At least Szasz sort of had a point.

September 27, 2005 7:08 PM

This fall, Professor Tom Cruise will favor us with a four-part lecture series on The Modern Science of Mental Health. Personally, I'm looking forward to "Diagnosis and Treatment of So-Called Clinical Depression with the Hubbard Mark Super VII Quantum Electropsychometer", which may well be on its way to becoming the most downloaded video ever, after Triumph and that Star Wars kid. [via]
posted by mowglisambo (75 comments total)

I'm sure we can all bask in the delicious irony of this man's denial of the existence of nutjobs.
posted by mowglisambo at 7:09 PM on September 27, 2005

The second lecture, tentatively scheduled for October 22, is on "Handling Sexual Dis-Orientation: Out of the Closet and Into the Auditing Room".

Well that's way too easy
posted by geoff. at 7:22 PM on September 27, 2005

I'm predicting many, many good years of sardonic fun for us all at this man's expense, without the ick factor that attends Micheal Jackson-themed humour. Moreover, Nicole Kidman has just got to be laughing herself to sleep every night.
posted by orange swan at 7:25 PM on September 27, 2005

Please stop linking to the Star Wars kid. The poor guy did something we all do (goofing off) and thanks to some jackasses he is now paying for it with mental health issues.

On the flip side, Tom Cruise is deliberately putting his, uh...issues, out in public and deserves whatever feedback comes of it.
posted by arcticwoman at 7:26 PM on September 27, 2005

I wish we had an e-meter for MeFi posts, so we could read the thoughts and feelings behind each post. Maybe in digital form:
Sarcasm: 73% --- Honesty:27%
Humor: 7% --- Disgust at brainwashed nutjob cult pseudoscience: 93%
posted by cleardawn at 7:33 PM on September 27, 2005

Nicole Kidman has just got to be laughing herself to sleep every night.
Yeah, except he's got custody of the kids. Yikes.
posted by maryh at 7:38 PM on September 27, 2005

without the ick factor that attends Micheal Jackson-themed humour.

I don't know. I think brainwashing his children to believe the demented ravings of a third rate science fiction writer has a pretty high ick factor.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:47 PM on September 27, 2005

I hope someone torrents that video feed. I'd love to find out more about getting a PhD in Nutjobbery.
posted by blendor at 7:53 PM on September 27, 2005

As far as Cruise brainwashing his kids, I have never seen a more sure way of getting kids to rebel and reject parental values than having one parent force them to worship/believe only their way and denigrating the other parent's faith.

I know that's why I can never take Baal seriously anymore.
posted by beelzbubba at 7:55 PM on September 27, 2005

Humor: 7% --- Disgust at brainwashed nutjob cult pseudoscience: 93%

Why are these two seperate?
posted by Ryvar at 8:05 PM on September 27, 2005

In case anyone reading doesn't know, Scientology isn't a religion. It's a criminal organization. Never mistake them for anything else.

One of their later principles, which you don't learn about until you've given them unbelievable amounts of money, is that non-Scientologists are not human. It is perfectly okay to lie to, cheat, steal from, or kill a nonhuman.

They will assault critics to an extraordinary degree, and make their lives living hell if they can, anything from research on people to dig up dirt and embarrass them (and they'll twist anything to extraordinary degrees) to stalking and burglary. In their quest to silence critics, there's very little they won't do.

They are evil, evil, evil. Avoid them.

Operation Clambake is probably the best source for information about Scientology. If you know anyone considering joining, make sure they read that site first. If they don't run screaming, then I suggest strongly not dealing with that person anymore. Anyone attracted to that kind of organization isn't someone you want to associate with.
posted by Malor at 8:06 PM on September 27, 2005

beelzbubba, that may be true. But Scientoligy, unlike (arguably) most other religions, is cynically and deliberately designed to completely isolate its followers and make them dependent and, well, crazy. I mean, they did get Beck.

And it is most unwise to deride the holy name of Ball in public forums.
just sayin'...
posted by es_de_bah at 8:11 PM on September 27, 2005

I must sadly shake my head at all those misguided people who have decided to reject the one true path of Ahura Mazda.
posted by clevershark at 8:15 PM on September 27, 2005

*scientology

and whatever else i misspelled. oh how i miss the old format.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:16 PM on September 27, 2005

They got Beck? I heard he was born into it.
posted by arcticwoman at 8:18 PM on September 27, 2005

Check out what they did to Paulette Cooper. They framed her back in the late 60's or early 70's and she was put on trial for making bomb threats. It's really amazing their dedication.

