What we really need is a Truth Machine

[Athena]

Anyone remember this book?

Basically, the premise is that with the advent of new technologies and instant communication, the world is just not safe anymore. The US government calls for a "Truth Machine" to be invented - a machine that would 100% tell if someone is telling the truth or not. It takes many years of development, but they finally do it. The remainder of the book deals with the massive social changes that come about once everyone is used to telling the truth, all the time.

IIRC, terrorism is mentioned in the book as one of the big reasons why the truth machine is needed. 200 years ago, an insane maniac was very limited in the amount of destruction he could do. Nowadays, one maniac (much less a whole group of them working together) could do a whole lotta damage.

I don't know if a Truth Machine is possible or not, but it sure would be nice to have one, considering the recent events.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I remember the book. I enjoyed quite a bit. Especially the plot twist (which I won't spoil). A person subjected to the machine (which was non-lethal, BTW) would be unable to deliberately tell a lie. Of course if you had been fed false information about a subject, the machine would not be able to detect the lie if the person genuinely believed it. Also, it was very important that the questions be correctly phrased in order to get the real truth. The machine was also capable of detecting mental illnes in the person being questioned.

All in all, an intersesting idea, but I don't really think the American public would be as enthusiastic about such a device as they were in the book.