JPW, Yes, I feel the same as you when it comes to spending more than a few days posting on this forum. As I said in a previous post, I enjoy coming here from time to time and ruffling these parrots' feathers, but then I become bored and move on to some other entertainment. Perhaps we polygraphers shouldn't abandon naive readers to these self-portrayed experts; however, perhaps anyone who can't distinguish between actual experience and wishful thinking deserves what they get when they sit in that polygraph chair and screw themselves. If I asked 1000 polygraph examiners whether they've seen an increase in failed polygraphs due to attempted countermeasures, I think at least 800 of them would answer in the affirmative. I would like to once again clarify what the NAS had to say about countermeasures, which is the exact opposite of what George Maschke is saying on this website. And they mention George by name, and they are clearly NOT referring to only spontaneous countermeasures, but rather ANY countermeasures. Could it be any clearer than this? Authors such as Maschke and Williams suggest that effective countermeasure strategies can be easily learned and that a small amount of practice is enough to give examinees an excellent chance of “beating” the polygraph. Because the effective application of mental or physical countermeasures on the part of examinees would require skill in distinguishing between relevant and comparison questions, skill in regulating physiological response, and skill in concealing countermeasures from trained examiners, claims that it is easy to train examinees to “beat” both the polygraph and trained examiners require scientific supporting evidence to be credible. However, we are not aware of any such research. There is also evidence that innocent examinees using some countermeasures in an effort to increase the probability that they will “pass” the exam produce physiological reactions that have the opposite effect, either because their countermeasures are detected or because their responses appear more rather than less deceptive. The available evidence does not allow us to determine whether innocent examinees can increase their chances of achieving nondeceptive outcomes by using countermeasures. What part of that don't you understand, George? I know that one of the main pillars of this website is that anyone can easily learn to beat the polygraph simply by reading The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, and putting its lessons into practice. In fact, one of the first links people find when they look up the word polygraph on the internet proclaims "Learn how to pass (or beat) a polygraph test." Another advises people to "download our little book" (The Lie Behind the Lie Detector) and learn how to beat a polygraph test. However, the truth, as those of us with actual experience know (and as the NAS, even without actual experience with the polygraph process, has figured out), is that the real lie is your claim, George. Sure, there's some truth in your little book, and there's some good information, but there is also a lot of faulty information, poor advice, and outright lies. My mom used to say (and I'm paraphrasing), "The Devil is a liar, but he doesn't get anyone to follow him through lies alone. He sprinkles his lies with a little truth, so if someone's not careful, they'll swallow it whole." The Lie Behind the Lie Detector appears like a well-written instruction manual, and it contains just enough good information that the unsuspecting, the frightened, and the foolish will indeed swallow it whole. And I've personally seen these people come to a polygraph exam and choke on what they swallowed. Often it's glaringly obvious, which of course falls in line with what the NAS has said. You're peddling lies, George. Years ago, you didn't get hired by the FBI because you failed every relevant question on a polygraph exam, and now you're responsible, whether you can accept it or not, of causing others to do the same. JPW, what has never ceased to amaze me since I first visited this website is how someone like George, not to mention these ignorant fools who keep him regular company on this forum and treat him like an expert, could waste so much time and effort in a worthless cause, especially when we polygraphers regularly see the damage caused when examinees take his advice. Seriously, what a pathetic loser! George is the perfect example of someone investing so much of his time in a worthless endeavor, that he is no longer capable of seeing how worthless it is, and he just can't give it up because he's invested so much of himself and his time that quitting would be admitting that so much of his life was wasted.
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