# That Machine That Scientologists Use **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733 "2001-10-06T02:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnW77707](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@JohnW77707](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnW77707)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/1 "2001-10-06T02:28:40Z")
I’m relatively ignorant on the subject but as I recall one of the practices of Scientology invovles some meter that tells you if you are “clear”. (Or something like that – I’m not meaning to open up a GD). My basic question is: Presumably, one of these has been grabbed by a non-believer or former Scientologist and been analyzed. What is it? What do non-Scientologist scientists/engineers say it measures and how? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/2 "2001-10-06T02:33:24Z")
They are called “E-meters.” Here’s a description: [http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/E-Meter/](http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/E-Meter/) ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/3 "2001-10-06T02:34:27Z")
You beat me to it, Friedo. 🙂 Same link I was going to post. ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/4 "2001-10-06T04:04:26Z")
That is unbelievable. I knew they were screwy, but… ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/5 "2001-10-06T05:07:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnW77707 \* > \*\*Presumably, one of these has been grabbed by a non-believer or former Scientologist and been analyzed. What is it? What do non-Scientologist scientists/engineers say it measures and how? \*\* It’s called an e-meter. It’s basically an amplified galvanometer. In reality, it measures skin resistance, and works as a primitive “lie detector”. Scientology claims it measures “mental charge”. Some ex-Scientologists claim that the e-meter is used to deliver “subliminal electroshock” but there is no scientific support for this claim. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_The\_Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Buck\_The\_Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_The_Diver)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/6 "2001-10-06T05:28:25Z")
Like an ordinary polygraph, the “E-meter” simply measures galvanic skin resistance, which is sometimes referred to as the “sweat-index”. The more you perspire, the less electrical resistance your skin has. Water, as we all know, is a good conductor. Wanna screw with your auditor and convince him/her you are rid of your Thetans? Show up for your session really hung-over and sweaty. Or, perhaps bone-dry from taking decongestants. Loads of laffs. And if you want a really cheap E-meter, Radio Shack sells a “Biofeedback” machine that clamps on your finger and gives an audible tone corresponding to your sweatiness. Buck The Diver\<—proud owner of the RONCO Pocket E-Meter. Thetan-free since '83. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-machine-that-scientologists-use/85733/7 "2001-10-06T13:07:30Z")
**Cecil** discusses Scientology and E-meters here: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_134.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_134.html)