“The way they always said eyewitness' accounts should be treated with suspicion, that the brain reconstructed what it couldn't remember - in other words, the brain lied. To itself and others. You couldn't trust a brain any more than you could trust a soul” TrustEyewitness Book:Wildlife Source: Wildlife
“While browsing through the Seattle Art Museum in 1945, a scholar discovered a 5-inch jade seal, missing from China since the Boxer Rebellion, as a priceless Imperial seal. “My spectacles fell off my nose and I started to yell,” said Hugh Alexander Matier, 62-year-old scholar and traveler.” ArtHistoryDiscoveryChinaEmpressImperialBoxer RebellionDowagerForbidden CityEyewitness Book:Two Years in the Forbidden City Source: Two Years in the Forbidden City
“In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe—the Big Bang, black holes, that sort of thing.” Then he asks, “What do you teach at Princeton?” and I say, “I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.” Five minutes later, I’m on the street. A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, “Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.” Again I’m out on the street.” ScienceUniverseAstrophysicsJury DutyAstrophysicistEyewitnessVoir Dire Book:Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier Source: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier