The Test with Keywords Removed
Sketch detective story based on the concept of a new polygraph testing method.
London. New Scotland Yard
«Good afternoon, Chief,» Detective Clark greeted as he entered the office of Divisional Commissioner James Hugh.
«Hello, take a seat,» the divisional commissioner glanced at his watch with a cracked bulletproof glass. «Time is short, so let’s get straight to the point. I’ve been approached by our younger brothers in mind.»
«Interpol colleagues?»
«Yes. By the way, they’re good guys over there, just lacking a bit of culture. Anyway, they’ve identified an employee leaking classified information to a criminal group.»
«Quite an achievement to expose a mole,» Bobby Clark nodded approvingly.
«It’s not that simple. The Interpol team has only a couple of indirect pieces of evidence against this employee.»
«Suspicio? Possible error?»
«They believe the likelihood of error is minimal. However, there’s not enough solid ground for an arrest.»
«Place him under round-the-clock surveillance, bug his house, and track all his mistresses…»
«Already done, but who knows when he will make contact again?»
«With the criminals or the mistresses?»
«Jokes aside. With the criminals. It could be in a month or six months…» The divisional commissioner lit his favorite pipe. «The main problem is that this employee has extensive experience in operational and investigative work.»
«I see, he can easily detect surveillance and go underground.»
«Exactly. Apprehending him, a professional, on circumstantial evidence and trying to break him is not an option,» the divisional commissioner adjusted his holster. «In two weeks, Interpol will conduct a routine polygraph check of employees.»
«Great!»
«Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. This guy is well-versed in polygraph techniques and has conducted polygraph tests on suspects numerous times. Most likely, he’ll easily pass the routine check, as he probably has before.»
«So far, fortune smiles upon him,» observed Detective Clark, unbuttoning his shirt and loosening his tie. «What do our younger brothers in mind want?»
«Interpol is asking for our help to prove the mole’s guilt. And they want it done as quickly as possible.»
«Not an easy task.»
«What ideas do you have? Take your time answering. You can smoke and think for five minutes.»
«Thank you, Chief,» Bobby Clark took a cigarette from his pack and lit it.
For several minutes, the office owner and Detective Clark smoked in silence. Clark finally broke the pause.
«I have one idea, Chief. The mole must fail the routine polygraph test.»
«But he’s a polygraph expert himself…»
«We’ll create a completely new polygraph test that he doesn’t know about.»
«A new test, one that will be a total surprise to him… I like the idea. Can you quickly develop such a test? You’re a detective, stepping into uncharted territory.»
«I’m ready to step onto unfamiliar ground, Chief.»
«This is a true intellectual challenge. Do you have the intelligence and knowledge to solve this task?»
«Chief, as your favorite quote from the great physiologist Hans Selye goes: ‘Neither your knowledge, the power of your tools, nor the precision of your plans can replace the originality of your thought.’«
«I like your response. Get to work, and remember, time is short.»
Three Days Later
New Scotland Yard
«I’ve named the method ‘The Test with Keywords Removed’ . The idea came to me after reading recent scientific articles on neurophysiology and functional MRI studies about brain activity when solving tasks, tests, insights, and reading,» Detective Clark placed his laptop on the desk.
«What’s the essence of it? And how does it differ from existing methods?» asked Divisional Commissioner James Hugh.
«All classical polygraph tests—like Cleve Backster’s test, the Control Question Test, the Concealed Information Test, and their modifications—are based on control questions that contain keywords.»
«For example?»
«For example: ‘Did you steal the jewelry?’ ‘Did you kill Mr. Smith?’ ‘Did you break into the safe on Butcher Row?’»
«And these questions can provoke physiological reactions in those involved in a crime: changes in pulse, breathing, and galvanic skin response, all of which are recorded by the polygraph.»
«Yes, Chief, but not always and not in everyone. Sometimes innocent subjects react to these questions, and guilty ones do not.»
«Judging by the name of your method, you remove keywords from the questions. Why? What does this achieve?» asked the divisional commissioner.
«I do remove keywords—but not all. Some keywords remain. These become key questions with missing key elements.»
«Give an example.»
«Here, look,» Detective Clark opened his laptop and turned it toward the commissioner. «Imagine this crime scenario:
‘On April 20, 2024, between 4 PM and 6 PM, jewelry and two million dollars were stolen from the Constellation boutique on the second floor of the Greenwich shopping center.'»
«Understood.»
«We then identify the keywords: theft, shopping center, Greenwich, second floor, jewelry boutique, Constellation, jewelry, two million dollars, April 20, 2024, 4–6 PM.»
«How do you form questions with missing key elements?»
«By removing different combinations of keywords. But we always leave at least one keyword. For example, if we remove ‘theft‘ and ‘jewelry boutique’ but leave ‘Constellation‘ and ‘April 20,’ the key question becomes:
‘Did you commit ……….. at ……….. ……….. Constellation on April 20?’
«There are spaces where the missing keywords would be. How does the subject perceive such a question if it’s asked aloud?»
«That’s another fundamental difference, based on neurophysiology research. We switch from auditory information delivery to visual.»
«The questions are displayed on a screen?»
«Exactly. The questions are sequentially shown on a monitor in front of the subject, who must read them aloud and then respond: ‘Yes,’ ‘No,’ or ‘I don’t understand the question.'»
«Are subjects warned in advance that the questions might have spaces and that they may not understand the meaning?»
