Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with evidence

What's evidence of non-action?

meowzilla — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:45:22 -0800

I spend a lot of time alone at home, playing video games, reading books, wasting time on the internet, etc. If I was accused of a crime, what evidence supports the fact I'm at home not really doing anything? Is my cell phone location tracked with enough accuracy to show that I'm at home during a specific time duration? How about electricity and water usage? Does my car have any record of not being driven?

Can you prove what someone's blood alcohol level would have been two hours ago based on what it is now?

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:10:59 -0800

Can you prove what someone's blood alcohol level would have been two hours ago based on what it is now? Pulled over and arrested then charged with DUI in the State of Vermont. Refused the roadside breathalyzer test. Took the roadside evaluation for shits and giggles (I think I did okay).

After much processing, asked to talk to public defender on call. Advised to consent to breath test, so I did. After much more processing, I finally took the breath test. I didn't take the test until two hours after the time of the stop.

My test results: 0.059%

Point at which it is a DUI: 0.080%

Charges dropped right? Not in this case. They are trying the case and the arresting officer claims they will bring in a chemist/scientist/whatever to say that based on my test results my blood alcohol level would have been above 0.080% at the time of the stop.

You are innocent until proven guilty right? Can they possibly "prove" this?

Several civil citations were given as well. One for not stopping at a stop sign (I did stop) and one for going over the yellow line (I may have). Also, a third was mailed to me for being two months out of inspection.

And to preempt the lawyer up advice. Of course I will be hiring a lawyer to represent me in this case, but I would like to know as much as I can going in, while I have plenty of time to get myself informed.

I can haz Mozart too?

WidgetAlley — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:53:31 -0800

So, please help settle a dispute between myself and my boyfriend about Mozart and the musical capabilities of the average American. My boyfriend and I are having a bit of a row. He claims that the average Joe dragged off the street, who has no prior musical training, can hear part of a Mozart phrase and hear, in their head, where the phrase is going, having never heard the piece before.

I claim he is full of poop, and that the average Joe dragged of the street wouldn't know where a Mozart was headed [1] if you handed him the annotated score. Before I'll believe him, I require documentation or at least corroboration from a more reputable source.

[1] Obviously there are exceptions to that: if it is a very very strong leading tone, they may be able to tell that it shouldn't have stopped there, but not much else.

Opinions? Studies? Anything at all?

wow me with the wonders of web2.0

brandnew — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:13:54 -0800

collaborative tools, "web 2.0", community - evidence that the tech is really worth the price? I want to propose the development (or adoption) of a set of intranet collaborative tools for my company that I think will support better communication, and knowledge persistence across work groups. I believe these technologies work, because I use them myself, but I want some hard evidence that supports that position.

Where can I find the hard evidence that online collaboration tools (i.e. web 2.0) actually increase knowledge transfer and productivity. Is it possible to calculate a ROI?

Also, I had read somewhere that only x% of site users create site content. Where can I find that finding?

La, la, la, la, la, la, Smurf the whole day long

arcticwoman — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:14:18 -0800

Please help me convince my in-laws not to take colloidal silver (silver water). My brother-in-law (not a medical practitioner in any way) has been hawking colloidal silver to his mom and his other sister's boyfriend for treatment of their (respective) pre-cancerous uterine cells and colitis. He claims it's a wonder cure, his mom is really gullible about "alternative medicine" and wonder cures and his brother-in-law (who, at thirty is likely to need a colostomy bag in the near future, effectively ruining his career as a marine biologist) is desperate. My partner and I are concerned about the health and well-being of our family, and know that colloidal silver, which, although it has been used in the past as an expensive disinfectant, has never proved its numerous claims to treat 650 different illnesses. What it has been shown to do, however, is turn you blue/grey, among who knows what other consequences from silver toxicity. Also, colloidal silver water has been demanded to be removed from shelves in Canada, where I am (although is still widely available).

As you can see, I've done a bit of research. What I need, though, is a way to make this accessible to my family. How do I convince a scared woman with a propensity to believe in what Greta Christina calls "woo" and a man who is desperate he is going to lose his livelihood, that there is no way colloidal silver is going to help. Neither of them have good livers, so liver damage from silver toxicity is a real threat, not to manage pocketbook damage. I don't want to totally antagonize my family over this, but as a loving and caring relative I feel I need to tell them how I feel and why I feel this way.

So: can you recommend specific articles (medical are fine, as long as they are clear enough that an MA student could read and summarize them) discussing the danger of colloidal silver? Clear arguments/articles on the uselessness of anecdotal data would also be welcome. On the other hand, if I am wrong and colloidal silver can cure cancer and colitis, please point me to some articles which show that.

