Polygraph Tests

Brainpower Newsletter

Have you ever wondered how reliable a polygraph or "lie detector" test really is? Think it can essentially read your mind? Get the facts in this week's lead article.

Do polygraph tests, also known as lie detector tests, really work? If you want the yes or no answer that is closest to the truth, it is NO! Of course they sometimes "work," since much of the time they are used to scare people into confessions or admissions of guilt. But they are very unreliable as a way of detecting lies.

After 9/11, the polygraph failure rate went to 50% for agent applicants at the FBI. Did liars suddenly start applying for jobs? No, but the testers were instructed to read the tests differently. Unfortunately this meant throwing out some honest people with the few dishonest ones. Imagine what this would do to your future. For all of their lives these mostly innocent people will have a record of a failed FBI polygraph following them. Think about that before agreeing to take such a test.

Most scientists now agree that polygraph "testing" is junk science. In fact, John Larson, one of the pioneers of polygraphic lie detection, says "I'm sorry I ever had any part in it's development." The test is valued by governments and others because it is useful for getting damaging admissions from people, especially those who...

Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/polygraph.html

- Canada is an Indian word that means "Big Village".

- The Pentagon building has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary, because when it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had laws that required separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.

- Lesbosians are residents of the island of Lesbos, and lesbians are called lesbians because Sappho was from Lesbos.

More than 15,000 people have now taken a course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The results there and in studies around the country are showing that mindfulness can reduce pain and anxiety. other studies are showing that minfulness meditation can help relieve depression, and even help with weight loss.

The most common form of the mindfulness meditations being used is the simple exercise of paying attention. This is based on the Buddhist traditions in which meditators observe the busy thoughts of the mind (our "monkey mind") as well as the physical sensations in the body. Expect to see more studies on this in the near future.

Do you find mass-produced subliminal CDs effective? Do you even trust the subliminal tapes you buy at local New Age stores? Do you sometimes want subliminal recordings for topics most CDs just don't cover?

There's a simple solution: DO-IT-YOURSELF! Create your own subliminal CDs, with this PC studio package. Powerful subliminal message software. Use this link for more information:

Alex bought a bag of apples on Saturday, and he ate a third of them. On Sunday he ate half of the remaining apples. He ate one more on Monday and one more on Tuesday, then ate half of the remaining apples on Wednesday. On Thursday he looked in the bag and saw that there was just one apple left. How many apples did the bag have to begin with?

(The answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.)

Remember to breath! I have said it many times before, but we all need reminding. The cheapest, fastest, easiest way to improve your brainpower is to sit up straight right now, close your mouth, and take several deep breaths through your nose. Why not try it.

Is "spiritual atheist" a strange concept? Only if you only think spirituality has to mean a belief in a god. But do the two have to be related? Not at all. Most people think of the historical Buddha as a spiritual person, yet don't know that he never expressed a belief in a god. In fact, he even discouraged his followers from such "speculation," preferring that they work on their salvation in this world.

A Computer Spirituality

Let's imagine a computer that has begun to get so complex and powerful that it starts to ask questions "outside the box." It is starting to become conscious. One of the first things it would realize is that for all its computing capacity, it's still very limited. Humans who use it, most of whom can't begin to understand it's complicated algorithms, are more powerful, and see the world more clearly.

Such a computer might recite a million facts, and yet not know what to use them for. It could describe human psychology, and not understand a smile. It wouldn't know why it existed, or what it was being used for. Now, if it came to understand these limitations...

Continued here:
http://www.999ideas.com/atheist.html

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Until next time,

Steve

www.IncreaseBrainpower.com

Riddle Answer: 12

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