Original Cin

Eleven-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth wears a hat and sunglasses when he plays poker. He does it to disguise his reactions from the other players, which might seem surprising. One would think that a man who can win 11 championships and more than $6 million over 18 years would be able to control his expression when he’s on the job.

In fact, says Alex (Sandy) Pentland, Ph.D., Toshiba professor of media, arts, and sciences at MIT and the author of Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World, he can’t. Nor can you. According to Dr. Pentland, our tiny, unconscious reactions can say more than we mean — and they don’t lie.

via The Impact of Unconscious Communication.