Mind reading

I’m taking a break from existential-crisis-Raigen to write about a topic that I’m positive we have all thought about at some point. What if we could read each other’s minds?

I would absolutely love to read the minds of others. It would make life a lot easier in several different ways. Firstly, conversations would be more interesting. How many times have you talked to someone who gives really short and vague answers to your questions? Too many would be the answer. If we could know what others are thinking then we could adapt the conversation around what we really think, versus what we actually say. I know that I don’t always say everything inside my head; in fact I rarely say everything I’m thinking. Conversations would be more honest, whether or not that’s a good thing. I think if we could hear each other’s thoughts there is a possibility that it would be utter chaos and everybody would be arguing all the time.

I would probably make friends easier if we could read each other’s minds. I would be able to find out who a person really is, and you could get to know me a lot quicker than you would without my internal thoughts. On the contrary my thoughts might scare people away. When I’m in a public place like school I’m usually very quiet, but my inner personality and thoughts are quite overwhelmingly crazy. I have the utmost respect for my best friend, who does call me crazy on a regular basis, because she got to know me from the beginning when I was quiet and remained friends with me through four years of my weird and wild personality. If people were to hear my thoughts without getting to know me they would either love to be my friend, or they would run in the other direction.

It would be so cool if we could read each other’s minds without a language barrier. I could travel anywhere I want and be able to have a conversation with someone whose day-to-day life is completely different from mine. If I met someone from another country I would want to talk to them all day, but language barriers make that impossible.

Also, reading the minds of animals would be insanely amazing. I always want to know what my dog and leopard gecko are thinking. I have a feeling that my dog would have the most hilarious thoughts, and my leopard gecko could have the craziest personality. Imagine being able to read the mind of an elephant whose tusks were removed and sold illegally. What would a frog be thinking all day as it leapt from tree to tree in search for the most delicious insect? What would a bonobo possibly think about as it socialized with its kind? Of course an animal’s thoughts wouldn’t be as “human” as ours, but it would be so incredible to know what exactly their thoughts are.

To hear each other’s thoughts could also be really helpful in stopping and solving crimes by knowing exactly who the suspect is and what they did. We could also know what is inside the minds of people who we take inspiration from. If only I could have read Van Gogh’s mind. Interviews would be a thing of the past because you would know exactly who you want to hire. Life in general would be easier.

However, if we could hear each other’s thoughts then we would lose some of what makes us human. The guessing game that we play every day by not knowing each other’s thoughts is half the fun of a conversation. I like to have a world inside of my head that is completely my own. If everybody knew my thoughts then there would be no individuality. There would be one large sea of thought, and never a moment to develop into your own self. I suppose it is best that we can’t read each other’s minds.

If there was one thought from inside your head that you would want everybody to know, what would it be?

Word count: 681

What makes us who we are

When I was in the third grade I had a class mate who was extraordinarily annoying. My teacher assigned me to read to him all of the books we were discussing because he refused to read them verbatim, and instead he put his own words into the story. The plot twists that he added to these books were usually immature and inappropriate for a school environment. I always wondered why he did that, and why he was like that. Why did he think this was funny? Why would he want to change the books, when the stories were already entertaining? You could say it is because he was a little boy in the third grade, but no other students were like that.

 So what makes everyone different? Most people believe in a soul or something of the sort. The definition of the word soul refers to the word as a spiritual term. A soul is a piece of us that isn’t concrete. You can’t touch a soul, you can’t hear a soul, and you can’t see a soul. I do not think we have souls. I think the reason we are who we are, individually, is because of stimuli and our brains. Our brains are the artists, writers, and evil geniuses who create our personalities. This article has a pretty good idea on how our brains work and has more information on the topic. However, we still do not know everything about the brain. We actually know very little about it. The human brain is like the darkest depths of the ocean. There are so many things that exist there that we know absolutely nothing about. It’s pretty peculiar as well. I don’t know why my favorite color is dark green; my brain perceives it just as well as it perceives any other color in the spectrum we can see. But I love it. One of the oceans’ most peculiar creatures is the sea cucumber. The first time I saw a sea cucumber I thought “what even is that thing”. I don’t know why they look so grotesque and creepy. I do know that there is probably an answer though; I just don’t know what the answer is.

What sets me apart from a sea cucumber is probably a lot of things, but mostly my brain. My brain sets me apart from anyone who reads these words. Even two things that look the same, like twins, are different because of their brains. This makes me proud of my brain. Despite my poor social skills, unorganized thoughts, and the weird things that I do, I am happy with the brain I have. It makes me who I am. And despite his childish and annoying tendency to change story lines with unnecessary plot twists, I hope my ex class mate whom I read to eight years ago appreciates his brain as well. Have a good day and enjoy your brain!

Word count: 488