There are two types of people in the world: people who are automatically honest and those who aren’t. An article in Seed magazine explains that researchers are using brain scans to determine which parts of the brain are involved when people lie. For some people, the decision to tell the truth takes no extra brain activity. For others, “both deciding to lie and deciding to tell the truth required extra activity in the areas of the brain associated with critical thinking and self-control.” The article refers to these two types of people as automatically “honest” and “dishonest,” but does not make any estimates of what percentage of people belong to which category.

(Thanks, 3QuarksDaily.)

Source: Seed

Image by  Dyanna , licensed under  Creative Commons .

Liars beware: Intel is developing an application that can detect lies on the internet. Install Dispute Finder into a Firefox web browser and the application will scan web pages to ferret out inaccuracies, crackpot theories, and suspicious content. The application highlights the disputed claims and suggests alternative news sources that might help set the record straight. The current version of Dispute Finder relies on people tagging disputed claims, but soon, according to Intel researcher Rob Ennals interviewed on NPR’s On the Media, an algorithm will be used to scan the entire web for any inaccuracies. (Wait, there are inaccuracies on the internet?)

Researchers also hope to launch a real-time “Bullshit Detector” that will scan statements made in real life. Ennals explained:

So let's say you’re in a conversation with somebody and they tell you something which is disputed. The device is going to buzz in your pocket and let you know that you just heard something disputed and perhaps you should question it.

You can watch a demonstration of the Dispute Finder below:

Source: On the Media