Lie detection equipment in airports is old news, but the use of thermal imaging cameras and powerful software to covertly spot potential deception is not.

An undisclosed airport in Britain is implementing this new technology that keeps an unwitting eye on people entering the country by scanning passengers for signs of truthfulness.

Mail Online News has reported on Britain’s new security defense.  This covert operation, if you will, could be used at passport control stations and in customs interview rooms.  The “new” deception detection tool has a greater advantage than the current tools such as electronic body scanners and metal detectors because it is being implemented without the knowledge of the person in question.

This device reads tiny changes in facial expressions such as eye movement and micro facial expressions that have corresponding reactions in the brain, which cause changes in the patterns of blood flow around the face.  The changes in blood flow to the face are picked up by thermal imaging cameras.  These “truthfulness” measurements can prove to be useful not only in airports but in a variety of places such as schools and business conferences.

The system’s designer Hassan Ugail, a professor of visual computing at the University of Bradford, commented on this software, ‘In an interview you can be talking to a person, then you basically just press a computer button and say:  “Was this person lying or not?”’

Detecting deception with just a click of the button can be misleading.  What do you think about this type of software?  Do “real” people also need to be trained to understand the nuances of human behavior for this to be a double edged sword for criminals?

Professor Ugail goes on to state, “What we try to do is experiment with the face itself, but it is purely non-invasive, which means the person is probably not aware the measurements are being taken.”

This system is still being developed but Ugail and his colleagues have claimed a 60-70 percent success rate.

What are your thoughts on this non-invasive lie detection technology?

Most people have heard the old adage, ‘laughter is the best medicine’.  But could you truly enjoy a good laugh if it was at your own expense?  Many of us think we could and want to but do we really have the sense of humor that allows us laugh at ourselves?

Ursula Beermann, from the University of California Berkeley, and Willibald Ruch, from the University of Zurich,  studied 70 psychology students and gauged their ability to laugh at themselves.

However, this study was not all fun and games.  Research has linked optimism and laughter to improved health.  Understanding humor can be very important in one’s health and could shed light on conditions such as autism where the social skills required in recognizing jokes and the nuances used in certain jokes are lacking.

According to TIME Healthland, the study found that an individual’s ability to laugh at themselves had no bearing on how often they could laugh in response to the silly images of others. This implies that the ability to laugh at oneself is linked with our individual mood and personality.

Research Digest reports that Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System was used to decode the participant’s facial expressions looking for signs of true Duchenne smiles, which are symmetrical and involve creasing of the eye muscles.

80% of the participants flashed a genuine smile, but it was those that claimed to be able to laugh at themselves, and whose friends agreed with that statement, who displayed more frequent and intense smiling and laughter in response to silly images of themselves.

Therefore, being able to laugh at yourself is a distinct trait and linked to an upbeat personality.  Participants who were able to laugh at themselves were more cheerful and less serious overall.

What are your thoughts on this study?

Can a good sense of humor be learned or is it completely inherent?