[naasking]

> Right, but the point of the article is that they were doing it to the wrong person. That doesn't mean it does not work. Causation does not imply correlation.

I think this case make it obvious that it's impossible to tell if the person you're torturing has the information you're looking for and is withholding it, or simply doesn't have the information. That's a textbook definition of "ineffective".

[overcast]

What's the alternative? I'm generally curious as to what would be considered more effective.

[naasking]

"We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture," said Kolm, 90, an MIT physicist who had been assigned to play chess in Germany with Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess [1].

Also: Why Torture Doesn't Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation [2]

[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10...

[2] http://www.amazon.com/Why-Torture-Doesnt-Work-Interrogation/...

[chishaku]

The alternative is to operate within the law and international convention.

[peejaybee]

From the sound of it, "do nothing" would be no less effective, and a bit cheaper.

[overcast]

Have you quantified the times when it has been effective though?

[dragontamer]

If you can't tell the difference between when its effective and when its ineffective, then the technique is worthless.