I trust Dan Drezner and Ann Althouse, as scholars and bloggers (scholar-bloggers? blogging scholars?), but when they mentioned a quote from Senator Coburn (R-OK) that was so mind-stultifying in nature, I had to see in the actual transcript.
So, here it is, ladies and gentleman. Feast you eyes and minds on the incredible observational powers of Dr. Coburn:
COBURN: Thank you.I just have one other comment. As you have been before our committee, I’ve tried to use my medical skills of observation of body language to ascertain your uncomfortableness and ill at ease with questions and responses.
And I’ve honed that over about 23, 24 years. And the other thing that I believe is integrity is at the basis of what we want in judges .
And I will tell you that I am very pleased, both in my observational capabilities as a physician to know that your answers have been honest and forthright as I watch the rest of your body respond to the stress that you’re under. But I’m also pleased with our president that he’s had the wisdom to pick somebody of such stature and such integrity.
Without integrity what you say here means nothing. And that’s the very foundation of which I believe you’ve based your life. And I’m pleased to have you before us. And I thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. [What a shame-Ed.]
This is the kind of dialog (or, monologue, as the case may be) that one expects from a bad comic book (“You see, Lois, using my super-vision and super-hearing I can tell if the criminal is telling the truth by monitoring his heart rate and other vital signs”).
Really, if he is that talented, he is wasting his skills as a US Senator. He should be on the border somewhere asking people if they are terrorists or if they have drugs in their car.
I am, quite honestly, stunned (and this is even knowing of some of Coburn previous shenanigans).
Wowie.
September 15th, 2005 at 1:07 pm
Sigh. The march of pseudo-science and mystical mummery continues unabated. Perhaps the senator fancies himself a modern Mandrake the Magician? (“Mandrake gestures hypnotically…”)
September 15th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
[...] of the Amazing: The Human Lie Detector September 15th, 2005 Tales of the Amazing: The Human Lie Detector Entry Filed under: Notables. This article’s topics are: No [...]
September 15th, 2005 at 1:38 pm
Surely he is wasting something. I might suggest it is scarce time on the Senate calendar.
September 15th, 2005 at 1:44 pm
I have it on good authority that Bush had asked Nancy Reagan’s astrologer to vouch for Roberts, as well.
I am expecting that after tomorrow–which is a presidentially-mandated “National Day of Prayer”–God will come to Bush in his dreams to reveal his next appointee.
Stay tuned…
September 15th, 2005 at 3:16 pm
I think I just went bathroom on myself.
September 15th, 2005 at 3:31 pm
I think he’s been watching too many shows with “profilers” on them. Amazing!
September 15th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
While I am certain that Superman could indeed use his powers in the manner you describe, it is in fact the Marvel character Daredevil who is famous for using his “enhanced senses” and “sonic spacial awareness” to determine the veracity of individual’s statements.
Naturally, Daredevil’s secret identity Matt Murdock is an attorney.
September 15th, 2005 at 3:59 pm
A valid point.
September 15th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Why are you engaged in a putdown of Senator Coburn when a Google on “body language lying” yields a large number of hits concerning body language and the ability to detect a high probability that a speaker is lying? Anyone with kids, especially teenagers, needs to hone skills like this, so why is it unbelievable that a doctor wouldn’t in the course of dealing with patients? Do the Google search, then try it out for yourself.
September 15th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
This is the same man who found “rampant lesbianism” in some Oklahoma high schools during his campaign, so rampant that some schools would only allow one girl at a time in the bathroom, according to then-candidate Coburn (although no sachools could be found that had such a policy). He’s truly a gift to American democracy!
September 15th, 2005 at 9:14 pm
Folks, you are being silly.
Law enforcement personnel get training on using body language to tell if someone is lying all the time. I have sat through some of the courses myself at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia, that are taught by FBI personnel who are VERY serious about the utility of the techniques.
