The E-Meter: Still Crazy After all These Years

The original article kind of shows the author doesn't really know much about the e-meter, and may very well have never seen one himself.

You can easily check the information below by simply trying it yourself. Go to the nearest church of scientology and ask them to try. They won't bite. That way you will be able to decide for yourself what's what and how it works.

1. Correct. An e-meter cures nothing. Like, say, a CAT scan. The CAT scan gets you pictures and data, but all by itself, it cures absolutely nothing. An e-meter will not cure anyone or do anything beyond providing measures of minute electrical changes. Those measures are extremely precise and can be used by a trained practitionner to help a person locate and erase painful emotions and thoughts.

2. Yes, an e-meter reacts when you squeeze or release the cans. This is what we call a "body motion read". (a read is a motion of the needle, falling on one side). A body motion read is caracterized by a delay.

Meaning if you squeeze or release the cans, the needle will move about one second later.

However, if you think of something, the needle will move *instantly*. no delay there.

A properly trained person will be able to make the difference between the meaningless body motion reads and reads caused by thought.

Anyone can observe the difference during a test. It take quite a bit of training however to use it to help someone else.

If you want to check the data above, you don't need to be an expert. Just go to a church of scientology and ask them to do a test to see how the e-meter works.

That will not make you an expert, or something, but at least you will see for yourself what that machine can do. A machine that can track your thoughts. Guess it's worth checking out if it really works or not.

NB: It doesn't detect lies. It detects emotions and thoughts.

I hope this will help you understand a little better what you are talking about, but bottom line is that you don't have to believe me. Just give it a try and figure it out for yourself..

Yes, you can try the e-meter yourself at the local org...or you can stop at one of many tables Scientology sets up to try to recruit new members. Take a "Stress Test" with the e-meter! Come one, come all!

How do you justify using a "religious artifact" such as an e-meter for something as frivoulous as a stress test? Especially because each e-meter (and every single publication put out by Scientology) must contain this Federally mandated paragragh:

HUBBARD ELECTROMETER MANUFACTURING

"By itself, this meter does nothing. It is solely for the guide of Ministers of the Church in Confessionals and pastoral counselling. The Electrometer is not medically or scientifically capable of improving the health or bodily function of anyone and is for religious use by students and Ministers of the Church of Scientology only. HUBBARD, E-METER and SCIENTOLOGY are trademarks and service marks owned by RTC and used with its permission."

Find out more about the E-Meter here:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/E-Meter/

And more about Scientology here:

http://www.xenu.net/

Best wishes,

Mark Bunker
www.xenutv.com

Funny though - the author of this piece never interviewed a single Scientologist. If I were to write a piece about the Cello, I might think of asking a cellist how the instrument is played. Were I to write about computers, I might ask a computer guy how they re put together and how they run.

E-meters are used by Scientologists. Writing a piece and not deigning to ask one of the millions of Scientologists a single question is poignantly obtuse.

Greg,

The E-meter is described by Scientologists as basically a medical device. Yes there are legal ramifications that make Scientologists provide some small print that states otherwise, but a layman wouldn't know that.
So, this being touted as a medical device, we asked our staff doctors and they wrote what they thought. Seems to me that a medical journal should be talking to doctors about medical devices. Talking to a Scientologist will get you propaganda, not a medical opinion, even though it might sound like a medical opinion. We don't talk to Scientologists about this just like we don't talk to Christian Scientists or the Amish about their medical views, because they are effectively irrelevant to a scientific discussion.
And as far as your general point about having to talk to a specialist, you can, for example, learn about electricity without asking an electrician. You can learn how a car works without talking to a mechanic. And just the same, the E-meter is just a device, the properties of which can be effectively described without needing to be a Scientology priest..
And if you are a Scientologist, why don't you comment on what you think our errors were, instead of criticizing our methods?

About the comments on TV regarding pain medicine and silence during delivery, where I come from, women give birth without pain medicine and not make a sound during delivery all the time. I don't know how it relates to scientology but we call it 'Pohnpeian Pride' and it's everything that makes you a woman.

"Katie, it happens everyday, and it's what makes you a real woman!!!!!"

The commets on the TV that says "it's impossible not to make a sound during delivery" is not TRUE, it happens everyday in my small country called 'Micronesia or Federated States of Micronesia'.

No shit, Rose David! Some of the highest levels of obesity in the world is in Micronesia. So it is no surprize that 300lb+ women don't make a peep.

Any input from Samoans on this one?

Sylvain Galibert,

For the record, I just contacted the Church of Scientology of New York to ask whether we can try out the e-meter. I was told that because it is a "religous artifact", they will not grant us access to it. So, Sylvain, it looks like claims can be made but not confirmed by outsiders. Basically, I followed your advice and it didn't help resolve this dilemma. So, if you can help organizing a demonstration of the e-meter, we will gladly check it out. But at this point, we'll have to remain sceptical.

Dear Bruder,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you, I completely missed your post.

I think there must have been a misunderstanding.

You can not take away an e-meter to home testing or play around with it.It's not a toy. You may however go to a church and do a free stress test, and ask just about as many questions as you want.

I see no reason this request would not be granted as we regularly do such demonstrations in the street with just about anyone.

I am not in New York - never even been there - so it would be a bit difficult for me to arrange an appointment, but really this isn't difficult at all.

All you have to do is walk in and say you have read some stuff about the e-meter, and that you would like to be given a free stress test. Unless you are impolite in your request or have an history of slandering the Church, I see no reason this would be a problem.

If you were in Thailand, I could easily arrange that, but it looks like you are not exactly in my neighborghood.

Sylvain,

Perhaps the church in Thailand has a somewhat friendlier attitude. But I called four different churches in the United States, including the New York one, and I was either told that they'll call me back, which they never did, or that it is a "religious artifact", and therefore cannot be simply tried out. I did not ask to take it out of the church or do anything with it beyond the test that its supposed to administer.
Pure and simple, they did not want me to check it out. I have no history of any animosity towards the Church of Scientology, and was somewhat confused at the reaction I got on the phone.
Maybe you guys should consider forming a Thai Protestantism within your church, cause it seems like you're on different pages here.