You should read Malcom Gladwell’s Blink wherein he posits that there is such a thing as thinking without thinking. He writes that we possess an innate ability to “Thin Slice” and reach instantaneous conclusions based upon
limited information, ie, at a glance.

Such limited information is called a “Tell”.

For instance, high stakes poker players scan the faces of opponents for a “Tell” as to whether he or she is bluffing.

As an attorney/negotiator I found success in reading opposing counsel and other adversaries.

However, in this Age Of The Mask all “Tell” bets are off.  A smile can no longer be one’s umbrella.

Now we are limited to looking someone in the eye and at their body language, but it’s not the same.

At least when I get home and Charcoal first sees me she instantaneously wags her tail enthusiastically and tells me how she feels!