“Polygraphy is not a game,” Eran Gazit, cofounder of the GazitPolygraph Institute warned when I called about taking a polygraph for thisstory. “It’s impossible to test the system unless you have skin in the game.You need to have something to lose, like your job or marriage, or freedom.”

在我致电谈到为这篇报道参加测谎仪测试时，加齐特测谎仪研究所（Gazit Polygraph Institute）联合创始人厄兰·加齐特（EranGazit）警告道，“测谎仪测试可不是闹着玩的，除非你在测试中有利益在，否则就不可能测试这个系统。你需要有能失去的东西，比如工作、婚姻或者自由。”

Nevertheless, I’m here tointerview his father, Mordi Gazit, who worked for the Israeli Police PolygraphUnit for 10 years before he cofounded the institute in Tel Aviv.

虽然如此，我还是来这里采访他的父亲——穆尔迪·加齐特（Mordi Gazit）。在与他在特拉维夫联合创建这个研究所前，他的父亲为以色列警方测谎部门工作了长达10 年之久。

I’m also here to tryto successfully lie my way through a polygraph.

我来这里还想试试能否撒谎骗过测谎仪。

Which is how I found myself sitting in acomfortable chair with two straps wrapped around my chest, metal devicescovering my fingertips and a blood pressure cuff hanging around my arm. Thewires lead into a box that resembles a cable modem, which in turn iscontinuously sending data to Mordi’s laptop.

这样，我就坐在了一张舒适的椅子中，胸部绕扎着两根皮带，指尖上固定着金属装置，胳膊上绑着血压带。各种导线都进入一个类似于机顶盒的盒子中，它将把数据源源不断地发送到穆尔迪的笔记本电脑中。

Polygraph evidence is not admissible inmany courts, but the authorities have found other uses for them Commonly knownas lie detector tests, polygraphs work by measuring physiological changes inthe body, in this case respiration rate, pulse, blood pressure and galvanicskin response, which measures the electrical properties in the skin. Othermethods can involve measuring pupillary changes and brain activity using anfMRI.

这通常称为测谎仪测试。测谎仪是要靠测量人在回答各种问题时所产生的自然人体生理变化而断定测试人是在讲真话还是在说谎，我体验的情况包括呼吸率、脉搏、血压和皮肤电反应（测量皮肤的电学特性）等。其他方法还可能涉及测量瞳孔的变化和利用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）测量大脑活动。

Polygraph evidence is generally notadmissible in criminal court in the US and most of Europe. But the authoritieshave found other uses for them. In the UK, probation officers use polygraphs tomonitor serious sex offenders, which has resulted in dozens of people returningto jail. In the US, polygraphs are used to screen candidates for the CIA andother government jobs.

美国和大多数欧洲刑事法庭通常并不接受测谎仪证据。但有关机构发现它另有用途。在英国，缓刑犯监督官利用测谎仪检测严重性犯罪者，通过这种测试让几十名罪犯返回监狱。在美国，测谎仪被中央情报局和其他政府机构用于筛选求职者。

Walt Goodson, the president of the AmericanPolygraph Association spent 25 years in the Texas State Police, and emphasisestheir usefulness in conducting police investigations. “They are extremelyhelpful in focusing exams. It’s a quick and easy way to bring in a suspect anddecide if we need to look more into that person or if we need to look forsomeone else in our investigation.”

美国测谎协会会长沃尔特·古德森（Walt Goodson）曾在德克萨斯州警察部门工作长达25 年，他强调测谎仪在警方调查中的作用：“在集中测试中它们极为有用。这是一种发现嫌疑人的简单而快捷的方法，同时也有助于我们决定是否需要深入调查，或者是否需要寻找其他嫌疑人。”

And helping people cheat on polygraphs hasshown to have serious legal consequences. A former Oklahoma City police officerwas recently sentenced to two years in prison for coaching undercover Federalagents who said they wanted to cover up their crimes.

帮助他人设法骗过测谎仪将会带来严重的法律后果。俄克拉荷马市一名前任警官最近被判两年监禁，原因就是他曾训练卧底联邦特工掩盖罪行。

Trying to cheat

试图欺骗

Yet could an untrained person like me stillfool the examiner?

但像我这样未经训练的人真的能骗过测谎仪吗？

From the moment I meet Mordi, I feel likeI’m in the presence of a government agent. The 69-year-old has experiencewritten all over his face. He’s professional, speaks confidently and looks medead in the eye as he asks for my press credentials. I think to myself thateven if I can trick the machine, this guy would know if I was lying. I alreadyfeel nervous, as if I’m going to get caught for something I haven’t done. I’d laterdiscover that this is part of the problem with the tests.

从见到穆尔迪开始，我就感到自己像是在面对联邦特工。丰富的经验全都写在69 岁的穆尔迪脸上。他非常专业，在要求我出示记者证件时，他直视着我的眼睛，语气极为自信。我暗自思忖，即使我撒谎能骗过测谎仪，也会被这家伙看出来啊。我已经感到自己的紧张，就像是自己因为什么没做过的事情要被抓住一样。后来我认识到，这也是测谎测试所存在的部分问题。