Originally posted by Dionisius
reply to post by C.H.U.D.
Well I guess its just the world we live in where a persons word doesnt count for as much as it should. Peoples lies, deciet and self obsession has
caused them to believe everyone else is the same if not worse.
Its a shameful world we have created.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that all witness testimony is totally unreliable. It depends on the situation, the witness and the type of detail the
witness is trying to recall.
In general, the worst cases are the ones where the witness is in an unfamiliar situation, or witnessing something unusual. Many UFO cases (any case
where an object is seen in the sky and/or at night) would fit into this category, and so could something like a car crash, since most people don't
see them all the time, and they happen very quickly.
Lets say that person A hits person B, and some independent witnesses a few feet away see it all unfold. In a case like this, there would be no reason
to distrust witness testimony, since it's a familiar situation, and a black eye or broken rib supports the testimony.
It's not a world we have created, so much as our own human limitations that dictate what should be considered reliable
Although there are exceptions, people in general have poor memories that are easily "polluted", and they can even change with time. The human mind
is a complex thing, and we still don't know exactly how it works. What we do know, and it's not hard to prove, is that the mind distorts what we
perceive as reality, in many ways, some of them subtle, but some of them not so subtle.
People like Derren Brown who understand some of the quirks of the human mind, are a good demonstration of how easily the mind is manipulated or
fooled, and just how suggestible we are...
I know there is a lot of lies and deceit in this world, but some witness testimony can be wrong whilst the witness is being totally genuine and
completely believes what they are recounting is true.