Batman,

Your uncivil remarks to Anonymous are inexcusable. You should be ashamed of yourself.

You write:


Quote:

Again, I believe you are willing to throw the baby out with the bath water simply because you perceive yourself as having been wronged by polygraph.  You have said that if you had received the postion that was denied to you (as a result of your 'failed' polygraph) then your personal vendetta against polygraph would never have come to being.  I'm sorry, but I have to seriously question your overall motives as it pertains to this crusade of yours against polygraph.  I would be much more impressed if you had taken this position regardless of your polygraph results, however by your own admission, we wouldn't be having this conversation if you had 'passed'.

Your opinion of my "overall motives" has no bearing on the merits of any argument(s) I've made regarding polygraphy. This attempt to change the subject with a personal attack is a classic ad hominem argument.

I explained the personal experiences that led me to speak publicly on polygraph matters in the message thread Who's Using Polygraph. It bears repeating here.

When I failed my FBI pre-employment polygraph examination despite having told the truth, I was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe it. But it didn't directly cause me to form an antipolygraph point of view. My polygrapher had told me that the polygraph was 98% accurate. I naively believed him, and supposed I must have fallen within the 2% margin of error of an otherwise valid test.

It was only after reading David T. Lykken's seminal book on polygraphy, A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector that my position against polygraphy solidified. I was outraged to learn that my government had branded me as a liar based on a procedure that has no scientific basis whatsoever. As an officer in the Army reserve, I had adhered to a code not to lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. My government (through an FBI polygrapher) had deliberately lied to me, just as it continues to lie to every single employee or prosepective employee it polygraphs. And I had no avenue of appeal.

For several years, I bit the bullet. I said nothing publicly. I had no idea how many others had been similarly affected. That changed in 1999, when I found the website NoPolygraph.com and linked up with other polygraph victims, who are much more numerous than I had supposed. I was at first reluctant, but ultimately felt compelled to take a public stand on the polygraph issue.

A year later--and after much research, correspondence, and cooperation with others--I co-authored The Lie Behind the Lie Detector and helped to launch AntiPolygraph.org.

So, in some sense, my experience in failing a polygraph "test" ultimately led to my forming an antipolygraph viewpoint and the establishment of this website. But it is certainly not the sole reason.

If I had not had the experience of failing the polygraph, I might never have researched it further, or discovered the extent of the harm that reliance on this pseudoscience is causing both to individuals, and to the national security and public safety. Indeed, I would most likely have spent my time engaged in other pursuits.

Batman, you have correctly observed that there are other, greater harms in society than that caused by polygraphy. I have no disagreement with you here. But you seem to suggest that all societal ills greater than those related to polygraphy must be addressed before polygraphy comes in for scrutiny, and that if I and others focus on polygraph issues now, that we are somehow "hypocrites." I strongly disagree. (By that logic, the harm associated with reliance on the pseudoscience of polygraphy must be allowed to continue so long as greater problems exist, i.e., forever.)  As Orolan noted, there are many organizations dedicated to addressing other issues. My life experience has made me aware of polygraph issues. I speak of that which I know. That I speak out on polygraph issues, instead of, say, medical malpractice (an issue regarding which I have little knowledge or experience) does not, in my opinion, make me a "hypocrite."

AntiPolygraph.org exists for the purpose of ending the harm associated with reliance on the pseudoscience of polygraphy. We seek to expose and end polygraph waste, fraud and abuse. We have no "hidden agenda." Before AntiPolygraph.org, there was no organization decicated to polygraph issues. The popularity of this website speaks to the need for such an organization.

All information on AntiPolygraph.org is provided to the public for free, and neither I, Gino Scalabrini, nor anyone else associated with AntiPolygraph.org receives any remuneration, in cash or in kind, for our efforts. I think that the considerable time and effort we've put into the site has been time well spent.

I make no claim to godhood, sainthood, omniscience, or super heroism.