A lie is a type of deceptionin the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intentionto deceive others, often with the further intention to maintain asecret or reputation, protect someone's feelings or to avoid a punishment.
Tolie is to state something that one knows to be false or that one hasnot reasonably ascertained to be true with the intention that it betaken for the truth by oneself or someone else. A liar is a person who is lying, who has previously lied, or who tends by nature to lie repeatedly.(Wiki)
So,it's a defense mechanism used to avoid troubles with authorities;particularly law enforcement agencies, with connections in ourprofessional circle; including superiors and finally with people wecare and respect; our near and dear ones.
Lying has become an integral part of our daily life, claimed to be harmless and used mostly to defer an activity; unable to meet someone according to a previously agreed arrangement or postpone a schedule; inability to make a payment on time....
It's considered a normal act, being justified unconditionally.We keep on lying or bluffing, whatever you call it - conveniently - as long as our conscious allows, and this conscious is a like a balloon - expanding and contracting according to our situational needs.
Our society - more or less - accepts these occasional lying - which are normally without any vested interest or do not lead to any serious trouble - as a form of definite expression, but the problem starts when it becomes a habit for some of us.
When at the receiving end , it may however be an important requirement for us to find out - if the other party is lying or not.
Hence , the question arises - how do we identify if someone lying or not?
There are machines which can monitor the physiological changes in our body associated with this act, but it may also be possible with a close observation of the body language of the individuals - as highlighted inan article published on the site bilifaloo.
The machine used for lie detection is called "Polygraph", which is basically a combination of medical devices that are used to monitor changes occurring in the body, and it works by examining the changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and electro-dermal activity incomparison to normal level - as explained in an article, published on HowStuffWorks
To further develop the science of identifying "Deceptive Behavior", GilLuria and Sara Rosenblum at the University of Haifa conducted some experiments, to identify the changes in handwriting characteristics -with the help of computerized tools - associated with the act of lying and the findings appeared to be quite encouraging.
In an article published in sciencedaily, the researches claim: it has the potential to replace, or work in tandem, with popular,verbal-based lie detection technology such as the polygraph to ensure greater accuracy and objectivity in law enforcement deception detection.
Some experts are of the opinion that it may be an useful tool in interview, in terms of verifying the claims by the candidates.
Well,whatever be the techniques of detecting the deceptive behavior, let's hope that these initiatives make our world a better place to live andprosper
.Abhijit Kar
