In this interview, conducted as part of the World Economic Forum's annual gathering in the Middle East of scientists, government and business , he tells us more about this growing field of research. Well, to get straight to the science, the principle of non-invasive neuromodulation is to focus ultrasound waves into a region in the brain so that they all gather in a small spot. Then hopefully, given the right set of parameters, this can change the activity of the neurons.
If you want to get rid of neurons that have gone wild, for example in epilepsy, then you might want to crank up the energy to essentially kill them. But if you want to selectively promote or block the neuronal activity, you need to fine-tune your ultrasound waves carefully. But scientists are also looking at the spinal cord and peripheral nervous systems. As far as I am concerned, since the brain is the de facto centre of decision for so many processes, any of them could be targeted.
When attempting to 'control' neuronal activity by providing minute mechanical vibrations to a region of the brain, it's important that the focus of the ultrasound, frequency and amplitude are properly tuned, or the brain can potentially be damaged.
Outsmarting epidemics
The point is that we still don't know how to tune all of this; and if I were to exaggerate a bit, I could say that our current approach is not that far off from fiddling around with the settings on a radio until we hear the right station. One of the many difficulties is to know for sure that we are indeed controlling neurons with these sound waves, as opposed to damaging them.
The potential of this technique is huge - by that I mean the sheer number of applications, as well as the ethical use.
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- Five Hour Pilgrim?
- What Is Mind Control?.
It can cure you, it can get you addicted, and it can kill you. I am also convinced that human nature is such that if something can be done, it will be done. The question is by whom.
Mind control using sound waves? We ask a scientist how it works
I would rather have a fair society leading the dance than some rogue state without any respect for human or animal life. If we want to lead that dance 10 years from now, we need to start researching today. I can see the day coming where a scientist will be able to control what a person sees in their mind's eye, by sending the right waves to the right place in their brain.
My guess is that most objections will be similar to those we hear today about subliminal messages in advertisements, only much more vehement. This technology is not without its risks of misuse. It could be a revolutionary healthcare technology for the sick, or a perfect controlling tool with which the ruthless control the weak.
This time though, the control would be literal. I am not going to argue that scientists are all wise and knowledgeable when it comes to what should and should not be done. Some of us will go as far as we can get away with. Either way, our job is to find something that is beneficial to humanity. And if you find a way to make somebody better, then you most likely also know how to do the contrary. Mind control is more subtle and sophisticated because the person doing the manipulations is often considered a friend or a teacher, so the victim is not actually trying to defend themselves.
In fact, he or she may be a 'willing' participant , and, believing that the manipulator has their best interests in mind , they often providing private information willingly, which is then used against them to continue the mind control. This makes mind control as dangerous, if not more so, than physical coercion.
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In other words, it can be even more effective than torture, physical abuse, drugs etc. In mind control, there may be no physical coercion or violence, but it can actually be much more effective in controlling a person.
That's because coercion can change behavior, but coercive persuasion mind control will change beliefs, attitudes, thinking processes and behavior basically a personality change. And the 'victim' happily and actively participates in the changes, believing it is best for them! So later on, to accept that someone they trusted and liked has deceived and manipulated them is very difficult, and is one of the reasons that it is not easy for people to recognize mind control. Even when the victim is free of the influence of the manipulative personality , the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors persist , in large part because the victim believes they have made these decisions themselves the effects of decisions we make ourselves are stronger and more long lasting than decisions we know we have been pushed to make , and in part because the person does not want to admit that they have been manipulated without their knowing, they don't want to believe that they have been tricked by a 'friend'.
You can read more about how all the changes are brought about using mind control in these articles on narcissistic boyfriends and narcissistic husbands. Manipulators are fond of saying that no-one is holding a gun to the manipulated person's head, and this is powerful in two ways. To the outsider who does not understand mind control, it is difficult to argue with.
