Scientologists Tell Feds They Don't Want Randos Repairing Their E-Meters

Flying Squid@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 378 points –
Scientologists Tell Feds They Don't Want Randos Repairing Their E-Meters
gizmodo.com
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The first version was actually patented, so we know how that one worked fully. The latest versions are secretive but they still likely measure the same thing.

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/E-Meter/hubbard-patent.html

Or given that the device’s purpose is to be a prop for psychological manipulation, the current ones might, rather than simply reading out skin resistance, produce some other value more conducive to that purpose. I’m which case, dumping and disassembling the firmware would be as much a threat to Scientology as dumping slot machine firmware would be to casinos and gambling firms. (True story: someone once did this with a slot machine, proving that it was rigged.)

Midichlorians?

Prion disease.

The scions of prions? Lucky pions!

Hey Shakespeare did it, so it can't be wrong.

Sadly midichlorians make sense compared to episodes 7, 8 and 9.

My headcanon is that they’re a bacteria that feeds on the force rather than that they control the force or grant powers. They need a host so that’s why you find lots of them in force sensitive people.

My head cannon is just that they’re attracted to beings that can manipulate the force

They don’t give any powers. But the more you have the higher your latent abilities are and they can just sense that

Although you do realize that technically, if their new versions are not patented then they are considered trade secrets right? If you can get your hands on one and patent it then you have a decent pathway to sue the Church of Scientology for patent infringement.

That would be a fun one to work out

They could get your patent invalidated if they can demonstrate you copied them

I like that fundamental misunderstandings of how the law works can still be found on this website, was my favorite part of reddit

wouldnt that force them to admit the public patent and all its details are a copy? thus confirming exactly how the device works.....and isnt that something they dont want?

They would still have to pay an inordinate amount of money in legal fees fighting it, and if they invalidate the patent then the publication would go public domain.

Sure, and then they either disappear you, or you have an "accident". Or you just so happened to get beaten half to death in the restroom by a "random" act of violence.

Or anything equally as sinister, but to your finances, possessions, loved ones, or life.

Scientology is not some super powerful cult with secret enforcers all over the place. They might have that much power in Clearwater Florida but outside of that what are they going to do?

If they had the ability to act like a mafia the way that you're suggesting then they wouldn't be able to walk and operate freely in America without somebody from a three-letter organization breathing down their neck.

Can anyone translate this into Dummy please? What is it doing, according to that patent?

It’s measuring resistance, just like a multimeter can. Basically, it’s measuring how “difficult” it is for electricity to reach from A to B. High quality wire will have low resistance, while something like rubber has a very high resistance. This is basically just measuring resistance and moving a needle back and forth on a meter. It’s an Electrical Engineering 101 class project.

What makes certain people have different measurements? I assume that’s what they’re after in the cult to determine who goes where

Our skin layer is about the worst conductor of our bodies but if you have wet salty skin you'll show a higher reading. Maybe that's all the data they need. Maybe they're onto something

This goes a step further though.

Because they are questioning you while "on the cans", your skin's electrical conductivity will change naturally even if being completely honest. These momentary blips will cause the person conducting the interview to ask you more personal, more intimate questions, with the goal of you over sharing.

Basically they use the flawed technology that is the lie detector and based an entire religion around it.

Honestly not a bad idea, if I'm being completely honest and devoid of human empathy.

Isn't there a name for bullshit devices that produce some ouput that has no bearing on what is being tested? Like that device Dee and Charlie use when they are in the superberry MLM on Sunny in Philadelphia. Like, its snake oil but I thought there was a word for that kind of thing.

What do you mean? That machine measured stress very accurately and displayed it in standard stress units

My biggest issue was the lack of clarity over where one should place their feet. Kinda important

It's like a voltmeter set to resistance mode. It can detect small changes in electrical energy and show that change on a meter that moves right for higher resistance, and left for lower resistance. In other words, it's a bunch o' bull crap.

So it's a lie detector? Lol

I think it's just a human detector. Or an anything that touches both contacts detector

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