone is lying, US research shows.

A University of San Francisco study found only 31 people out of 13,000 could identify in nearly all cases when someone was lying.

The group used facial expressions, body language and ways of talking and thinking to spot liars while the others did little better than chance.

The team are now using them to help train police and other investigators. In the tests, during which the participants were shown video clips of people, the select group, dubbed wizards, were able to observe a few seconds of footage and detect lying.

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3743448.stm

[sui generis]

1. oh you mean like anyone watching * give a speech?

/nt

[Bucky]

2. Gee, I wonder if this has any political applications

We're all thinking the same thing

[aden_nak]

3. If you need special training to know Bush is lying, that'd be sad.

[skygazer]

4. They're lying

They can't really do that. Ask me. I know. ;)

[emad]

5. Guess most Dems can spot a lyin' cheatin' Bush any day....

The UK's Channel 4 News recently showed footage of the Kerry/Bush debates and asked similar questions: judging by the body language and facial expressions, who is telling the truth? A poll said 94% Kerry.

[CO Liberal]

6. You Can Usually Spot a Liar...

...if they're running for office, and there's an (R) after their name.

[emad]

7. From The Telegraph:

'Wizards' can spot a liar instantly
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 15/10/2004)

SNip:
Police dramas make it look easy but, in reality, most people - including detectives, lawyers and CIA agents - cannot reliably tell when someone is lying.

Some, however, are extraordinarily good, according to Prof Maureen O'Sullivan of San Francisco University.

"We have tested more than 13,000 people for the ability to detect deception," she told a Washington conference. "We found 31, who we call wizards, who are usually able to tell whether the person is lying."

She said they could detect "micro-expressions", fleeting facial movements.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/15/wiz15.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/10/15/ixworld.html