It was called "Operation Freakout". The planning documents were found when the FBI raided their headquarters in 1977 or so.
posted by whatever at 8:18 PM on September 27, 2005

Well, but that just goes to show: having parents that are into it is no guaruntee you'll rebel against it.
posted by mowglisambo at 8:20 PM on September 27, 2005

arcticwoman, exactly my point. He was allegedly raised in a house where the tv, mail, and internet were controlled by Scientologists.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:24 PM on September 27, 2005

True. I understand what you mean.
posted by arcticwoman at 8:25 PM on September 27, 2005

For all the shit this guy gets - and believe me I think he's crazy as a loon myself - the psychiatic institution can't possibly have that many fans. It's not so much that he trashes psychiatry - somebody visible should be doing that - it's what he offers as a replacement: cramming horse apples into one's ear and screming OUT, FOUL ALIENS!
posted by scarabic at 8:39 PM on September 27, 2005

I infiltrated the organization for about two months for a paper I was writing. Getting out was next to impossible, psychologically and logistically speaking. I had to move and change my phone number, P.O. box, etc., just to get some peace, and it was about two years before I could finally say they had left me alone. I had intentionally psychologically distanced myself from the teachings while going through the movements from stage to stage - I can only imagine the mental entanglement experienced by someone trying it out in earnest. Don't fuck with teh Hubbard, man.
posted by postmodernmillie at 8:41 PM on September 27, 2005

In four years, when she wakes up, I call dibs on Katie Holmes.
posted by billysumday at 8:44 PM on September 27, 2005

Geez, I hope that paper was your PhD. Anything less wouldn't seem worth it. Good for you, though.
posted by arcticwoman at 8:45 PM on September 27, 2005

As a side question, do we have any Scientologist Mefites? Or are they not allowed to use the evil internet?
posted by arcticwoman at 8:46 PM on September 27, 2005

I second the interest in a torrent of these lectures. Hell, I'd attend them if I could, but my laughter and offensive comments would probably get me kicked out anyway.
posted by Plinko at 8:49 PM on September 27, 2005

It was undergrad. Got an A, though.

I was being audited by a 12-year-old girl, born and raised in the organization. (The questions they ask are so intensely personal - I was asked to recall all the details of a rape that had taken place several years before.) "Great," I thought, "This is my out." I didn't really want to spill this to a pubescent girl with a counterclockwise spin in her eyes... so I froze up and said I couldn't go on. Procedure says that when an audit goes south, it's referred to a supervisor. So the supervisor takes me outside and walks me to a nearby residential area, and to "debrief" me, points to a number of objects. "What's that?" "A stop sign." "What's that?" A pebble. "What's that?" "A rose bush." What's that?" Ad infinitum. The idea is to bring the subject down to a minimal level of emotional involvement after the supposed emotional trauma that ensued during the auditing. And then, ideally, auditing recommences. I refused.

They take your purse and keys when you arrive for any session of any kind. I marched into the director's office and demanded my possessions. He wouldn't give them to me. I told him that I would run to the insurance company down the street and call the police if he would not. I got my keys back.

They badgered me after that, sure, but it wasn't because I "abandoned" the study, it was because they had broken S.O.P. and had to resolve it internally or they would all be in trouble. You see, a girl of 12, while well-versed in the arts of auditing, isn't allowed to ask questions involving adult situations. And the supervisor was under no circumstances supposed to let me leave the premises without having resolved the matter fully in accordance with procedure.
posted by postmodernmillie at 8:57 PM on September 27, 2005

Malor:"Scientology isn't a religion. It's a criminal organization."

There's a difference?

*runs away*
posted by spazzm at 9:02 PM on September 27, 2005

I doubt we do have any Scientology MeFites, arcticwoman.... they discourage any outside involvement with anyone or any "secular" entity after you've been in it for a while. That is, unless you've achieved a higher level, and then you are free to move about the masses for proselytization purposes.
posted by postmodernmillie at 9:05 PM on September 27, 2005

Speaking of science research & mental health, we have a Republican congressman trying to shelve some NIMH research.

From the editorial in the latest Nature Neuroscience,

*******
In June, the House of Representatives approved an amendment seeking to withhold funding from two successfully peer-reviewed projects at NIMH.
...
One of the threatened grants deals with visual perception in pigeons; the other is a study on how psychological traits contribute to successful marriages. The proposal to withhold funds from these studies was submitted by Republican Congressman Randy Neugebauer, a real estate developer who represents a district in northwestern Texas
*******
He attempted this last year, as well, with other studies.