«Of course. This is emphasized during the pre-test interview.»
«If I remember correctly, the visual channel processes up to 80% of all incoming information,» the divisional commissioner noted, lighting his pipe.
«Yes, it’s the primary information channel to the human brain. Its bandwidth is 6.5 times greater than the auditory channel, and reading activates up to 20 different brain structures: Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, the occipital lobes, the angular gyrus, the inferior occipitotemporal cortex of the dominant hemisphere, the visual word form area, the ventral and dorsal visual pathways, cortico-cerebellar networks, and the non-dominant hemisphere. This topic alone could fill several lectures.»
«I get it. The more brain structures involved during testing, the more likely memory traces related to the crime will be activated.»
«Precisely, Chief. You’ve captured the core idea.»
«How are these key questions with missing keywords compared?»
«We create a second group of questions unrelated to the crime under investigation. These are non-key questions, and we also insert spaces into them.»
«An example?»
«For instance, a non-key question might be: ‘Did you steal antique books from a secondhand bookstore?‘ This question is purely hypothetical and has no connection to the crime. We also add spaces, resulting in a non-key question like:
‘Did you commit ……….. ……….. ……….. from a secondhand bookstore?’«
«So the subject’s reactions to key and non-key questions are compared?»
«Yes, but we also include a third group of questions. These are similar to traditional neutral questions. They contain no spaces, are meant to distract and balance the test, and require only a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ response.»
«Examples of neutral questions?»
«Is your name Michael? Do you live in London?»
«Understood,» the divisional commissioner nodded.
«Here’s an example of the sequence of questions displayed on the screen. First, traditional neutral questions, then a mix of non-key and key questions in various combinations:
Is your name Michael?
Do you live in London?
Did you commit ……….. ……….. ……….. from a secondhand bookstore?
Did you commit ……….. at ……….. ……….. Constellation on April 20?
«The presence of spaces in the key questions creates additional cognitive load and heightens attention in those involved in the crime. Since they know all the details of the offense, they can infer the full meaning of the question from the remaining keywords and context.»
«They understand that this question directly pertains to their crime and stands out among the others, potentially triggering characteristic psychophysiological reactions that the polygraph can record,» the divisional commissioner suggested.
«Exactly, Chief,» Detective Clark smiled.
«The likelihood of cognitive stress in an innocent subject when reading a question whose meaning is unclear due to missing keywords should theoretically be minimal.»
«Questions with missing keywords, both key and non-key, can be formulated either succinctly or in detail. For instance, shorter questions with fewer missing words will impose less cognitive load.»
«An example of shorter questions?»
«Here’s an example of concise questions with missing key and non-key words:
- Do you know who is responsible for ……….. at ……….. Pearl?
- Do you know who is responsible for ……….. at ……….. City Center?
- Do you know who is responsible for ……….. at ……….. Budapest?
- Do you know who is responsible for ……….. at ……….. Orange?
- Do you know who is responsible for ……….. at ……….. Constellation?
«By having the subject read the questions aloud themselves, we completely eliminate the influence of the polygraph operator’s voice on the subject, as can happen in traditional testing. Additionally, reading the question aloud requires the guilty party to exert extra control—control over their own voice. But that’s an entirely separate aspect.»
«I like your idea. Now, the main thing is for it to pass practical testing. Should we hand the method over to our Interpol colleagues?»
«Of course. They’ll quickly test it out, and if the results are satisfactory, they’ll use it on the suspect leaking classified information.»
Two Weeks Later
London. New Scotland Yard
«Good afternoon, Chief. You called?» Detective Clark asked, entering Divisional Commissioner Hugh’s office.
«Hello, take a seat,» the commissioner adjusted the holster under his arm. «Congratulations, your method works. I just got a call from the Interpol team. Their suspect failed the ‘Test with Keywords Removed» on the polygraph.»
«Excellent, I’m very glad,» Bobby Clark settled into a chair across from the commissioner. «I hope they can now break him completely.»
«You’ve overworked yourself developing the new method. Maybe you should take a vacation? Fly to Iceland, for example—see glaciers, geysers, waterfalls, black beaches, and active volcanoes.»
«I’ve been afraid of volcanoes since childhood, especially active ones,» Detective Clark admitted. «Mudflows from the crater, ashfall at any moment, and rocks launched into the air that could land on your head…»
«That’s completely unnecessary fear. Don’t be afraid of an active volcano. Mudflows from the crater? Wear high rubber boots and dress casually. If ash falls, just brush it off. And if rocks come flying, simply dodge or jump aside,» the commissioner explained matter-of-factly.
«Thank you, Chief, I’ll think about the vacation,» Bobby Clark smiled. «Chief, I have a big request. The day after tomorrow is my fifth wedding anniversary with my wife. I’d like to tell her something very pleasant, very original, and something no one has ever said before. But I can’t think of anything.»
«Something very pleasant, very original, and something no one has ever said before…» the commissioner repeated thoughtfully, lighting his favorite pipe. «Here’s what you do. Give your wife a bouquet of flowers, a gift, and say this:
‘Darling, five years ago, we were both very lucky, but I was luckier than you.'»
«Yes!» exclaimed Detective Clark, clapping his hands. «Thank you, Chief.»
Epilogue
As the author of this sketch-detective story and the creator of the «Test with Missing Keywords,» I apologize for the abundance of technical details in the narrative. If my test has piqued your interest, feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Alexey Benediktov
alekseybenediktov01@gmail.com