# Hypnotism **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 25, 2007, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945 "2007-10-25T10:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/1 "2007-10-25T10:47:13Z")
If a hypnotist put someone to sleep and told them to awake only when he said so what would happen if the hypnotist was then to die. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/2 "2007-10-25T14:23:29Z")
I don’t have a specific answer to this question but I can refer you to [lots of threads on this board on the topic](http://www.seigle.net/gqfaq.html#hypnosis). I would speculate based on what I’ve read that the hypnotic suggestion is not all-powerful and that probably you would either “wake up” by yourself (BTW a hypnotist does not put people to sleep), or someone else could tell you it’s time to come out of your “trance” (but there is not really a trance, either). A hypnotist can guide you to a state of deep concentration but does not take control of your soul. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/3 "2007-10-25T14:26:19Z")
[Office hijinks may ensue!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Space) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/4 "2007-10-25T14:27:42Z")
They would wake up when they felt like it, despite what **Office Space** would have you believe. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/5 "2007-10-25T19:01:51Z")
Hypnotism is closer to an induced relaxation. It’s not mind control. You’re not put into a trance; you’re just relaxed. You still have control over your thoughts and actions. Of course, you might get so relaxed you fall asleep, but it wouldn’t be a sleep different from your typical sleep-- a loud noise or movement could still wake you up. So the answer to your question is “You’d have a dead hypnotist and a very awake patient, alarmed at finding his hypnotist suddenly dead.” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/6 "2007-10-25T20:02:25Z")
Putting a new cover letter on your TPS reports won’t seem as prudent anymore. _Just enough to get the ball rolling._ ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/7 "2007-10-25T20:16:02Z")
From my own experience, when you’re brought to that totally relaxed state and just left alone, you either fall asleep for a while or get bored and snap out of it. Not that my hypnotist died, you understand. I’ve just been in that state, with no one to bring me out, many times. I fear my overuse of commas dates from that period… ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypnotism/423945/8 "2007-10-26T15:37:44Z")
You wake up 113 years later, in a socialist paradise.