Our faces our billboards to our emotions, but often only on a lightning fast time scale. The famous microexpressionist (I think I just made that word up), Dr. Paul Eckman takes the time to analyze A-Rod's lying ways on his 60 minutes interview in 2007.
"The most reliable thing that he did is what we call a gestural slip," Dr. Ekman said. Several times during his session with Ms. Couric, Mr. Rodriguez raises his left shoulder momentarily as he speaks.The article goes on to explain, that scientifically, nothing is particularly conclusive because he would need to study the purple-lipped cheater during a less stressful conversation to establish a baseline of whatever idiosyncratic facial expressions he has. Frankly, I couldn't imagine staring at that face any longer than I had to.
"It's a slight raise of one shoulder, a fragment that slips out of a full gesture," Dr. Ekman said. In a full shrug, both shoulders rise, stay up, then drop.
A half-shrug can be prompted by feelings like helplessness in the face of tough questions, or a "Who, me?" response to accusations. It doesn't square with firm denials, Dr. Ekman said.
In the interview, Ms. Couric asks: "What's your reaction to this investigation?" referring to the Mitchell report on steroid use in baseball.
His shoulder appears to pop up three times as Mr. Rodriguez talks of being "extremely disappointed" and adds, "It would be a huge black eye on the game of baseball."
He is also asked if he ever witnessed or suspected illegal drug use among players. His answer: "I never saw" - here, his left shoulder lifts - "anything. I never had raw evidence."
And even more frankly, I don't need science to prove that Arod and the rest of baseball's lying liars are in a constant state of fabrication, back pedalling, and denial.
If there's anything the steroid era in baseball elucidates, it's the extraordinary lengths people will go to protect their secrets and lies, and that most people, despite instinctually knowing the truth, will still believe the perpetuated stories. Innocent until proven guilty works well in the court of law, but I think we can safely say it doesn't apply to celebrities, athletes and politicians.