Set of links here.
posted by Gyan at 9:09 PM on September 27, 2005

That is, unless you've achieved a higher level, and then you are free to move about the masses for proselytization purposes.
Like His Royal Clearness Dr. Cruise.
posted by arcticwoman at 9:10 PM on September 27, 2005

Sorry to point this out, but the Tom Cruise lectures are a fake.

See also here
posted by Serena at 9:20 PM on September 27, 2005

Good, I'm glad. Wow, judging by the number of people who believed it, not many of us have high expectations for Scientologists, huh?
posted by arcticwoman at 9:26 PM on September 27, 2005

postmodernmillie: That's an incredible story - but not unlike others I've heard. For a while I would drive by a Scientology "church" on my way to and from work and I had a perverse urge to see what kind of craziness they'd try if I went in for their "stress" test (the sign for a free stress test was posted on their window with multi-colored bubble letters, which I always found very funny). But I never built up the guts to do it, and maybe that's a good thing.
posted by mullacc at 9:28 PM on September 27, 2005

Malor, most western religions are criminal organizations.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:30 PM on September 27, 2005

Effective religions isolate, and then reward the isolation with an intense sense of belonging. See also, the ascetic / reward fallacy (this is painful, but I'm doing it for something, therefore what I'm doing it for must be worth the amount of pain it brings).

It's just part of how things work.
posted by effugas at 10:13 PM on September 27, 2005 [1 favorite]

jeffburdges, ditto for the eastern, southern and northern varieties.
posted by dvdgee at 10:16 PM on September 27, 2005

The lunatic is in the hall....
The lunatic is in the hall....

What a loon. This is gonna be fun... pass the popcorn!
posted by zoogleplex at 10:42 PM on September 27, 2005

postmodernmillie, I really want to read that paper. That's a lot of dedication for undergrad work. My email is in my profile.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:44 PM on September 27, 2005

postmodernmillie: You should consider sharing that paper with Scientology critic Dave Touretzky.
posted by tss at 10:56 PM on September 27, 2005

Actually, I would be interested in the paper, too. Scientology is one of those fascinating car wrecks that I can't help but slow down for.
posted by Plinko at 11:04 PM on September 27, 2005

GREAT XENU! won't someone defend the scientologists?
posted by Hat Maui at 11:21 PM on September 27, 2005

I'd like to read your paper too, if you don't mind postmodernmillie. It sound very interesting.
posted by kosher_jenny at 11:25 PM on September 27, 2005

man, what if postmodernmillie just made that paper up to rip on scientologists in this thread? or what if she did actually write it and it was awesome but she didn't keep any electronic copies of it and she tells you guys that but you're all like "yeah, right, millie!"

or what if the paper is horrible, but then she emails you and is all "so what did you think of my soc 101 paper on scientology that i wrote when i was 19?" and you'll be all "it was, uh, interesting!...yeah. so. i gotta run, mil mil."

someone has to think of these things. someone has to think of the poor scientologist peoples and their struggles!
posted by Hat Maui at 12:42 AM on September 28, 2005

From what I was able to find out by talking to a few 'in' and a few 'out' scientologists and doing some research on the subject, it seems that if any future president thinks "Right, we're having a national, public inquiry into scientology and the FBI and CIA are going to go through all their shit and we'll arrest their top people" (which will never happen) then there would be... a national scandal? Not quite the right word. Too weak a word.

And that's the point. What scientology does really is so malevolent at its core that it's easier to just pretend they're a bunch of funny nutjobs and keep walking.

Which troubles me, because unless the US government in particular takes a decision to emasculate scientology, possibly the largest mass human rights violation ever consciously undertaken by a 'religion' in a western country will just keep going.
posted by paperpete at 1:49 AM on September 28, 2005

arcticwoman : Please stop linking to the Star Wars kid. The poor guy did something we all do (goofing off) and thanks to some jackasses he is now paying for it with mental health issues.

I really wish that he hadn't cracked under the instant fame. I feel (very mildly) bad about that - proportionate to about how much I helped fan the flames of that whole debacle, which is little. I watched the video, I laughed, I shared it with friends. But even small stones can maim if enough of them are thrown.