And yes, what they do, EXACTLY, is look for indicators that the person is uncomfortable or ill-at-ease when answering questions. Certain postures (or changes in posture), eye movements, or placement or movement of appendages can indicate that a person is feeling elevated levels of stress due to a particular line of questioning. I also remember reading at least once during the whole “torture the terrorists” debate that some military and ppolice interrogators were skeptical of the utility of torture precisely becuase the pain and related stress obscures these useful indicators.
Oh, ironically given the comments above, in every single course I attended, the instructors were adamant that one reason that these techniques are so useful is that the vast majority of people believe, wrongly, that they are such smooth liars and in such total control of their reactions, that they could not possibly be giving anything away.
I guess you folks will now be telling me that there is no such thing as a “tell” in poker.
Coburn may be the idiot that you make him out to be. He may even be blustering for effect in the quote given in the post and have absolutely no familiarity with the techniques of interrogation taught by the military and law enforcement, but there is absolutely nothing ridiculous/superhuman about the claim that an astute interrogator can catch you in a lie based on subconscious giveaways in your body language.
September 15th, 2005 at 9:34 pm
Terry,
I am not suggesting that you can’t get hints from people in regards to whether they are lying are not. Certainly all parents are aware of this.
But go back and read Coburn’s statement and then come back and tell me how silly we are being…
Further, even if through one’s power of observation one can tell if someone appears truthful or not, one does not then say (on TV no less) “Through my superior powers of observation, I can see that you are honest because I’m a medical doctor, dontcha know…”
This is far cry from what you are talking about.
September 15th, 2005 at 10:06 pm
I have no objection to the claim that it is absurd dialogue. But then, these whole hearing have been particularly clumsy (and bad) theater, so I wouldn’t really have been shocked if Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy had resorted to an interpretive dance duet to show their stern disapproval of Roberts or Coburn and Spectre had debuted their new kabuki opera “The Seven Righteous Swords of Roberts-san.”
But, I see the original post declares that, if he thinks he can do this thing, he must think he is Superman. I also see you agreeing with comments declaring that Daredevil or Mandrake the Magician would be more appropriate and calling a common interview technique “psuedoscience” and “mystical mummery.” You and some of the other commenters appear to be very clearly making fun of the idea that ANYBODY could claim to be able to tell if someone is lyng from body language.
And no, he is not talking about something that is clearly different from what I am talking about. Following your advice, I reread the comments and they said exactly the same thing this time as last time: determining whether someone is lying based on his body language. He does make the mistake of claiming that, since he didn’t catch any “tells” that indicate Roberts is lying, that he is being truthful (it does NOT work both ways), but that doesn’t appear to be what you, and particularly commenters like Kingdaddy, were objecting to. It seemed, and still does if I ignore your last comment, that it was ridiculous (i.e., he must think he is Superman) to think that he could tell if Roberts was lying by observing his body language.
September 15th, 2005 at 10:11 pm
On the other hand, perhaps my reading was just prejudiced by the tile of the post.
September 15th, 2005 at 10:13 pm
That would be “title of the post.”
And I almost mistyped it that time too!
September 16th, 2005 at 5:09 am
Senator Tom Coburn: Human Truth Detector
Senator Tom Coburn is not just a legislator and physician; he’s a human truth detecting machine.
Steven Taylor has the details.
…
September 16th, 2005 at 6:02 am
I understand where you are coming from. And further don’t doubt that any intelligent person watching another individual for several days (or eve, on some cases, a few minutes) could form a very reasonable conclusion as to whether that person is lying or not.
Ultimately, it was the pomposity of the statement that gets me.
Also understand: the post was aimed at 1) the Senator’s pompous statement, and 2) humor was the main goal overall.
September 16th, 2005 at 7:27 am
[...] Misc at 8:27 am on Friday, September 16, 2005 TrackBack
Dr. Steven Taylor points out Tom Coburn’s amazing mental powers. NIF has discovered the Hooter’s Employee Handbook [...]
September 16th, 2005 at 2:12 pm
Through the years I have observed many writings and can tell by twitches and other things whether a person is a decent patriotic American who suports our president and all hje does in time of crisis or a mealy mouthed, liberal, commie, terrorist loving traitor who makes funny of decent people.
You are a bad person.