FOX Series Lie to Me Based on Truth

Perhaps you have seen the hit series, Lie to Me on Fox, starring Dr. Cal Lightman, played by British Actor Tim Roth (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000619/bio). If you haven't caught an episode, Dr. Lightman is a "deception expert," according to the FOX series website. He is trained to read facial movements to determine the truth and track down criminals. Have you ever thought this would be useful person to know in real life?

Have you have wondered if there is any merit to facial mapping and decoding facial expressions made by others unintentionally? You bet there is. It is an entire science, but very few are considered experts in the real world.

This concept of facial analysis was actually covered beautifully in the fairly recent book Blink (Little, Brown and Company, 2005), by Malcolm Gladwell, a staff writer for The New Yorker Magazine and best selling author. http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.htmlBlink outlines an entire case study describing the complexities of facial analysis and it's origins.

Blink, a book about intuition (except Gladwell doesn't like that word and it never appears in the book) reveals that in seconds, the brain can process multitudes of information. Though it may seem like emotional intuition, perhaps it is more science.

Gladwell has posted a great history of the origins of facial "decoding" on line. Well written and totally intriguing it is titled: The Naked Face. If you are interested in becoming your own expert in facial study, this is a great place to start to understand the origins and motivation of the science, which spans cultures.

Naked Face by Malcolm Gladwell: htttp://www.gladwell.com/2002/2002_08_05_a_face.htm

So, what is FACS?
FACS stands for many things, but in this instance, it is Facial Action Decoding System, founded by Social Psychologists Paul Eckman (also author of many books) and Wallace V Friesen. (And yes, Lie to Me is based on this research.) Ekman and Friesen ultimately assembled all facial movement combinations--and the rules for reading and interpreting them-- into the Facial Action Coding System, or FACS.

Great books on Lying by Paul Ekman can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Ekman/e/B001IGUX2A/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Are you really interested in knowing what people's faces are saying that their words aren't? Do you really want to know if he's lying? Well, for $260 you can purchase the FACS manual. That's right, it available for purchase on line at http://www.face-and-emotion.com/dataface/estore/main.jsp

But before you throw down the dough, you may ask yourself...do you really want to know?

Resources :
http://www.fox.com/lietome/characters/tim.htm
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000619/bio
http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.html
http://www.face-and-emotion.com/dataface/facs/description.jsp