However, I don't think it was ever properly conveyed to him that - at least in the beginning - that people were genuinely laughing with him, not at him. The subtext that I gathered from the whole experience was something along the lines of "Hey, look at this dork! Doesn't he look familiar? Yeaaah. You know you've done that, just like that, but worse. Much worse. Small world, huh?"

But then, I'm a dork.

The first time I saw that video on Waxy.org he was totally my hero. I thought he had taped himself, encoded it, and posted it on the internet himself. I had no idea it had been supposedly maliciously posted by some bullies at his school who broke into his locker or got the tapes from the AV room or whatever.

rerail:
"Can I interest you in some Scientolomology?"
"No. Can I interest you in taking a flying fuck at the moon?"
posted by loquacious at 2:36 AM on September 28, 2005

> Check out what they did to Paulette Cooper.

Scientology may be a lunatic nut-cult prepared to stop at nothing to perpetuate it's scam, but Paulette Cooper really isn't the most reliable of witnesses to its excesses.
The bigger story.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:01 AM on September 28, 2005

ersatz lectures. dang. Sorry, guys...
posted by mowglisambo at 4:41 AM on September 28, 2005

Bring on the "yeah, right, millie"... if said paper from 1992 still exists, it's on a corrupted 3.5" floppy in a box somewhere out in my black widow-infested shed. You couldn't pay me enough to look for it. Sorry, Hat Maui!
posted by postmodernmillie at 4:57 AM on September 28, 2005

Free Zone Scientology
posted by moonbird at 5:01 AM on September 28, 2005

This lecture series has been confirmed a hoax.
posted by glenwood at 5:37 AM on September 28, 2005

They take your purse and keys when you arrive for any session of any kind.

Don't know why that sent such shivers down my spine - something so simple that renders you so utterly powerless...
posted by penguin pie at 5:45 AM on September 28, 2005

Malor, most western religions are criminal organizations.

jeffburdges, not like this one. Despite their checkered past, most modern religions are pretty harmless. Some of the Christian churches spit fire and denounce a lot, but they're basically toothless. In another five or ten years, if the Republicans keep power, they're likely to get far worse, but right now they're not really dangerous.

Scientology, in my opinion, is something else entirely, a cancer on humanity. They are a malevolent, criminal enterprise. They appear to have no scruples whatsoever. Real religions, in comparison, are amateurs in the evil biz... since they're focused at least slightly on the general welfare.

Reasonable people just wouldn't believe the depths to which these people are willing to sink. It continues to amaze me... I know intellectually that they're the single worst outfit I've heard of, but every time I read actual documentation, I am shocked and horrified all over again.

The only "religion" I can think that's probably worse is middle-ages Catholicism with its Inquisition.

<disclaimer> Note: this and my preceding comment(s) are opinion. I do not represent them as fact. After doing research, these are the conclusions at which I arrived. I suggest doing your own. It's educational.</disclaimer>
posted by Malor at 5:53 AM on September 28, 2005

Yikes. I had no idea he had custody of his and Nicole's children. And they're being homeschooled by Tom's sisters. Also, the Katie Holmes thing is disturbing — she seems to be going to pieces.

Agreed, it makes things much less funny when people, and especially children, are getting damaged by this.
posted by orange swan at 5:54 AM on September 28, 2005

Anyone remember this brilliant Daily Show commentary?

Tom Cruise: ... I know that psychiatry is a pseudo-science...
Lewis Black: Unlike Scientology--I mean, that's got science right in the name!

Gawd.
posted by Ricky_gr10 at 6:08 AM on September 28, 2005

*snrk* So where's the cash/credit card machine hiding on that e-meter anyhow? I thought they were mandatory.
posted by keptwench at 6:18 AM on September 28, 2005

Just a heads up - This was actually a fake press release. I posted about it yesterday and later updated with an email I received from Cruise's lawyer, Bertram Fields:

Link
posted by goodasyou at 7:51 AM on September 28, 2005

Oops, sorry - didnt see that someone had already pointed this out
posted by goodasyou at 7:52 AM on September 28, 2005

Hooray, though, for those brave scientologists! I'm very happy they have a productive outlet for their energy and curiosity instead of, say, popping a cap in my ass outside the lunch room.
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:45 AM on September 28, 2005

postmodernmillie, was it covert Scientologists that corrupted that floppy? Man, is there no limit to their power?!?

