So about a month ago, I watched a video of a presentation at some law school with a lawyer making the argument that you should never talk to the police should they ever ask you questions. He had made really good points and I was convinced. Today at work i got bored and my mind wandered to that video and got to thinking about how easy it is to manipulate and be manipulated. So I told a coworker (I made it up, so any resemblance to real life stories are unintentional) this story about a 9 year old girl who was found dead in a cave, apparently raped repeatedly and bludgeoned to death. The police interviewed her step father when the biological mother reported her missing. The step father, instead of answering questions, requested an attorney. The police then interviewed some neighbors who said very unflattering things about the step father. They tried to question the step father again, who still refused to answer and he was arrested as a prime suspect for being uncooperative. When I asked my coworker what she thought of the story, she replied that she hoped the man rots in jail or dies somehow. When I questioned her why she assumes he was guilty, she said that I had told her he was guilty. Then i went step by step through the details I gave her and she got pissed off and said I tricked her, which I don't think is true. So it got me thinking, have you ever manipulated someone into giving the reaction you wanted? Doesn't have to be something big, it could even be kids i.e. in an excited voice saying, "Let's clean the house, because it's fun!!"
Testing the Human Mind
- Thread starter sequio
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Yes. Very yes. I can be one of the most manipulative people I know. (That is in part a warning. FEAR!) I spent about three years manipulating anyone and everyone around me to believe what I wished them to, but then got deathly bored of it. There was little if any true empathy left after that, and I could feel the facade clamping down around me.
The habit's been kicked. Mostly.
The habit's been kicked. Mostly.
lol I did something like that to my friend's little sister. I pulled her barbie's head off (the old models...either that or it was a cheap knockoff) and told her I killed barbie. She started crying, her bro was laughing, and i put the head back on and said I was just kidding. I regret doing that now, but for some reason it was a funny idea at the time.notoriouslynx said:
i think the guy's name is david blaine, he's a master of deception. he went to new york with a wallet full of paper money (literally, white paper) for which he paid for both fish and a 4500$ jeweler's ring among other things. he also managed to 'rob' people simply by asking them for their wallets.
it's a bit weird for me, because i can see myself in his position and i know i would be able to do the exact same thing. the hard part is the testing; you'd need people that don't know you.
i have also been told that i am a master of nlp, despite never having learned any of it. i'm not going to go further into this because i know that manipulating people and knowing specific things can make you cold or bring you in trouble.
there are those that are born persuasive and those who want to be persuasive. there is a fine line between pretending and truly manipulating.
it's a bit weird for me, because i can see myself in his position and i know i would be able to do the exact same thing. the hard part is the testing; you'd need people that don't know you.
i have also been told that i am a master of nlp, despite never having learned any of it. i'm not going to go further into this because i know that manipulating people and knowing specific things can make you cold or bring you in trouble.
there are those that are born persuasive and those who want to be persuasive. there is a fine line between pretending and truly manipulating.
What's really fun and an actual challenge to test your mind on, is the art of telling the truth, or rather, key points of the truth. The trick is to pick your words as carefully as possible, saying only enough, in the right way, that you know what you are talking about, but the target thinks something completely different.
It's difficult to explain, but I think it's kind of like what the politicians call "doubletalk."
It's difficult to explain, but I think it's kind of like what the politicians call "doubletalk."
Whether we like it or not, human reactions are preordained. Most people can predict primitive reactions to a degree of certainty, where as a lesser proportion of people understand human behaviour and reaction patterns on a more complex level - unfortunately most of these people tend to take advantage (con artists, spiritual mediums, girlfriends, etc).
I personally can predict reactions a little bit, but not to the degree of some other people.
I personally can predict reactions a little bit, but not to the degree of some other people.