BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

Thinking Versus Saying

So, I've always been fascinated with the split between thoughts, and words.

When you walk into a room, any room, be it full of strangers like at the store, or friends at a party, or coworkers...

Everyone is thinking things.  But they are also saying things.  Sometimes those two match up, sometimes they don't.

My curiosity is always, what are these people thinking?

When I used to play shows a lot... I would imagine the people looking back at me saying... "Man, this guy SUCKS."

They wouldn't say that out-loud.  They might instead say to you... "Hey, nice show."

Then they would think in their head... "Yeah, don't quit your day job buddy."

Thoughts differing from words happens SOOOOO much every day around the world.

For example when you're on a date.  You might think one thing but say something else.  You might think something at work, like... I HATE my one coworker because they SUCK at their job.

You wouldn't say that though.  You'd filter it.

Or maybe you think a coworker is attractive and you make up excuses just to chat with them knowing full well they already have a significant other.

I just think it would be interesting to be able to walk into a room full of people and hear their thoughts.  Not have them KNOW you could hear their thoughts though.  SO, like they can't hear what you're thinking, but you can hear their thoughts.  SO, you could sit there and have the edge knowing what they are REALLY thinking.

How sweet would that be?  Totally.  It would make dating a breeze.  No more mystery.  You'd know their every thought and would know their every move ahead of time.  Coworkers... Friends... Family... Strangers.

I mean, go to a bar, don't even bother wasting time talking to the people who's thoughts are shouting... "WHO THE FRACK IS THIS?!?!?!  PLEASE. STOP. TALKING. TO. ME."

And then you could just make your way over to the person standing there on the other side of the bar thinking.... "I wish I could talk to that person over there, but I'm WAAAAY too nervous/shy to talk to them."

You'd know everyone else's motives in any kind of negotiation.  Buying a car or a house?  Cake.

Walking down the street and think someone behind you might possibly be following you to maybe rob you?  Just read their thoughts and find out they are too worried about other things to even acknowledge you even exist.  And then they just walk right by you.

No one could ever rip you off... Cheat on you... Harm you...

If you know what everyone is thinking, you know what their motives and actions are ahead of time.  You know that the words they are saying out of their mouth don't line up with their thoughts.

It's a weird concept when you think about it.  I mean, when you look at it from a function or a utility perspective.

Here you have this being who has the ability to lie to you.  You don't know if the words coming out of their mouth, are the same as the internal voice they hear in their head.

It could be.  It could not be.

Obviously, we need this... Why?  If we took it away, basically every book and movie plot ever would break.

We'd have no such thing as fiction.  When you think about it, the ability to think one thing and say another comes up pretty much in every single work of fiction ever.

If we removed that ability, we'd all be robots.

It's almost like to be human, is to be given the chance for someone to trust you.

Weird right?  Because we don't have the ability to read minds... We have to do this thing called trusting people.

If someone breaks that trust... It's hard to get it back.

Again, this is how tons of stories work.

Betrayal.  I mean, every Shakespeare story relies on this.

If a king knew he was about to be killed by someone else with a hidden dagger... That plot wouldn't work very well.  I mean, you can't even hide the dagger because then the person knows you are thinking the thought... "Oh, I have a hidden dagger in my cloak!"

And then you're like... "I KNOW YOU HAVE A DAGGAR IN YOUR CLOAK!"

And they are like... "WHAT?!??!  HOW DID YOU... I MEAN, NO I DO NOT."

"Yes you do!  It's right there."

"Where?"

"There!"

"Oh you mean THIS dagger."

"NO.  The one under your other cloak.  YES, THAT dagger."

"Oh, well you see... I was, at a fair..."

"Shut up.  No you weren't."

"Was too."

"YOU were NOT at a fair."

"Okay, maybe I wasn't."

As you can see, it also relies on comedy.  If we could know what someone was REALLY thinking instead of trying to decide IS what this person saying THE TRUTH... Comedy kind of breaks down.

I mean, court scenes break down too.

There's no need for a jury.  You can read their mind.

Really, it kind of turns the whole world upside down.

It's almost like our whole world was built on the ability for people to look at each other and decide, is this person bluffing.

Poker is out.

I mean, there's a LOT of stuff that actually seems to rely on the ability to not give information to other people.

Such as job negotiations.  If they could read your mind, you'd be screwed.  They would already know exactly how much you made previously, and how much you're wiling to settle for.  They would know if you're nervous or not.

There's a whole bunch of things on this planet... It's just something interesting to think about.  What if we knew what people were thinking or feeling, without having to have them say it.  Body language can give away a lot.  SO there's that... But I'm talking more about just straight up hearing their thoughts.

If we all could hear one another's thoughts... That would make for a very different world.  Theft would be quit impossible, that's for sure.  Everyone would know who the their was, and there'd be no need for a detective.  There'd be no murder mystery novels.

I guess it's just interesting to consider how many things actually rely on the ability for people to lie.... But also on the ability for people to give that trust out too... To say, I can't really tell what you're thinking, and I don't know what your true intentions are... But, I'm going to extend to you this trust... Do with it what you will.

So, just consider the next time you walk into a busy room... What are you thinking about everyone else that they don't know about you, and what do you think they are thinking about you that you can't know they are thinking...

Just something to THINK about... I suppose.