Telepathetic or Tele-Path To World Peace?

[Czarcasm]

If all humans on Earth developed the ability to read, on demand, the surface thoughts of any other humans within, say 100 feet, would world peace ensue, or would it just hasten the breakdown of civilization as we know it?

[Czarcasm]

Personally, I think it would be a frakkin' disaster at first. It would take generations for people to get used to it, but I don't think humans would survive those generations.

[Shodan]

Women would never stop slapping us.

Regards,
Shodan

[Oakminster]

I agree. To a certain extent, civilization depends on people keeping certain thoughts to themselves. When those protective shields are down, all hell is going to break loose.

Also, pretty much all games with strategic/tactical components would be ruined. Including football. Without football, life is simply not worth living, and the Vogons may as well install that intergalactic bypass.

ETA: was replying to Czarcasm but Shodan also has a point.

[Ferret Herder]

I'm sort of reminded of the Twilight Zone episode called "It's a Good Life" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Good_Life_%28The_Twilight_Zone%29) starring a very young Billy Mumy, who had mental powers of serious strength. Unfortunately for the residents of his town, he was also a little sociopath who would "wish you into the corn" (aka 'disappear' you) or harm you in terrible ways if you said or did things that he didn't like, and completely isolated his entire town from everything, with the residents doomed to cater to his whims. Everyone tiptoed carefully around him, nervously smiling and saying how everything is good, how they have good lives, he's a good boy, he does good things to them.

In the "everyone has telepathy" world I imagine people trying to think all sorts of "shielding" thoughts at every moment, trying to hide their usual fears and worries and disgruntlement. Walk past your boss without thinking "hooray, I love my job! My boss is great!" and who knows if you'll still have a job? If you let out a mental gripe about your spouse, will it lead to a terrible fight?

[Lanzy]

Fired within seconds and fights all the way home.

[Remarkable]

I'm buying shares in Ipods... zoning out to music is going to be my best line of defense for 'though-shielding' that Ferret Herder is talking about, (unless the pyramid tinfoil hat works).

I don't think humanity would survive it either. Fine if the person is thinking "must remember milk on the way home" but there are a *lot* of lines of thought, many that may even be considered innocuous enough by some, that are going to send people on warpaths.

[BigT]

The suddenly is what messes it up. If it were more gradual, I think it could be quite normal. People would learn not to really have "surface thoughts". Politeness would be shifted to those thoughts.

The main difference would be that introspection would be more difficult. At the same time, constantly thinking happy thoughts would help people actually be polite. That's why I say it'd be a wash.

But that's only for gradual. With abrupt, Czarcasm pretty much has it right.

[The Bith Shuffle]

Would knowing how badly I want her make her want me any more? Probably not.

[Satchmo]

Women would never stop slapping us.

Regards,
Shodan

This. Also, many used car salesmen will have to find other work.

On the plus side, no more lies.

[Asimovian]

The kind of society this would result in, even after everyone adjusted, is not one I'd want to be part of. Just seems like everyone would be struggling very hard to fake their way through every social interaction. I mean, moreso than currently.

"Happy goldfish bowl to you, to me, to everyone, and may each of you fry in hell forever."

[silenus]

As I've said before, how many people would have to get "I wonder what's for dinner?" and "Nice tits." before they just shot me?

[BrotherCadfael]

If this ever happened, ain't none of us'd ever be gettin' any, ever again.

Obligatory Buffy quote:

"Principal Snyder has 'Walk Like an Eqyptian' stuck in his head. And the boys in this school? Are seriously disturbed."

[Czarcasm]

No more live press conferences, and those that could afford it would do all transactions electronically.

On the plus side, rabble-rousing would be a lot harder.

[foolsguinea]

You mean you can't already do that?

[Czarcasm]

You mean you can't already do that?
Do what?

[Projammer]

The divorce rate will go through the roof, the stratosphere, low Earth orbit, and may stabilize somewhere around L5.

And call me a prude, but there are some things children just don't need to know about.

[tdn]

I'll take the more optimistic tack and say that the world would not only not implode, but might actually be a better place to live. There would of course be a shock at first, but we'd eventually become very much aware of how much we have in common, that we're not alone in our thoughts, and that we truly have a deeper understanding of each other.

Eventually we'd become used to this new form of communication, and life would return to normal.

[DocCathode]

I'm sort of reminded of the Twilight Zone episode called "It's a Good Life" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Good_Life_%28The_Twilight_Zone%29) starring a very young Billy Mumy, who had mental powers of serious strength. Unfortunately for the residents of his town, he was also a little sociopath

I recommend the original short story. In that, he's actually kind and tries very hard to be helpful. Unfortunately, he still has the mind of a seven-year old. So everybody is terrified that he'll sense a problem and try to help. There is a reference to some of the townspeople trying to get him to help on a project- and all the deaths that resulted. Another time, a woman couldn't stop her thoughts of grief over her dead husband. So he brought the man back, as a shuffling, rotting corpse.

Back To The OP

I say it would be a disaster.

[Grumman]

First, mass stabbings.

Then, the survivors go back to normal, pretending they can't read everybody's thoughts.

[Czarcasm]

I would definitely go to church, look my fellow parishioners in the eye....and grin.

[tdn]

I recommend the original short story.

This (http://nickelkid.net/docs/greats/its_a_good_life.html) one?

[tdn]

Hmm... Suppose everyone around you has an earworm. Would mass insanity result?

[DocCathode]

That looks to be the one.

