Can people be read?

If you've seen the hit shows The Mentalist or Lie to me, you've seen that people can be read, that it's possible to see when people are lying and that it's possible to get information out of people even when they don't want you to find out. But is it possible? Can it be done?

The answer is yes, but not in the way that you might think. And it certainly doesn't work like they show you in the two shows. In both television series it works by reading subtle signs on peoples faces and in their movents. And based on that Patrick Jane or Dr. Lightman can conclude that someone is lying or trying to hide something. Of the two shows, Lie to me is the most 'scientific' while The Mentalist uses more basic entertainment tricks. In Lie to me they even flash pictures of the faces of famous people caught in a lie (remember Clintons 'I did not have sex with that woman, miss Lewinsky.')

The closest you'll get to the real truth about what Patrick Jane and Dr. Lightman is doing is when Patrick Jane uses test questions and when Dr. Lightman tries to establish a 'baseline.'

Credibility
And it all seems so credible. Dr. Lightman is even based on a real person who actually did help the CIA and who actually did establish the science of microexpressions. That person is Paul Ekman and on his website, you can even test just how good you are at reading microexpressions. It's extremely credible and THAT is the First Trick: Getting you convinced. And that is exactly why the tricks of Patrick Jane and Dr. Lightman works.

If the First Trick doens't work, then none of the other tricks will work. And they never disclose the First Trick.

Here's a trick for you: Tell you girlfriend that you are extremely good at telling when people lie to you. Get them to believe it. When they do, it will be much easier for you to tell that they are lying. Not because you just got better at it, but because their belief that you are good at it, makes them into terrible liars.

That is the First Trick and it can be used for anything. Tell people that you are an expert at something, and they will believe you as long as what ever follows is reasonably reasonable. That's the trick that magicians and con artists have been using since the dawn of time.

The (in)famous lie detector
The First Trick works as an amplifier. From the moment you make someone believe the First Trick (for example that you can spot any liar) any emotion, any though and any reaction they have will be many times stronger. think about it: Isn't that exactly what happened last time you were failed at telling a lie or convince someone of something? You felt warm and the only thing thought is the lie?

So, the first trick in any criminal interview is letting the suspect believe that the police knows something or that they are experts at finding the truth. To be suspected of lying and to be told that the person opposite you is an expert at telling lies, is exactly the same as putting and amplifier into the head of the suspect.

A lie detector works exactly the same way: A man in a white coat and a machine that looks terrible complicated is simply very convincing. I mean: Why would any one use so many ressources to make such a machine if it didn't work? Doesn't seem reasonable does it? But that's exactly why it works: Because we believe it, and that amplifies everyhing and puts us on the spot.

The antidote to the First Trick
The First Trick is extremely clever and it works on almost anything. Tell someone that you can see peoples true emotions, and their true emotions will show in their face like a poster. That's what makes all newage tricks work, that's what makes therapy work, thats what makes lie detectors work: Not the fancy tarot-cards, not the long education of your therapist and not the fancy machinery: What works is that you believe it works. Its a bit like magic, isn't?

There is of course an antidote to the First Trick: Get to know your mind. Learn that no matter what other people say, you are the only person in the world who decides what to say, what to hide and how to act. Don't let anyone else make you selfconsciuos. Be selfconscious when and if you want to. That is the antidote, and the way to take the antidote is to do Rational Meditation. Believe your truth above any other trut. Meditate but do it rationalle. Follow this blog :)