Everyone's thoughts suddenly become public

[Angry Floof]

What if the entire world's thoughts suddenly became publicly readable? Every person's thoughts now on display for all the world to see. I've thought about this a lot. I'm fascinated by the idea.

My first thought was, "Egads, no, I don't want my every thought to be public!" But then I realized that everyone would likely be too worried about their own nakedness to be interested in mine, and I don't have anything truly devastating going on in my head considering all we know about what can and does go on in some people's heads. Oh, I'd have plenty to be embarrassed about, but nothing like murder or depravity or anything that would make people stop focusing their own self consciousness to condemn me.

I imagine a lot of people would not be able to handle it and just lose their grip on reality completely. I imagine a lot of people would commit suicide. Some people might attack or kill others whose thoughts inspired rage. It would be a painful, messy event for sure.

We'd adapt eventually, though, but humanity would be a whole different animal with no one having the luxury of private thoughts. What would life be like? What would our relationships become? What would society be like without the ability to deceive? Without our social veneer? That part is harder to imagine.

 

[bilby]

I agree with Douglas Adams; I think we would all want to spend as much time as possible listening to Disaster Area playing at full blast, like the Belcerebon people of Kakrafoon Kappa

 

[DBT]

I vaguely remember reading Sci Fi novel with that theme, I can't recall the title or authors name. It would be a monumental shock, but I guess there would be ways to adapt. Perhaps it would even become mundane over time....new generations knowing nothing different accepting their own reality without question, wondering what the old folk are moaning about.

 

[fast]

It would be utter madness. Societies would be brought to a hault overnight. Damn near every encounter would trigger an argument. How depraved, twisted, and extreme things can be transmutating in the sea of inner fog would overwhelm the weak and strong alike. The notion of judging others by their actions instead of their thoughts goes out the window.

 

[ruby sparks]

What if the entire world's thoughts suddenly became publicly readable? Every person's thoughts now on display for all the world to see. I've thought about this a lot. I'm fascinated by the idea.

My first thought was, "Egads, no, I don't want my every thought to be public!" But then I realized that everyone would likely be too worried about their own nakedness to be interested in mine, and I don't have anything truly devastating going on in my head considering all we know about what can and does go on in some people's heads. Oh, I'd have plenty to be embarrassed about, but nothing like murder or depravity or anything that would make people stop focusing their own self consciousness to condemn me.

I imagine a lot of people would not be able to handle it and just lose their grip on reality completely. I imagine a lot of people would commit suicide. Some people might attack or kill others whose thoughts inspired rage. It would be a painful, messy event for sure.

We'd adapt eventually, though, but humanity would be a whole different animal with no one having the luxury of private thoughts. What would life be like? What would our relationships become? What would society be like without the ability to deceive? Without our social veneer? That part is harder to imagine.

It is as you say a truly fascinating idea.

Most likely, as everyone is saying, it would cause pandemonium of all sorts, especially if it happened suddenly. One issue that hasn't so far come up is how to deal with the cacophony. Even if we assume that in such a scenario, thoughts, like voices, only have a certain range, if one were at a dinner party or in a crowded theatre, one would be bombarded with multiple thoughts almost all the time. Special headphones could hypothetically be invented, so that people could opt not to listen to other's thoughts at all, in a library for example.

Things might go differently if it happened very gradually. For example, if certain people started to develop the capacity. All sorts of potential scenarios would then arise. Would such people increase in number because it was an evolutionary advantage, or not, or would there be some sort of natural limit?

Another possibility would be that a technology could be developed which makes it possible. Then the potential scenarios would revolve around issues of who gets to use the technology, and in what circumstances. It would be useful instead of unreliable lie-detectors in court for instance, or at key moments in marriage guidance therapy sessions. Or maybe not that latter one.

Finally, an alternative scenario could be imagined where people simply cannot lie. This was humorously dealt with in the film comedy, 'The Invention of Lying' starring Ricky Gervais.

 

[ruby sparks]

It would be utter madness. Societies would be brought to a hault overnight. Damn near every encounter would trigger an argument. How depraved, twisted, and extreme things can be transmutating in the sea of inner fog would overwhelm the weak and strong alike. The notion of judging others by their actions instead of their thoughts goes out the window.

Should there nonetheless at least be lesser penalties for thoughtcrime? It would seem to be fair.

 

[southernhybrid]

Nobody would ever get anything done because they'd be too busy reading everyone else's thoughts. It would be chaotic to say the least. I really don't want to know what anyone else is thinking all day long. I really don't. No. Nope. Bad idea.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Hell, if we just had a light on the forehead that blinked to indicate a sex thought, society woukd collapse.
"Really? THAT turns you on?"
"Honey, no, it just reminded me of a scene in a porno..."
"You watch porn?!!?"
"Twenty years ago, before i met you."
"Why is it blinking NOW?"