I'd be interested in hearing more first hand accounts.. anyone else with links/personal experience?
posted by Hanover Phist at 8:55 AM on September 28, 2005

Damn black-widows! I knew they were minions of Scientology. Untold mountains of evidence against Scientologist are doubtless held in black-widow-protected sheds all across this country!
posted by mullacc at 9:26 AM on September 28, 2005

my black widow-infested shed

Because of my window width, I initially read that as a black (linebreak) shed that was infested with widows. The black part I got, I mean, all those widows would be a-mourning, right? But why would you need a special shed? Is it this some sort of sitting-shiva thing that crazy-orthodox people do?

Then I got better.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:36 AM on September 28, 2005

They take your purse and keys when you arrive for any session of any kind.

I had the same thought, Penguin Pie. Doesn't that sort of remind you of going to jail for an interrogation? People are voluntarily giving up their purses and keys?!
posted by pinkpanther23 at 9:47 AM on September 28, 2005

My favorite graffitti ever (from a Denver coffeehouse, circa 1968 or so): "Scientology - The Science of the Modern Elf, by Elrond Cupboard"
posted by dbmcd at 10:02 AM on September 28, 2005

The purse thing seems innocuous at first. They cheerfully offer to put it in a safe place so you can do your e-meter thing or whatever unencumbered. And then they insist.

One other weird activity I forgot to mention was that one of the first things they have you do is to have you reenact certain conversations and conflicts from your life (and visualizing certain interactions you anticipate in the future) using Monopoly pieces and small toys laid out on a table. It felt as though I was being trained to view all people and situations as manipulable and to see all of it from a detached, birds-eye perspective.
posted by postmodernmillie at 10:57 AM on September 28, 2005

One other weird activity I forgot to mention was that one of the first things they have you do is to have you reenact certain conversations... using Monopoly pieces and small toys laid out on a table.

But the important thing is, did they let you be the thimble?

Honestly...that's creepy. And really interesting- I've read a lot of the stuff written by former insiders but they don't really get into that level of bizarro detail. I'd love to hear more if you're willing to share.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:31 PM on September 28, 2005

How the e-meter sessions work: You're alone in a small, quiet room with an auditor. You hold these two beer can-lookin' things that are hooked up to something resembling a multimeter, and when you think about something unpleasant, the needle goes up into the red. When it registers in that way, your thought is said to be "charged" with negative energy. The goal of the e-meter audit is to have you talk the memory to death until it no longer holds that charge.

They have a set list of questions they run down to see what memories come up first for you. I remember one being, "Describe a situation in which you bested something dangerous." I remembered a time when I was riding my bike and a dog came up and bit me; I hit it over the head with my tire pump and it ran away. The needle went into the red as I was describing this. So the auditor asked me more questions to provide as much detail as I could recall. "What were you wearing? What was the weather like? What color was your bike? What did the dog look like? Did it have a collar?" So I ended up exhaustively going through every detail that I could. So, let's say there's something about that incident that I couldn't remember - in my case, it was whether it was a cloudy day or windy or whatever. What their theory is is that we all have photographic memories that record every single detail of every day of our lives, and if there's something we can't remember about a traumatic event, that's where we're stuck, and if we can just delve a little deeper to retrieve that detail, we can get it out and finally be free of the negative charge that memory holds for us. So this auditor grilled me over and over about what the sky looked like that day, and I finally just made up something like, "Oh, yeah, there were a few fluffy white clouds, I remember now..." After we had gone over every freaking thing about the dog bite incident, she asked me to tell her what happened again. This time, the needle stayed pretty much in the center. I don't know if they manipulate the feedback themselves or if talking this to death loosened its hold on my psyche, but that's how the process seems to work.

There are hundreds of questions on that list, and I was just a beginner, so I'm sure you encounter more and more lists the longer you stay in the org. Some are seemingly positive ("Describe the last holiday spent with your family") but also seem loaded, designed to bring up negative experiences.

So, before this initial audit, I was told that Scientology is dedicated to clearing (that's what a Clear is - a person who has processed all past experiences in this way) all negatively-charged memories gathered over a lifetime, and that although it takes years of persistent auditing, preferably on a daily basis, to go Clear, the result is a happy person free to pursue his true destiny.

That, and they end up with a dossier of dirt on you.
posted by postmodernmillie at 1:20 PM on September 28, 2005

I'm sorry, the second time the needle stayed over to the left (zero charge). If it had made it into the center, some charge would still be registering and she would have had me talk about the incident until the needle stayed at zero.
posted by postmodernmillie at 1:24 PM on September 28, 2005

They take your purse and keys when you arrive for any session of any kind.

