[Shoreleave]

I thought this was quite well accepted. I can't speak to the FBI, but for CSIS, the Canadian Equivalent, the "polygraph tech" who pretends to just be working the machine, is actually a psychologist watching your responses.

[ganoushoreilly]

What's Ironic is some of these agencies that require them for classified information, also teach field operators to evade them. The other fun part about them is when you're in an unclassified situation getting a poly and they're asking questions that if you answer you divulge secrets, if you don't you're lying.

I was once told that I was too calm for my poly and then asked why. My response was I didn't trust the science, or the fact that it was a couple week course. That didn't go over well, I ended up taking two more after that and they gave up.

I've seen the other-side of it though where good people failed their poly because they had too low a baseline like I did, caused by medications.

It's really a bunk science. I can get it as a scare tactic, but the fact the the Govt. still relies on it at a higher level is ridiculous.

[mrandish]

> who pretends to just be working the machine, is actually a psychologist watching your responses.

Maybe that's true in Canada (don't know) but it doesn't matter because psychologists are no better at detecting lies than a typical person of similar education, intelligence and age.