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Forgettable science
I suppose it was inevitable. Larry Farwell, the genius behind so-called "brain fingerprinting" has set his sights on a new outlet for his invention: advertising.
I first heard of Farwell when he appeared on "60 Minutes" a couple of years ago touting brain fingerprinting as an "100% accurate" method of lie detection -- perfect for crime fighting and terrorist hunting. I'm generally a fan of "60 Minutes" but this report was extremely dubious, filled with hyperbolic claims and false assumptions.
Brain fingerprinting is said to work by measuring a suspect's memories. For example, a man who murders his wife and dumps her body in a field will have memories of that field, the reasoning goes. Farwell claims that brain fingerprinting's ability to detect such culprit-specific memories (or lack thereof) makes it a foolproof forensic tool. In order to buy these claims, though, you've not only got to assume that the technology does what Farwell says it does, but you have to accept that culprits remember details Farwell says they should.
Anyway, a couple of months after watching that "60 Minutes" episode, I had the good fortune of sitting next to an honest-to-god neuroscientist/lie detection specialist on a flight. At the mere mention of brain fingerprinting, he chuckled. "Do you know what a psychopath is?" he asked. "It's not someone who runs around drooling and slaughtering people. It's someone who can't distinguish between right and wrong, fiction and fact."
Farwell, in other words.
According to my inflight pal (whose name escapes me; I think he teaches at the University of Chicago), Farwell once told a group of professors he could levitate; Farwell's own data on brain fingerprinting contradicts his claims of accuracy; and he has lied about his resume and his clients. Yep, that's right: the supposed inventor of a new lie detector is himself chock full of lies. How fitting, then, that he should wind up in advertising.
Posted by carrie on 10/12/2005 | Permalink
Comments
The key to successful lying is believing your own lies, so in a sense, he's got it made.
btw, you have his name misspelled (Falwell) twice.
Posted by: Jennie | Oct 12, 2005 11:15:07 PM
"[a psychopath] is someone who can't distinguish between right and wrong, fiction and fact."
Actually a psychopath (aka, sociopath or antisocial personality disorder) does know the difference between right and wrong, fiction and fact. Often they are pretty good and judging social morals and behavior -- they just don't care so they tend to end up being amoral manipulators.
Posted by: Colin | Oct 13, 2005 3:20:03 AM
Hey Folks,
Stay Free does some great work, but please don't put a link up on the NYC indymedia newswire that just redirects people. The newswire is for posting content. If you would like to post content, please feel free to do so.
Thanks,
AK
Posted by: NYC INDYMEDIA | Oct 13, 2005 1:54:15 PM
We have nothing to do with the Indymedia feeds. Someone at Indymedia asked us if they could syndicate our site and we said yes. If you don't think they should syndicate sites like ours, send them a note... it's not something we control.
Posted by: Charles Star | Oct 13, 2005 4:16:46 PM
Hi Carrie,
I have been meaning to complement you on your diversity of stories. That great issue you put out about lobotomies, and how that procedure was accepted and practiced for years, helps me to stay keen on emerging pseudo-technology like this guy's.
What about all of the TV imagery collected in the brains of the average person? Does that guy's thing-a-ma-jiggy take that into account? Ha. It's not the TV memories so much that makes me think askewances might happen, but it is the remembered and sublimated ad content that makes me really afraid of the machines need for constant
recalibration.
Brain fingerprinting: How can that compete with the imprint left over from a $1.99 icepick wielded by Joe Pesci in a Scorcese flick. Vision Larry Farwell interpreting before the Supreme Court. Maybe he could even find people "likely" to commit crimes, a la The Minority Report. That Larry is Scary.
The other Larry- in Sonoma County
Posted by: L. Allen | Oct 21, 2005 8:40:55 PM