For the manipulated person, they know that this is true. No-one has actually held a gun to their head, so it reinforces the idea that they have decided for themselves. And decisions we have made ourselves are much more powerful and the effects last longer, so it further propels the manipulated person deeper into the reality created by the mind control.
Who would use these techniques, destroying the lives of others for their own selfish benefits? Or manipulating others simply because they can or because they want the control? The answer is psychopaths, or sociopaths , and narcissists. Probably the vast majority of extreme manipulative men and women who use mind control fit the profile of a psychopath or a narcissist. And the reason they can do it is because they have no conscience!
Because people don't know what exactly a psychopath or a narcissist is, the manipulator is often called something else, an abusive wife or a controlling wife or controlling husband , a jealous boyfriend, a verbally abusive man or a very strict boss. Closer examination often reveals these people to have a personality disorder. Check out the signs of an abusive boyfriend here.
Brainwashing
Every person is susceptible. It is a myth that only weak and vulnerable people are susceptible, or that there is something wrong with them. The best way to protect yourself from being recruited by a cult it is a myth that people join cults, they are actually recruited and being subjected to mind control is to understand how a cult functions as well as the cult tactics that are used to attract and keep members. Am I in a cult? Take this quick quiz. Family member or friend in a cult?
For example, Robert Cialdini has described six principles of influence that he describes as weapons of influence. It seems that these function in all societies in the world, and they are actually useful in terms of allowing society to remain stable and prosper.
He talks about reciprocity , commitment and consistency, social proof, likability , authority and scarcity. He calls them weapons of influence because they work outside of the awareness of most people and for this reason cults take advantage of them to manipulate and influence their members. Read about things manipulative people say Cult psychology has been studied by various cult experts and while many have their own descriptions and models of how these groups function, there are many similarities.
Robert Lifton, who originally coined the term 'thought reform' after studying American prisoners of war in China, describes his eight principles that are present in a thought reform program, such as in destructive cults. Steven Hassan, an ex-member of a destructive cult has his own four-point system which he describes in depth in his book Combatting Cult Mind Control. He explains how dangerous cults use mental control tactics to change the identity of the members by controlling the B ehaviors, E motions, and T houghts of its members and how it further increases its influence by also restricting access to I nformation his BITE model.
Read more about how to escape a cult. For example, a person who has lived and worked in a cult environment for 5 years where the members live together, who rarely leaves the group compound and who has frequent, direct contact with the cult leader will have suffered much more from the effects of cult control than someone who attends a 2 hour class given by the cult leader once a week for 2 months.
In one-on-one cults, in an intimate relationship with a sociopath , for example, a husband and wife situation, where all the attention is given to one victim , the results can be very disturbing. Read about the signs of mental abuse , dating and violence , preventing dating violence , healing from emotional abuse and therapy abuse.
Cult members and people in abusive relationships typically believe that they have made their own decisions and are continuing to do so - even when to outsiders their beliefs and their logic seem very strange and almost unreal! But their volition, their free-will, has been severely limited. If you have a family member or a friend in a cult , you will recognize some of these things!
Mind control explained - the dangers and how to protect yourself
Remember that mind control is a process and that cult members have reached where they are one step at a time. Their reality has been shifted because of their membership of the group, and within this reality they believe they are making their own decisions, even though these decisions are often designed to keep them trapped in the group. Even when they are presented with contradictions , unreasonableness and incongruencies in what they say and do, they will often argue to maintain their belief systems intact, for the very reason that they believe that they have chosen and have made their own decisions about it.
And indeed, in their new, imposed reality, very often there are no contradictions or incongruencies for them! Remember their critical thinking abilities have been repressed. People also develop beliefs to help them deal with their mind control situation. These beliefs can actually hamper recovery later on, as explained in this article about abusive mothers. I'm in an abusive relationship.
How did that happen? With the state of the world as it is today, it seems that more and more people are turning to fundamentalist ideas to try to find order or safety or security in today's chaos. This means that they are more susceptible to being recruited by cults because cults offer simple solutions to life's difficult problems.