Don't lie to me.

I never realized how seminally important Paul Ekman's work has been. I just thought I might have a super power.


If you ever watched the show "Lie to Me" last season (on FOX) then you have been exposed to his theories. He basically took the idea that human facial micro expressions can be broken down to very specific foundational emotions and there by be incredibly useful to those seeking the difference between the truth and the lies that people tell.

As detailed on his Wikipedia entry and counter to the reknowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, "Ekman found that facial expressions of emotion are not culturally determined, but universal to human culture and thus biological in origin. Ekman's finding is now widely accepted by scientists. Expressions he found to be universal included those indicating anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, and surprise."

The basic premise is that you can tell if someone is fibbing based on the tiniest and quickest of facial gestures.

Now this...this is gold to me. Yes, because I am a teacher and I want to know what is really going on behind those teenage tales...but also because I dig..I mean really dig the idea of being radically honest.

I have struggled for a long time with this need to be truthful..and can remember more than a few brutal moments (sorry everyone) when I have been called tactless or cruel for this honesty.
It's just always been hard for me to "fake it" around people and in my late 20's (likely due to frontal lobe development) I finally began to work with the concept of diplomacy rather than complete honesty in certain situations.

Part of the reason I hated being "fake" was 'cause I could always pick-up when other people were being this way...could pick it up gutturally..and I did not want people to pick this up from me. I would rather be thought of as crass than as a liar.

Now I think...just maybe..that I was picking up on their micro-expressions. That I was picking up on the glaring contradictions of their micro frowns and sunny stories.

And for just $69.00 and one hour with METT Online...I can begin my transformation into a super hero...or just a better teacher and communicator.