[Gagundathar]

The kind of society this would result in, even after everyone adjusted, is not one I'd want to be part of. Just seems like everyone would be struggling very hard to fake their way through every social interaction. I mean, moreso than currently.

"Happy goldfish bowl to you, to me, to everyone, and may each of you fry in hell forever."

I couldn't remember the name of the story that your quote came from until I googled it.

That was a great story by Dr. A!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Past

[justrob]

I vote doom and thank you for the Hee Haw reference. :)

[Czarcasm]

I vote doom and thank you for the Hee Haw reference. :)You're welcome.

[tdn]

That looks to be the one.

I just finished reading it. It's a good story.

[panache45]

Someone will invent some kind of shielding helmet, and he'll be the World's Richest Person. Otherwise . . . total chaos. Just sexual thoughts alone will end civilization.

[tdn]

Otherwise . . . total chaos. Just sexual thoughts alone will end civilization.

Or greatly expand it.

[ivan astikov]

You only need to have watched Scanners to know how badly that would turn out.

[SenorBeef]

I think everyone basically knows the sort of thoughts other people are having about them, since they tend to have the same type of thoughts. It shouldn't be shocking to find out that you annoy some people or other people find you attractive. So I think we'd learn to cope pretty quickly with this. The things we knew were probably boiling under the surface (although we may not know to which degree) would be out there, but they wouldn't be coming from nowhere. There'd probably be more minor conflict, especially early on, but the world would more or less continue to function as it has.

Exceptions to that would be now essentially everyone would have universal lie detectors... justice, politics, etc. would be way different.

[tdn]

I think that the universal thought that everyone would transmit would be "Oh god, everyone can tell what I'm thinking."

Actually, would other's thoughts have a voice? Could you tell, in a crowd, who is thinking what? If not, how would you distinguish your own thoughts from everyone else's?

[Asimovian]

I couldn't remember the name of the story that your quote came from until I googled it.

That was a great story by Dr. A!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_PastOne of my favorites by him, actually. And while the circumstances presented in this thread aren't *quite* as extreme as the outcome of the story, there are still enough similarities to make that quote relevant.

[Czarcasm]

I think that the universal thought that everyone would transmit would be "Oh god, everyone can tell what I'm thinking."

Actually, would other's thoughts have a voice? Could you tell, in a crowd, who is thinking what? If not, how would you distinguish your own thoughts from everyone else's?The OP states "read on demand"-you pick which minds to read.

[tdn]

The OP states "read on demand"-you pick which minds to read.

Ah, I missed that bit. Though I wonder how that would work. It's not like I can selectively listen to people speak, after all. (Well, sort of I can.)

But in that case, I think that people would very quickly learn that if you don't want to know what someone's thinking, don't receive their thoughts. If I'm thinking something offensive about you, for instance, and you get offended, well, hey, you shouldn't have asked in the first place.

I think people would adjust pretty quickly. (But you knew that. And I knew that you knew that. And you knew that I knew...)

[Czarcasm]

Would it eliminate the need for meat-market bars?

[FriarTed]

Women would never stop slapping us.

Regards,
Shodan

Either that or we'd be getting laid like oil pipe!

[umop ap!sdn]

Nearly all businesses would immediately fail because 90% of their employees would be fired. People would have to cooperate more to get their basic needs met, and I don't see that happening on its own. The majority of romantic relationships would end, as would a great many friendships. New ones would start to form spontaneously as people pick up thoughts from similar minds. I think there'd be a great deal more guilt and regret over little things. Most people would try harder to not annoy each other, for instance.

Yeah there would certainly be a lot of chaos, but I'm sure a small population would survive and learn to live with their new ability.

[Chimera]

The mean and petty thoughts, most of which are easily dismissed or controlled within our own minds, would overwhelm each of us when we are subjected to an involuntary bombardment of those thoughts from everyone around us.

And I think tdn is wrong. The entire world would be subject to break outs of insane mass murder sprees. Because you're thinking it. And he's thinking it. And that other guy is going to kill you before you kill him. Then everyone is panicking, and reacting, and in short order, we're all killing each other in a sea of broadcasted murderous thoughts and paranoia.

Then you're thinking pissy thoughts about Billy Bob driving slow in front of you, so he deliberately slams on the brakes and comes at you with an axe.
Then a racial slur passes through your mind unbidden in a room full of people and you're being stabbed with butter knives.
Then your boss hears all your true opinions of his ideas and you hear his true opinion of your worth, and all hell breaks loose.
Then you hear the true thoughts of that greasy, smooth talking, always smiling friend...
Then you're hearing your lover thinking of someone else.
Or their true thoughts about you.

Hell is other people's thoughts.

[Todderbob]

Life goes on.

We'd find a way to cope. Yeah, people would probably die. People would probably have dramatic shifts in quality of life (both up and down).

We figure out how to cope.

[tdn]

And I think tdn is wrong. The entire world would be subject to break outs of insane mass murder sprees. Because you're thinking it. And he's thinking it. And that other guy is going to kill you before you kill him. Then everyone is panicking, and reacting, and in short order, we're all killing each other in a sea of broadcasted murderous thoughts and paranoia.

Hmm... I don't normally go around with murderous thoughts on my mind. Do most people?

I mean, other than at the DMV?

[umop ap!sdn]

Hmm... I don't normally go around with murderous thoughts on my mind.
Me neither, in fact quite the opposite. Like what would happen if I were attacked type thoughts and how vigorously I'd try to defend myself. I wonder, if people knew that about those around them, might they be less aggressive.