It reminded me of the opening to The Story of O. The first step in O's domination is her lover's removal of identifying documents as well as any means (keys, money) to help her escape. Considering how that book it ends, the similarity is chilling indeed.

As for the talking to toys and so forth, I hate to ask it, but isn't that a device often used in child psychology?
posted by miss-lapin at 1:32 PM on September 28, 2005 [1 favorite]

Here is a fabulous description of some of the stuff they make a newbie do.

Ack, and I totally forgot about this part: "...a preclear is steered around the room for hours at a time with the commands:

"Look at that wall." "Thank you."

"Walk over to that wall." "Thank you."

"With the right hand, touch that wall." "Thank you."

"Turn around." "Thank you." ...
posted by postmodernmillie at 1:33 PM on September 28, 2005

I don't know much about child psychology, but it would make sense that they would use it if they're trying to reshape your psyche like so much Play-Doh.
posted by postmodernmillie at 1:37 PM on September 28, 2005

I have to point this out. People make a post about the flaws in Islam... LOOKOUT - you get reamed as a bigot or racist. Slam Christianity you'll get at least 10% of the posters defending the religion vociferously.

BUT.

Post the snarkiest of snark threads about Scientology and FUN FUN FUN. Everybody joins in. Including me.

Yeah. Yeah. I know. But it's "Scientology." A means for the addle headed pretty people to worship the Celebrity God that is themselves.

So what.

But aren't all Religions pretty much the same kind of bullshit?
posted by tkchrist at 4:25 PM on September 28, 2005

But aren't all Religions pretty much the same kind of bullshit?

No. Different religious groups feature different kinds of bullshit in different amounts. For example, Islam and Christianity share the "Ours is the One True Faith" dogma. Hinduism and Buddhism do not. Nor do the latter threaten one with eternal damnation and suffering if one does not follow The Rules. Certain groups, like the Thuggees, have a Dual Morality (one morality for Us, another when dealing with Them). Others do not. Shi'ite Islam and the Roman Catholic Church each have a single, well-defined hierarchy; Sunni Islam and certain Protestant sects do not.

The Church of Scientology is fairly unique in that it requires payment from its members in order to gain further religious knowledge. I believe it is also unique in being:

1. a missionary religion
2. that is rigidly hierarchical
3. and holds some knowledge to be esoteric.

A religion that has one or two of these attributes is one thing, but a religion that has all three, and makes its members pay to learn what the religion is really all about, is ripe for abuse.

Open-source religion has its problems. Proprietary religion is much worse.
posted by skoosh at 5:02 PM on September 28, 2005

I don't know much about psychology nor religion, but I do know a fair bit about electronics.

About 4 or 5 years ago I encountered a scientologist recruiter on the street, he was offering pamplets and selling books. He also had one of those e-meters set up on a table and suggested I try it.

I held on to two metal cylinders attached with wires to a big multimeter-looking thingy. The recruiter asked me to think of something pleasant, and the needle jumped. Then he asked me to think of something unpleasant, and the needle jumped again.

Which lead me to conclude that the e-meters is just a resistance-meter, also known as ohm-meter after the unit for electric resistance, ohm. Engineers and electricians use this type of device daily, it's useful because it measures the resistance to conducting electricity in any object.

The human body conducts electricity. How well it does this depend on several factors such as sweat production, blood flow, muscle tension and so on - factors that are influenced by your level of agitation.

This is how lie-detectors work, they detect agitation by physical signs (lie detectors check for more than just skin conductivity, though).

In conclusion: E-meters are just oversized ohm-meters used to separate the gullible from their money.

I ended up walking away from the recruiter with the words "I have my own, thank you very much".
posted by spazzm at 5:27 PM on September 28, 2005

The Profit, a "controversial new film about a cult leader's rise to power.
L. Conrad Powers organizes a cult of deluded adherents then, when the government applies the heat, he turns his operation into a church."
posted by spazzm at 5:53 PM on September 28, 2005

> I have to point this out. People make a post about the flaws in Islam... LOOKOUT - you get reamed as a bigot or racist. Slam Christianity you'll get at least 10% of the posters defending the religion vociferously.

Right - and talk about scientology, and someone will invite the group to slam all other religions as "the same thing".

> But aren't all Religions pretty much the same kind of bullshit?
posted by dand at 6:12 PM on September 28, 2005