You read my mind

How interesting, yet scary at the same time. They have supposedly figured out how to tell whether someone is telling a truth or a lie with an fMRI scan. The source is a Wired magazine article though, and sometimes they go a little too far out on a limb for an edgy story. Time will tell if this process will be stable and accurate enough to be useful.

Now the machine is big and the technology is fragile (a slight movement of the head can disrupt the scan). But knowing the rate of progress these days, it's a matter of time before they build one of those babies into high-end cellphones.

Now, there are serious questions as to the ethical complications of such a machine. Is it kosher to use in court? Would it supplant the role of the jury? But here at the Battlepanda blog we are not interested in serious ethical questions, just the frivolous, incredibly unlikely ones. Is it a good idea to use it on your kid and pretend you have telepathic powers? (Supernanny, eat your heart out). If you use the device to see if people are being honest about loving your karaoke rendition of "Heart of Glass", are you allowed to be mad at them if they are not?