Lie Detector Company Threatens Critical Scientists With Suit 367
An anonymous reader writes "The Swedish newspaper DN reports that the Israeli company Nemesysco has sent letters to researchers at the University of Stockholm, threatening legal action if they do not stop publishing findings (Google translation). An article called 'Charlatanry in forensic speech science: A problem to be taken seriously' was pulled by the publisher after threats of a libel lawsuit." Online translations can be a little wonky; if your Swedish is as bad as mine, this English-language article describes the situation well.
Obligatory (Score:1, Funny)
Presumably, all the Swedish researchers need (Score:5, Funny)
Oh wait...
Suits suck (Score:2, Funny)
E-meter (Score:5, Funny)
I guess it's back to using an E-meter or flipping a coin to see who is telling the truth. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-meter [wikipedia.org]
Nemesysco? (Score:2, Funny)
As in, Nemesys co, as in Nemesis Co? Man, I sure wouldn't work for my nemesis. These scientists should have seen it coming.
Underlying technology (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How it works... (Score:4, Funny)
Interesting. I wonder how it measures up to method acting.
Screw that, you're really just curious if that phone sex girl is into you or not.
Am I the only one who was expecting a statement from Nemesysco advertising "Our products are for entertainment purposes only." ?
Lie detectors are ruining the Torture Industry! (Score:5, Funny)
If lie detectors *really* worked, we wouldn't have to torture so many people, would we? We'd just hook them up to the lie detector, and ask them questions, like, "Will the LHC discover the Higgs boson?", and then we would know if they were guilty or not.
The US could close down Guantanamo in a fortnight.
But then the Torture Industry would need a bailout.
Or maybe the Torture Industry should just get a cut of every lie detector sold?
E-meter Alternatives (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Streisand effect strikes again (Score:1, Funny)
It's sad; the poor British always try so hard to be nice to every whinging minority. They feel guilty for their ancestors having a great empire that beat some sense into many backwards peoples.
Anti-Semitism (Score:2, Funny)
It was extremely tasteless and irresponsible for the Swedes to publish this, especially considering the fact that two days ago was Holocaust day. Shame on them for insulting the victims, killing them a second time. Being a Holocaust fundamentalist, I ask everybody to join me in boycotting everything Swedish.
Re:A Simple Solution (Score:3, Funny)
Nah what you need is two scientists and two doors. One of the scientists always tells the truth, and the other always lies.
Of course, the answer is that you poison both the drinks, after spending the previous years building up an immunity to the poison.
At least I think that's how it worked.
Re:How it works... (Score:1, Funny)
"Officers then can zero in much more quickly with their traditional interrogation techniques."
How do they filter out the sound of sloshing water?
Re:There is no such thing as a "Lie Detector" (Score:3, Funny)
It's all pretend "science" with cool moving needles and wires, but you might as well be watching a seismograph for all the good it does you.
Not true! Seismographs give you useful information.
Damn Yanks! (Score:3, Funny)
It's sad; the poor British always try so hard to be nice to every whinging minority. They feel guilty for their ancestors having a great empire that beat some sense into many backwards peoples.
That's no way to talk about the Americans. Oh, hang on... it is. Guess we didn't hold on to that one long enough to beat much sense into them ;)
Re:Clench your toes and hold your breath. (Score:5, Funny)
I am sort of paraphrasing the Frye standard...not talking about my beliefs. I'm not saying anything.
I take the Frye standard's meaning to agree with you and the researchers. Scientists always doubted ploygraphic evidence...that's why it was inadmissible in so many courts.
general consensus among the scientific community at large agrees on the dangers of the literally mind boggling self-prevailing power of dominating discourses
You just said that the general consensus is that general consensuses are dangerous.
Re:How it works... (Score:5, Funny)
Presumably a let down to know she was choosing cardigans whilst you got off.
That's ok, I was on the other end reading Slashdot. So we're even.
Re:How it works... (Score:5, Funny)
Presumably a let down to know she was choosing cardigans whilst you got off.
That's ok, I was on the other end reading Slashdot. So we're even.
Not really. You're out 3.95/min