We often watch "Lie to Me", a story on tv based on the work of Paul Ekman, the psychologist. The story pivots around Dr. Lightman and his group of assistants. They are all trained in the analysis of facial expressions and the Group gets hired by the military, the CIA, and various organizations to observe and interview employees, suspects, witnesses, etc. and tell which of them are lying. We have watched 5 or 10 episodes.
After each one, I vow to tell the truth more often. Then, I start to think about doing so. Should I tell the truth when she asks me if I like her hair? Do I like her hair? With me, it is always a complicated question. I venture to say all questions have complicated answers for me. I like brief, emphatic answers that a person can rely on. I don't want to hedge or qualify my answers but the truth, as I perceive it, is slippery and multi-faceted. The hair looks good from this angle. It looks better than it did in some ways and no different in others.
So, when the Lightman Group secretly videotapes me answering about her hair and they slow the tape down and look at each frame, will they identify me facial twitches and frowns ? Will they be able to report my half-truths, my hesitations, my less-than-full enthusiasm?
The more I think about it, the less I think it would be a good idea to always tell the truth, whatever that is. It is too detailed, too nuanced (to use a currently fashionable word), to state simply. When Dr. Lightman sees a slight grimace on my face, it is because I am wrestling with what is actually true. It is difficult to be fully honest.
There is a series of short papers on Amazon called The One Day University. One of them is The Truth About Lying and Deception. It is available on Kindle for 99¢. Likewise, the work of Paul Ekman is the source of much of the material on "Lie to Me". Ekman has a web site, a blog and many books and papers on the subject of facial expressions.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
