RSSToday in Junk Science
December 2nd, 2008 | 1 Comment
Security experts say focus is shifting from analyzing the content of carry-ons to analyzing the content of passengers’ intentions and emotions.
“We are seeing a needed paradigm shift when it comes to security,” says Omer Laviv, CEO of ATHENA GS3, an Israeli-based security company.
“This ‘brain-fingerprinting,’ or technology which checks for behavioral intent, is much more developed than we think.”…
Several Israeli-based technology companies are developing detection systems that pick up signs of emotional strain, a psychological red flag that a passenger may intend to commit an act of terror. Speedier and less intrusive than metal detectors, these systems may eventually restore some efficiency to the airplane boarding process.
One firm, WeCU (pronounced “We See You”) Technologies, employs a combination of infra-red technology, remote sensors and imagers, and flashing of subliminal images, such as a photo of Osama bin Laden. Developers say the combination of these technologies can detect a person’s reaction to certain stimuli by reading body temperature, heart rate and respiration, signals a terrorist unwittingly emits before he plans to commit an attack.
With these technologies, the emphasis is on speed and seamlessness. Ehud Givon, CEO of WeCU, envisions a day when a passenger can breeze through a security checkpoint in 20 to 30 seconds.
Do these people not have a psychologist on staff? Because this is total garbage. Expensive garbage, to be sure, but garbage nonetheless.
I Remember
September 11th, 2007 | 1 Comment
While it’s not a flashbulb memory in the strict sense, I still remember where I was I found out.
I had shown up for my intro to social psych course with Professor Jeremy Freese with no idea that anything had happened. Back in those days, I simply got out of bed ten, maybe fifteen minutes before class, threw on some clothes and brushed my teeth, grabbed my backpack, and ran. My first indication that anything at all was amiss in the world was when Professor Freese announced that, due to events in New York, he was making a one-day exception in his strict anti-cell phone policy for anyone who was waiting to hear from someone. And then we pretty much had class as normal, except for one cell phone ring and the girl who ran out of the room to take the call.
After class, I went home and turned on the tv, wondering what was happening in New York. I believe my first response was, “Holy shit.”
