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61 Every once in a while the reasons for discouragement about the human prospect pile up so high that it becomes difficult to see the way ahead。and it is then a.great blessing to have one conspicuous and undeniable good thing to think about ourselves，something solid enough to step onto and look beyond the pile. language is often useful for this，and music.A particular painting，if you have the right receptors，can lift the spirits and hold them high enough to see a whole future for the race.The sound of laughter in the distance in the dark can be a marvelous encouragement.But these are uncertain stimuli，ready，to work only if you happen to be ready to receive them,which takes a bit of luck. I have been reading magazine stories about the technology of lie detection lately，and it occurs to me that this may be the thing Ive been looking for，an encouragement supported by genuine，hard scientific data.It is promising enough that Ive decided to take as given what the articles say.uncritically，and to look no further. As I understand it，a human being cannot tell a lie，even a small one.without setting off a kind of smoke alarm Somewhere deep in a dark recess of the brain，resulting in the sudden discharge 9f nerve impulses，or the sudden outpouring of neurohormonesof some sort，or both.The outcome，recorded by the liedetector device is similar to the responses to various kinds of stress. | 
