How To Tell If A Human Is Lying

Joel's moderately difficult but reasonably reliable way to tell if someone is lying:

Obviously, there are many mechanical things that humans do when they lie, but here is one of my many methods.

What you'll need:

1 liar
1 thing that you know about them that they don't know you know.
1 pair of dark or reflective sunglasses


Step 1. Prepare your liar. It isn't that hard to find a good liar, any kind will do. As Mark Twain says, "Everybody lies".

Step 2. Find out something about her that she doesn't know you know and that she will probably lie to you about. Preferably something private, a good stand-by is who she is romantically interested in, but it needn't be something so cliché. Anything will do.

Step 3. Though not strictly necessary, put on your Sunglasses. Strike up conversation, and when it is getting underway, ask her a question about your known information in a relaxed way. If she tells the truth at this point, start again from step 2. But if she is lying continue on to step 4.

Step 4. From behind your glasses, study her face and hands intently. Try to notice any change of behavior such as fidgeting, twitching, raising or lowering of eyebrows and importantly, a loss of eye contact. Any or all of these could be what is called by poker players the liar's "tell".

Step 5. Once you know her tell, look for it whenever you talk to her from now on, in particular when you suspect deception.

Well done, you are officially a paranoid neuroticist like me. Do you like your new glasses?