----
Or throw a word out during the Presidential debates, see who blinks, then the attack ads claim it was about X rather than Y...

 

[Angry Floof]

I wonder what it would do to art and creative culture. If artists' thoughts and feelings were part of the collective consciousness before they pick up a paint brush, would there be a point to continuing? The individual artist might get some satisfaction from it, but would art as a subliminal influence in culture still be a thing?

What makes subliminal or suggestive messaging so powerful is the social veneer between external and internal thoughts. The messages can move in under the radar because true thoughts and feelings are suppressed to some degree. In other words, you believe your image of yourself, leaving some of your authentic self unattended, where images and messages can access them without your permission.

And part of what makes self delusion possible is the ability to keep internal things hidden from others. When nothing is hidden from anyone, you can't lie to yourself about it or pretend it's not there, at least not without some kind of fundamental break with reality.

What would remain out of our conscious reach for art to speak to or draw out of us? Would art still have the ability to change us?

 

[ruby sparks]

Hell, if we just had a light on the forehead that blinked to indicate a sex thought, society woukd collapse.
"Really? THAT turns you on?"
"Honey, no, it just reminded me of a scene in a porno..."
"You watch porn?!!?"
"Twenty years ago, before i met you."
"Why is it blinking NOW?"

Gem.

 

[fast]

It would be utter madness. Societies would be brought to a hault overnight. Damn near every encounter would trigger an argument. How depraved, twisted, and extreme things can be transmutating in the sea of inner fog would overwhelm the weak and strong alike. The notion of judging others by their actions instead of their thoughts goes out the window.

Should there nonetheless at least be lesser penalties for thoughtcrime? It would seem to be fair.

I wasn’t being hyperbolic. Society would cease to function. Law and order is GONE!

 

[Angry Floof]

It would be utter madness. Societies would be brought to a hault overnight. Damn near every encounter would trigger an argument. How depraved, twisted, and extreme things can be transmutating in the sea of inner fog would overwhelm the weak and strong alike. The notion of judging others by their actions instead of their thoughts goes out the window.

Should there nonetheless at least be lesser penalties for thoughtcrime? It would seem to be fair.

I wasn’t being hyperbolic. Society would cease to function. Law and order is GONE!

Why would it be gone? Drastically changed, yes, temporarily chaotic, yes, but gone? Society would still be made up of human beings with needs. Would we stop seeking to have our needs met, and more importantly, would we stop helping meet the needs of others?

The loss of thought privacy would fundamentally change us, but psychologically and in terms of social structures. It would not change our basic biology and animal brain urges, including empany and need for social cohesion. We would create law and order to meet our current needs and understanding of the world, for better or for worse, just as we have always done.

Whatever changes in human beings, we are adaptable above all. I don't see social upheaval as an end to our adaptability or our ability to attain some level of equilibrium following upheaval, and history is full to the brim with evidence of this.

 

[ruby sparks]

It would be utter madness. Societies would be brought to a hault overnight. Damn near every encounter would trigger an argument. How depraved, twisted, and extreme things can be transmutating in the sea of inner fog would overwhelm the weak and strong alike. The notion of judging others by their actions instead of their thoughts goes out the window.

Should there nonetheless at least be lesser penalties for thoughtcrime? It would seem to be fair.

I wasn’t being hyperbolic. Society would cease to function. Law and order is GONE!

You might well be right. But I was honing in on your last line.

Ok, suppose a small group of enlightened individuals still manage to form some sort of bastion of law and order......an outpost....

Anyways, it's only for the sake of discussion. If we go no further than agreeing that everything goes fubar, it'll be a very short thread.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Chaotic for this generation, perhaps, but successive generations would adapt, learning from infancy to practice positive inner dialogue to the point it would become natural. In the interest of survival, we would have to extend our social graces to our thoughts. Some of our future offspring would never have a negative thought.
I do wonder what would happen to those with inherent psychological issues. I suppose profound isolation. Perhaps even a weeding out from the human race. I mean, they'd never get past foreplay.

 

[Angry Floof]

Chaotic for this generation, perhaps, but successive generations would adapt, learning from infancy to practice positive inner dialogue to the point it would become natural. In the interest of survival, we would have to extend our social graces to our thoughts. Some of our future offspring would never have a negative thought.

We are adaptable if nothing else.

As far as never having a negative thought, it's possible we still would but could discern the motivations and intentions behind the thought, being able to tell the difference between an unacceptable thought and a story, meaning a thought that recognizes a negative thought but as a fiction.

There might be hope for art after all. But with such a reduction in negative thoughts and intentions, I would again ask what would be the function or effect of art on humanity? Would we still experience or at least be able to conceive of conflict to be able to tell stories about it?

I do wonder what would happen to those with inherent psychological issues. I suppose profound isolation. Perhaps even a weeding out from the human race. I mean, they'd never get past foreplay.

