Sex, Lies and Polygraphy

摘要

The lie detector, or polygraph, is a true icon of modernity. Packaged in a small James Bond-like suitcase, it is nothing more than an elegant assembly of some basic medical technologies that measure blood pressure, heartbeat, breathing and sweat. Plug it into the wall, though, and voila!—a machine that can, it is claimed, detect human lies by bypassing the manipulative mind and registering the involuntary bodily signs that often accompany deception.