Can't you tell? Oh right I haven't said anything yet. What if you could read my mind? What if you knew my thoughts before I spoke? What if our sub-text was not safe, our private opinions were publicised and our deepest desires were demonstrated for all to see?
The concept of mind-reading or telepathy is mainly paralleled with the supernatural and fantastical. Defined as 'communication from one mind to another by extrasensory means', telepathy as an idea, provokes many questions about its nature and if it exists at all. Many films and TV shows have telepathy as a skill of fantastical creatures; wizards, witches, werewolves and more currently the human companions of vampires. These characters usually possess this skill as a detective aid to sniff out the clues, as what people actually say is not always what they are thinking. This tackles the honesty of humanity as a whole. By using telepathy in ficitonal stories only, this limits its credibility as a concept that could actually exist in reality.
However, what if it did? Could you imagine what life would be like? The film What Women Want sums up rather comically, how men would react if they had to listen to women's thoughts all day. Yet, in reality if this was so, I don't know how long we would be laughing. Would anyone actually bother to talk at all?
There must be a reason humans were created without this ability. Obviously some humans are more honest than others, but we all filter our thoughts. Minds wander naturally. They go off on tangents, procrastinate into corners and fly away into dreams, fantasies and nightmares. Often dreadful or obscene things come into our heads for a brief moment without our consent and we quickly banish them before they settle. If anyone else heard these evil mutterings we would all surely be looked upon in disgust.
It must be a safety mechanism. We cannot hear each others thoughts because it is not safe to do so. It is barely safe to speak our thoughts allowed in some circles! Within reason, I more or less say whatever I am thinking. This can sometimes get me into trouble, but I find honesty is usually the best policy.
Maybe if more of us spoke honestly, we wouldn't even need the concept of telepathy as what we say would be enough. Until then, I'm sure people will still be asking...'What are you thinking?'
No comments:
Post a Comment