I agree. Good point. It's possible that a psychological condition that couldn't be cured by medicine, self control, or positive action from the community (love bombing, sort of thing) probably would serve to cull itself out of the gene pool through isolation.

 

[fast]

Oh for crying out loud, we’re gonna be fucked inside, outside, upside, and down. Their’ll be a few that can compartmentalize between those that mentally conspire and those that act in it, and their’ll hopefully be those that can somewhat hide and supress clarity in their thoughts, but damn it’s gonna be a rough go.

 

[Bomb#20]

Society would still be made up of human beings with needs. Would we stop seeking to have our needs met, and more importantly, would we stop helping meet the needs of others?

The loss of thought privacy would fundamentally change us, but psychologically and in terms of social structures. It would not change our basic biology and animal brain urges, including empany and need for social cohesion. We would create law and order to meet our current needs and understanding of the world, for better or for worse, just as we have always done.

"Nearby, six thugs held down an old man and, while he cried for help, yanked one tooth after another from his mouth with a pair of pliers -- until a unanimous shout of triumph announded that finally they had succeeded in pulling the right one, the rotten root of which had been driving them wild, due to the meta-psychotropic transmission."

- Stanslaw Lem, Altruizine, or A True Account of How Bonhomius the Hermetic Hermit Tried to Bring About Universal Happiness, and What Came of It​

 

[Angry Floof]

Oh for crying out loud, we’re gonna be fucked inside, outside, upside, and down. Their’ll be a few that can compartmentalize between those that mentally conspire and those that act in it, and their’ll hopefully be those that can somewhat hide and supress clarity in their thoughts, but damn it’s gonna be a rough go.

As TV said, subsequent generations will be born into it. They won't be yanked out of one world instantly into another. The first generation would only be able to adapt as their previous environment enabled them. Painful and confusing for them, to be sure.

We have no idea how the instincts in a newborn, a "blank slate" in terms of culture and nurturing, would adapt. All we know for sure is that humans are highly adaptable. Those generations would be fine as long as the first gen didn't saddle them with too much fear mongering and overreaction to the new environment, and those generations would continue building the human world with whatever adaptations arise. I don't see any reason to worry about them surviving or developing a peaceful world. Chances are good that they would.

 

[Testy Calibrate]

What if the entire world's thoughts suddenly became publicly readable? Every person's thoughts now on display for all the world to see. I've thought about this a lot. I'm fascinated by the idea.

My first thought was, "Egads, no, I don't want my every thought to be public!" But then I realized that everyone would likely be too worried about their own nakedness to be interested in mine, and I don't have anything truly devastating going on in my head considering all we know about what can and does go on in some people's heads. Oh, I'd have plenty to be embarrassed about, but nothing like murder or depravity or anything that would make people stop focusing their own self consciousness to condemn me.

I imagine a lot of people would not be able to handle it and just lose their grip on reality completely. I imagine a lot of people would commit suicide. Some people might attack or kill others whose thoughts inspired rage. It would be a painful, messy event for sure.

We'd adapt eventually, though, but humanity would be a whole different animal with no one having the luxury of private thoughts. What would life be like? What would our relationships become? What would society be like without the ability to deceive? Without our social veneer? That part is harder to imagine.

It would all just become noise. Google "monkey mind".

That said, society would collapse.

 

[Angry Floof]

What if the entire world's thoughts suddenly became publicly readable? Every person's thoughts now on display for all the world to see. I've thought about this a lot. I'm fascinated by the idea.

My first thought was, "Egads, no, I don't want my every thought to be public!" But then I realized that everyone would likely be too worried about their own nakedness to be interested in mine, and I don't have anything truly devastating going on in my head considering all we know about what can and does go on in some people's heads. Oh, I'd have plenty to be embarrassed about, but nothing like murder or depravity or anything that would make people stop focusing their own self consciousness to condemn me.

I imagine a lot of people would not be able to handle it and just lose their grip on reality completely. I imagine a lot of people would commit suicide. Some people might attack or kill others whose thoughts inspired rage. It would be a painful, messy event for sure.

We'd adapt eventually, though, but humanity would be a whole different animal with no one having the luxury of private thoughts. What would life be like? What would our relationships become? What would society be like without the ability to deceive? Without our social veneer? That part is harder to imagine.

It would all just become noise. Google "monkey mind".

That said, society would collapse.

Would it not just be formed into something else? We'd still be human. We'd still be intelligent. We'd still be complex social mammals. We'd still have the capacity for abstract conception. There would be some kind of society. A very different one, perhaps, but human societies have devolved into chaos many times throughout history and eventually regained order and equilibrium. Individuals with chaotic minds also often regain some level of equilibrium and clarity after devastating, life changing traumas. Why would a chaotic collective mental-social world not be able to do the same?