The best of my recollection, recorded?

jet_silver — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:43:00 -0800

How shall I record my best recollection of an incident I witnessed that will very likely be the subject of litigation or criminal proceeding? I witnessed an incident involving flight crew and passengers on an international flight aboard a US flagged airline. The flight terminated in the US. How do I go about noting my recollections in such a way that they are most valuable? (Valuable to whom is not an issue; I want to record as fully and completely as possible everything that I can recall happening.) The incident is fresh in my mind but it will not be by the time court proceedings - which I have no doubt will take place - commence.

Staging a computer crime to help train Miss Marple

procrastination — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:00:30 -0800

How can I realistically stage an (alleged) computer crime? I am working on some material for a computer forensic course that I hope eventually to turn into a book. I need to create some realistic evidence for my budding computer examiners to pore over. To do this, I have a particular scenario in mind that involves some suspected insider stock trading. I need to create one or two days of email and chat traffic between lots of different characters for it to be convincing. How can I best do this?

One thought I had was to create all the contents of email and chat ahead of time, then spend two days sending them in order. The main problems I see with this are: A) everything would be coming from the same internet addresses, and part of the training is on how to identify those addresses; B) The time line of events would be very predictable, since it would all come from me in my own timezone; and C) everything would be written in my voice and dependent on my imagination and knowledge, so it would probably lack depth. Not that it isn't doable, it just isn't as convincing. Having worked on examples like this, I know they are often easy to solve as they lack detail.

My second thought was to try and recruit some volunteers to play different parts in this online scenario. I would just provide the scenario, a character with an email account or chat login, and then have everyone improvise as they go along. This actually sounds pretty fun to me, and would provide a lot more depth in the examples. My primary worry about this is making sure the alleged fake crime actually occurs, and that things don't get out of hand.

What ideas do you have for how I might do this? Would anyone be willing to play a small part in this online drama and do a little roleplaying? It would involve assuming a persona and sending some normal email over a couple of days in that role, probably at the end of this week. I couldn't pay you, but I would certainly acknowledge everyone if it turned into a book.

If you want to volunteer, or if you want to communicate offline, you can get me at forensicexample@gmail.com.

Any ideas appreciated! Thanks.

what happens when you report a rape?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:46:47 -0800

What can I expect if I report a rape to the police? I'm considering reporting a rape that happened a few days ago to the police, and I would like to know before I do what is going to happen. If you have any experience with something like this or have known someone who did, please tell me how it all works. How will the police treat me? What will they want to know? What kind of evidence will they ask for? I know its not supposed to happen but isthere any chance my name will get out? If they arrest the man who raped me, will they let him out on bail? Will it go to trial? How long would that take? What would a trial be like? What are the chances he'll be convicted? I basically don't know anything about this and I have a really hard time getting involved in stuff when I don't know how it works.

I'm worried particularly that their isn't enough evidence for anything to come out of this, and that it will be a lot of trouble for no gain. I'm not really physically hurt, though I have a few bruises. I've showered sevaral times since it happened but I saved my unwashed underwear, which has some semen on it. The man who attacked me was a friend and I was hanging out with him voluntarily. So if he were to say that what happened was consensual I think it would come down to his word versus my word, and that seems like very weak proof. But I realize I don't even know how much proof is usually needed for something like this. I live in the upper-midwestern US, if that helps at all.

I DO NOT want to hear about how if I don't report it he's going to rape someone else. I am well aware of the ethical arguments and am taking them into consideration very seriously. Please be respectful.

Reverse Rosenberg

Mr. Six — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:13:40 -0800

How many US citizens (including, but not limited to, employees of US espionage) lost their lives, careers or had family members hurt or killed as a direct or indirect result of Valerie Plame's cover status being blown? I hear different numbers, from zero on up. I'm curious to know if there is impartial substantive or circumstantial evidence that suggests citizens other than Plame were adversely affected by her outing. This may include "civilians" who were killed by domestic or overseas terrorist, NGO or government activities that could have been prevented by not outing a covert agent.

How do I save my voicemail forever?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 21:12:32 -0800

How do you get a voicemail off your cell phone and recorded for posterity? I may need to sue somebody, and I have a voicemail that might help my case, should it ever come to that. My cell phone service (Cingular) only lets me save voicemail messages for 2 weeks, and the CSR I spoke to said he couldn't provide me with an official recording. How should I save this in case it ever needs to be used as evidence? My phone does have a headphone jack.

And would a homemade recording of a voicemail hold up legally? How do I make sure its authenticity isn't questioned?

Tufte's Beautiful Evidence

NotMyselfRightNow — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:44:02 -0800

Edward Tufte was supposed to be coming out with a new book, "Beautiful Evidence" I believed scheduled for last fall. I haven't seen anything about it; does anyone know its status?

Did Jesus live?

jpburns — Sun, 21 Dec 2003 07:46:36 -0800

Is there any historical evidence of the existence of Jesus?
I ask this because I don't think there is, but would be interested to find out if there was. Please, no religious flame-wars; I'm not asking about whether he was the son of God, just whether he existed.