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"SF is a controlled way to think and dream about the future."
- Gregory Benford

Psychoprobe  
  Get to the truth.  

This is a very early use of this term; Asimov also used it in his I, Robot stories.

"...We used to use a rubber hose 'cause it didn't leave no marks. Science has given us gadgets like the psychoprobe that beat the old hose all hollow. They don't leave no marks, either, but they sure get the truth out of a man."
Technovelgy from Satellite Five, by Arthur K. Barnes.
Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1938
Additional resources -

Compare to the mechanical judge from The Lord of Tranerica (1939) by Stanton A. Coblentz, the quizzer from Agent of Vega (1949) by James Schmitz, the psychic probe from Foundation and Empire (1952) by Isaac Asimov, the truth meter from The Star Beast (1954) by Robert Heinlein, the cephaloscope from The Houses of Iszm (1954) by Jack Vance, the veridicator from Little Fuzzy (1962) by H. Beam Piper.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Satellite Five
  More Ideas and Technology by Arthur K. Barnes
  Tech news articles related to Satellite Five
  Tech news articles related to works by Arthur K. Barnes

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