# The Moment of Truth **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169 "2008-02-26T01:24:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/21 "2008-02-26T15:22:49Z")
[QUOTE=SP2263] The last question was “Do you think you are a good person?” She answered “Yes” I’m never watching again. The last question ruined the whole show for me and, yes, the second question from the ex boyfriend was essentially the same question as the first. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that last question seems like a bit of a cheat. For the other questions the contestant can be pretty sure of the truth of their answer, embarrasing as it might be. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/22 "2008-02-27T09:42:34Z")
I’m suspect of the lie detector. If the thing is 95% reliable, which is generous, you only have a 1/3 chance of making it through 21 questions. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/23 "2008-02-27T18:36:04Z")
Aaaaand [the real truth comes out](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332969,00.html). Surprise surprise. > [@](#): > > “We’re kind of up in the air right now — I want to [get back together], but I don’t think he does,” Lauren Cleri told the New York Post. Tough luck, honey. He can do _ **waaaaay** _ better than you. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/24 "2008-02-27T19:25:49Z")
[QUOTE=atomicbadgerrace] Aaaaand [the real truth comes out](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332969,00.html). Surprise surprise. Tough luck, honey. He can do _ **waaaaay** _ better than you. [/QUOTE] That doesn’t sound like anything we didn’t already know. Of course they were there for money and fame, thats why everyone does it. The thing is they can make anybody lose if they want too. The questions asked on the show have already been asked of the contestants and as far as i know they don’t know wether they passed or failed, so something as simple as “do you think you are a good person” is in reality a guaranteed loss since the show already knows she missed it. Unless she changes her answer, which she has no reason too if she doesn’t know the results. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/25 "2008-02-27T20:25:28Z")
[QUOTE=DigitalC] That doesn’t sound like anything we didn’t already know. Of course they were there for money and fame, thats why everyone does it. The thing is they can make anybody lose if they want too. The questions asked on the show have already been asked of the contestants and as far as i know they don’t know wether they passed or failed, so something as simple as “do you think you are a good person” is in reality a guaranteed loss since the show already knows she missed it. Unless she changes her answer, which she has no reason too if she doesn’t know the results. [/QUOTE] Perhaps it’s one thing to sit there and answer 50 yes/no questions in a room alone with a polygraph administrator providing no feedback… and another entirely to sit for 45 minutes in front of hundreds of people booing every answer you give. If it were may… maybe I would think twice before saying I was a good person in front of America. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/26 "2008-02-27T22:42:45Z")
Hold on a sec…there’s an actual polygraph being used on the show, in real time, for every answer? Not a prop? Not some cheesy means of dragging it out? And its results count even if they go against the previous results? … Forget it, this is Pit material. (Like you couldn’t guess. 🙂 ) I will say, though, that I admire the admirable sacrifice she made. She just wrecked her marriage, and she got NOTHING for it because the show played dirty. Everyone who’s seen it knows that baring one’s soul on Moment of Truth is nothing but a colossal pointless waste. An incredibly noble sacrifice for the sake of the truth. (Of course, this leaves the question of where the hell the show is going to go from here, but that’s hardly my problem, is it?) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/27 "2008-02-27T23:07:52Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] Hold on a sec…there’s an actual polygraph being used on the show, in real time, for every answer? Not a prop? Not some cheesy means of dragging it out? And its results count even if they go against the previous results? … [/QUOTE] No, no polygraph, not even a prop. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/28 "2008-02-27T23:22:33Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] No, no polygraph, not even a prop. [/QUOTE] The polygraph is used prior to airing the show. The true/false given during the show is based on the results of the polygraph. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/29 "2008-02-27T23:33:13Z")
Feel free to beat me about the head and face with the naïve stick if you will, but was the whole “we had serious reservations about showing this” spiel just a bunch of specious theatrics, or did they really think long and hard about it? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/30 "2008-02-27T23:57:33Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] The polygraph is used prior to airing the show. The true/false given during the show is based on the results of the polygraph. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I forgot to specify no **live** polygraph. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169/31 "2008-02-28T04:54:45Z")
Wait, so in other words, the contestant has to _guess_ what the polygraph judged the answer to be regardless of what the truth is?? Yeesh. The more I learn about this show, the dumber it sounds. This isn’t horrifying truths and livelihoods on the line, this is Card Sharks at 1/10th speed. Let’s not kid ourselves: There will _always_ be plausible deniability. All this woman has to say is that she was really nervous during the questioning and gave out a lot of false yeses or that she was just hamming it up for some cheap publicity. Barring an ex-boyfriend ponying up DNA evidence or a notarized testimonial on her honeymoon, who’s going to prove her wrong? I’d be surprised if this makes it to episode 60. It’s going to run out of steam faster than Big Brother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moment-of-truth/439169.md?page=1)