Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • September 25, 2008 3:51 PM

Does any one remember the SARS detectors put out at airports,

From the Fox article: “It has a series of sensors and imagers that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious tells invisible to the naked eye”

Sounds a lot like a SARS detector…

And as we know the SARS detectors where not at all effective.

So it (supposadly) detects somebody about to commit an act, presuambly because ther are giving of certain “tell tale” signs.

Two thoughts,

What is unique about “about to commit” tell tale signs as opposed to “having commited” signs. For instance a person might have committed some social transgretion such as cheating on their partner who is to greet them at their destination.

The second is what about psycopaths / sociopaths that effectivly have no emotion about what they are about to do, and therefor would exhibit little none of the symptoms that an ordinary person would.

This device sounds just as reliable as the “Indian mind reading guilt detector”.

Clive Robinson • September 26, 2008 1:19 AM

@ BW,

“They should test it on poker players”

Yup every card sharp or Casino owner should have one to maximise profit potential 😉

However they would be way down the list on my chosen test subjects for testing any of these new “mind reading” devices or even the old like the polygraph.

My list is of those that are potential exceptions that would give rise to both false positives and false negatives.

First up on the list, left handed people.

When Neuroscientists do their experiments with electronic assistance (FMRI, EEG, etc) they usually exclude lefthanders. Because this 20-25% of the population screw up their results big time. When I asked a neuroscientist why they excluded left handers like myself I was told “the trouble with you lefties is your brain’s aren’t wired right”, which at least got a laugh and suggests it’s a question that has been asked many times before.

Studies have shown links to lefthandedness and certain learning difficulties to do with reading and writing. Which often leads to poor exam results from otherwise bright students.

What is known is that those who have their reading and writing skills addressed usually do go on to be quite successfull.

Studies have shown that of first time offenders with low qualifications there is a disproportiantly high number of left handers.

It has been suggested that this is because they know they are more able and capable than those around them but are held back by lack of exam success and therefore devote their talents to otherwise obtain the material rewards the belive they would otherwise have if not held back (by the system).

Which suggests further that left handers are likly to feel more victimised by authority than others.

Oh and remember that the word “sinister” actually originaly ment left handed, the French for left and right are gauche and droite which have moved into English with now entirly different meanings.

All of which suggests both historicaly and practicaly left handers are “hinky” and thus are likley to be candidates for false positives.

Second up on the list, people with mild Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) such as those with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Sometimes known as “High-functioning Autisum” they are often perceived as those odd ball creative people who actually deliver complex systems, designs and theories which usually have that quality of “elegant simplicity”.

Often victimised in the work place by buracratic types because they see those with mild ASD as “bucking authority” or not being “team players” due to such things as unkempt appearance, untidy desks and not being “politicaly sensitive” (ie those with mild ASD don’t like spin, office speak, and those who practice it as they take things literaly. Also they will quite accuratly point out why things are going wrong and how to fix them).

Worse they are branded “antisocial” because they prefer working away from “disimilar others” the light or noise (due to sensory hypersensitivity).

But are “grudgingly accepted” as a “necessary evil” because they actually deliver the goods as design engineer’s, architects scientists etc.

Historicaly the term “big headed” was applied to these people and appears to have some basis in fact as autisitic children tend to have brains that are roughly 10% bigger around the very important age range of 2-3 when significant brain development occurs (it might also be one of those corelations that gave rise to ideas that led to phrenology).

Thus those with mild ASD (which could be as high as 3% of the population), again don’t fit in with the norm and respond differently so again are potentially false positives.

Third up on the list are your low level sociopath / psycopath types such as large business leaders and high level career buracrats.

Often recognised as those who’s rapid climb to success is because the rungs on their career ladder are the knives they stick in other people’s backs.

They usually lack the moral constraints that others have and go for their target.

Although lacking moral constraint they often are very adept at manipulating others as a means to an end and thus “faking morals” as and when required is second nature.

Further when coupled with inteligence they are quite happy to manipulate others into doing “what’s required”.

This avoiding responsability through others alows them to take high risk stratagies and take rewards if successfull and pass failiure off onto others.

Their lack of morals makes them potential candidates as false negatives.

There are others on the list of test subjects but they are of less interest.

As I said those on the list are more likley to be exceptions to the general population that these “mind reading” technologies are supposadly designed to work on.

That is they do not behave in the way the other 75-90% of the population “supposadly” behaves and thus represent a significant set of potential false positives and negatives.
If any system cannot reliably deal with the exceptions then it is of no practical use, which appears to be the case with all these “mind reading” technologies.