Thought for the day...

atferrari

Joined Jan 6, 2004
4,764
Reminds me of the mathematical study of curves of pursuit. I understand that, sometimes, the paths people want aren't completely obvious at the start. But it irritates me when paved paths don't respect the "obvious" path that people want, for instance a straight line between popular destinations. People want shortcuts!
Parks designers, if clever, would leave people to walk through those paths for few months. After paving them, they could claim they did the best for the public.

I ingenuously (sorry, naively!!) believed that those natural paths did exist only here!!!
 
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nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,081

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,081
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-polygraph-job-screening-black-mirror/
In 1999 the Department of Energy asked the National Academies of Science to review the scientific evidence of the validity and reliability of polygraph examinations, particularly as used for screening.

The resulting committee visited governmental polygraph units and reviewed almost a century of scientific papers and data. Its comprehensive report, which took four years to research and write, was damning. “Almost a century of research ... provides little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy,” wrote its authors. “Polygraph testing yields an unacceptable choice between too many loyal employees falsely judged deceptive and too many threats left undetected. Its accuracy in distinguishing actual or potential violators from innocent test takers is insufficient to justify reliance on its use in employee screening.”

In short, the technology was judged to be pseudoscientific hokum.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
We argue that the current status of fMRI studies on lie detection meets neither basic legal nor scientific standards. We identify four general classes of hurdles (scientific, legal and ethical, operational, and social) and provide an overview on the stages and operations involved in fMRI studies, as well as the difficulties of translating these laboratory protocols into a practical criminal justice environment. It is our overall conclusion that fMRI is unlikely to constitute a viable lie detector for criminal courts.
Ouch!
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
I used to work at a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop when I was in high school. The boss used to circulate an occasional rumor that, if discrepancies in the till didn't stay very low, we might all be subject to lie detector testing. I don't recall it actually ever happening. I've since always felt that it was the threat of the process that had value, not the results themselves.
It wouldn't have been the first time that fear was used as a loss-prevention measure.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
A couple of days ago I learned the sad news about the passing of a valuable, and much appreciated, member of this forum.

Today, I stumbled upon this very interesting article about the psychology of death. It's definitely worth a read:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180618-what-if-we-knew-when-we-were-going-to-die

Most fall into one of two categories. They either decide to put their whole energy and focus into doing everything they can to beat the illness, or they opt to reflect on their lives and spend as much time as possible with loved ones doing things that bring them happiness.
 
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