By Staff
People lie. That's a fact of life that not one person can deny. Children do it and adults do it. No matter what the age, people will certainly lie or at least have lied at some time in their lives.
Last week I caught a new program on television called “Lie To Me.” It was very interesting. If we are to believe the premise of the show, there is an organization that is filled with people who have studied the art of lying.
In the show, these specialists can detect facial movements and twitches of body parts in such a way as to determine that the person they are speaking with is lying.
I watched with interest as the liars were caught and one specialist explained to an intern how they knew the person was lying.
Down turned lips, twitches of the eye or hands were all very good indications that the liar wasn't telling the truth. They even put pictures of very public figures up to confirm their suspicions.
In one segment of the show, a person was thought to be lying because the corners of their mouth turned down after making a false statement. To confirm the idea they were lying, officials flashed pictures of people like Bill Clinton on the screen. We all know he was a liar from time to time. If he wasn't a liar, he certainly knew how to stretch the truth.
If I can believe anything that's being shown on this show, then I have certainly been exposed to the art of catching someone in a lie.
I'm not sure if any of the techniques these people on the show use to catch liars is scientific. If they are then I am learning things to watch for when talking to people to see if they are lying.
I don't think I like that. After watching the show and learning some of the things they used to catch liars in a lie, I've found myself watching the eyes, lips and hands of people I have regular conversations with every day.
I don't think I've actually caught anyone in a lie. I guess I'm not a very good student.
As a mother, I have caught my sweet angel of a son in a fib or two. However, I caught him in the fib because of what he said not because I was watching how his lips moved. Because there are only three people who live at my house, I can determine who did what pretty easily. If I didn't do it and his dad wasn't even at home, I can comfortably assume that my son did whatever deed is in question. When asked if he did or didn't do something and he answers incorrectly I always call him on it. I guess that's just the mom in me that knows those things, not because I watched some show on television.
I can't decide if I want to watch future episodes of the show. I'm not sure I want to learn more things to watch for when having a conversation with someone. I'm really not excited about paying so much attention to minor, almost undetectable, movements of anyone.
If I'm talking to you and it appears that I'm watching your mouth of hands too closely, please don't be offended. Television has a great influence on a number of people. I just hope I don't see you watching me so closely. I'd never lie - oops, that one slipped.
Lisa Tindell is news editor for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached by
e-mail at lisa.tindell@