Othello error Othello error Othello error occurs when a suspicious observer discounts cues of truthfulness. Essentially the Othello error occurs, Paul Ekman states, "when the lie catcher fails to consider that a truthful person who is under stress may appear to be lying" their non-verbal signals expressing their worry at the possibility of being disbelieved. A lie-detector or polygraph may be deceived in the same way, by misinterpreting nervous signals from a truthful person. The error is named after William Shakespeare's tragic play "Othello"; the dynamics between the two main characters, Othello and Desdemona, are a particularly well-known example of the error
Othello in popular culture Othello in popular culture The figure of Othello from the tragic play by William Shakespeare has appeared in many examples of popular culture since being authored by Shakespeare in the early 16th century. The literary character of Othello and the plot of the play by Shakespeare has been a recurrent theme in painting for several centuries. Selected examples include 'The Plot' depicting Othello & Iago which was painted in Oil by Solomon Alexander Hart in 1855. He also painted a watercolour version held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. "Othello" was a series of 60 paintings executed in