The Superpower You Didn't Know You Had

When I was a child, I wanted to have superpowers.

Let's face it, I still want, but I've just given up on the idea.

On the top three of those superpowers, I would probably have placed mind control. I mean, when you are self-centred as any child is, what can be more enticing than the perspective of getting whatever you may want from others?

So it was with some surprise that, already as an adult, I have come to realise I have been using mind-control almost all my life.

I think (therefore I am). As we think, our brain produces a sequence of patterns of neural activation, electrical and chemical, each of which is associated with the concepts we think and connect, with our emotional state and all of the inputs of our senses. We perceive part of this process in the form of what we call a conscious thought.

Sometimes, we want to produce the same pattern in someone else's brain. Or, at least, as close as possible. It's what we call "to be understood".

So we communicate. We use words, voice pitch and intensity, body language, drawings, different fonts. All of which are an attempt to put out to the world a representation of our internal brain process.

Although all brains and, in any communication process, the internal state of everyone involved, are different, very often similar concepts get activated in the other person's brain. Communication is successful.

And we have just succeeded in controlling someone's brain.

You don't believe this is the case? Let us run a small experiment. Please get a piece of paper and a pen.

Got it? Great, proceed then!

Now, I need you to read the following paragraph very attentively.

Imagine a dwarf. He is coming from work, walking along the street. He is happy and is whistling a song. As this dwarf walks home from work and whistles, he notices how warm this July evening is, and decides to have a lime soda at a vending machine. He puts 1 € in, gets 0.30 € change and his lime soda. And, still whistling, sits down to drink his soda and appreciate the warm July weather.

Quickly, write down a number between 1 and 10.

Are you done?

Did you pick 7? If we were to draw a distribution of the numbers chosen by the readers of this article, it would be a gaussian distribution centred on the number 7. That means the most chosen number would have been 7, followed by 6 and 8.

The reason is, if you pay attention to what I wrote beforehand, you will notice there are several implicit references to the number 7. A whistling dwarf coming from work (Snow White and the seven dwarves). July (month 7). Lime soda (Seven Up). The cost of the soda (€ 0.70).

Without noticing, the brains of most readers unconsciously activated these patterns and, when I asked you to think of a number, your brain blurted out the pattern that is most activated. The number 7. And adjacent numbers.

Every day, we are both manipulators and manipulated. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. But, in each act of communication, even non-verbal, we are producing patterns in the brain of others.

We are, effectively, controlling each other's minds.

Realising this has profound consequences. It makes us partly responsible for the thoughts and emotions we produce in others. It also makes us responsible for the correct use of language and other communication methods to produce the patterns we intend.

One such example is the choice of words. We tend, for lack of knowledge, patience or out of laziness, to use words that are simpler and less precise, that may convey dual meanings, that are easily misunderstood.

And thus we control the minds of others into unintended patterns and may be harmful.

Even worse. When we talk, the words we choose activate concepts in our own brains! It has been widely demonstrated in studies that, for instance, subjects that are forced to use words associated with negative concepts in their communication experience anxiety, anger and other negative emotions much more often than the ones forced to use positive words.

The same happens in reverse. We should be aware that whatever others communicate, is controlling our minds. And we should be mindful of it as it happens, so we may exercise a conscious effort to make sure that control is positive for us.

As a great philosopher once said (ok, it was Spider Man's uncle, but it's still true), with great power comes great responsibility.

You have the superpower of mind control. Use it wisely and mindfully.