# Jedi Mind Trick question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 7, 2002, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140 "2002-12-07T16:07:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/1 "2002-12-07T16:07:16Z")
In SWII:ATOC, Kenobi goes into a nightclub to find the assassin. At the bar, an alien tries to sell Kenobi some “death sticks”. Kenobi uses the Jedi Mind Trick to convince the “guy” that he doesn’t want to sell death sticks and should go home and re-think his life.
How long would this “suggestion” last?
If it’s permanent thing, is this how the Jedis keep the peace - mind control?
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/2 "2002-12-07T16:10:05Z")
That should be “Jedi Mind Trick”, BTW. :smack:
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/3 "2002-12-07T16:24:06Z")
The Jedi mind trick, as is stated explicitly in episode IV, works only on the weak-minded. The first person we saw who was explicitly immune to it was Jabba the Hutt.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/4 "2002-12-07T16:40:09Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \*
> \*\*The Jedi mind trick, as is stated explicitly in episode IV, works only on the weak-minded. The first person we saw who was explicitly immune to it was Jabba the Hutt. \*\*
But will the guy go re-think his life and never sell death sticks again and not question anything? Or will he shake off the suggestion and go back to his old ways?
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/5 "2002-12-07T16:59:59Z")
The suggestion was not “You want to stop selling drugs”. It was “You want to rethink your life”. It’s a suggestion that only has to be carried out once, and if the all goes well, Sleazebaggano will realize the error of his ways without being forced into the conclusion.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/6 "2002-12-07T17:05:46Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \*
> \*\*That should be “Jedi Mind Trick”, BTW. :smack: \*\*
There was no spelling error.
The title was _always_ “Jedi Mind Trick question”.
These are not the gaffs you’re looking for.
-Jedi Master Czarcasm
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/7 "2002-12-07T18:04:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \*
> \*\*That should be “Jedi Mind Trick”, BTW. :smack: \*\*
Now why did I post this? The thread title was alright all along.
:shrug:
😃
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### Author:  [@SilentRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentRose)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/8 "2002-12-07T20:25:53Z")
call me weird…but i didn’t even realize it was mOnd and not mInd till you pointed it out 😃
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/9 "2002-12-07T21:28:02Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \*
> But will the guy go re-think his life and never sell death sticks again and not question anything? Or will he shake off the suggestion and go back to his old ways?
Sorry, I was addressing the last part of your question. I concur with **Achernar** on the rest.
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### Author:  [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/10 "2002-12-07T22:54:10Z")
[Hand gesture]
[Obi wan]
_Mr. Blue Sky - you do not want to ask questions like this. You want to ask other questions. ou want to forget about this thread_
[/Obi Wan]
[/Hand gesture]
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### Author:  [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/11 "2002-12-07T23:03:19Z")
[wave]
Ignore him – dog’s can’t talk.
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### Author:  [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/12 "2002-12-08T00:17:42Z")
My WAG would be that the mind trick is just that – a ‘trick’, not actual mind control. It’s essentially just a distraction - a temporary turn of mind that helps the Jedis become inconspicuous if they want to be. After all, if they could really mind control, and had no ethical objection to it, it would be an insanely powerful ability. Why wouldn’t Obi-Wan just tell Stormtroopers “You don’t want to be a Stormtrooper”, wave his hand, repeat a zillion times, and destroy the Imperial army with desertion?
It just seems to me like Jedis just get a little taste of a power, not a hugely powerful ability. They can jump high but they can’t fly like Superman. They can move objects (within reason) but can’t point at a ship and make it careen off course into a star. They can distract the mind but not change it.
Of course, I suppose only George Lucas knows for sure, if anyone.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/13 "2002-12-08T00:29:29Z")
What the heck? Nobody’s commented on the fact that this guy’s name is Sleazebaggano? That was like my favorite part of the credits!
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### Author:  [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/14 "2002-12-08T01:43:15Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by fluiddruid \*
> \*\*My WAG would be that the mind trick is just that – a ‘trick’, not actual mind control. It’s essentially just a distraction - a temporary turn of mind that helps the Jedis become inconspicuous if they want to be. After all, if they could really mind control, and had no ethical objection to it, it would be an insanely powerful ability. Why wouldn’t Obi-Wan just tell Stormtroopers “You don’t want to be a Stormtrooper”, wave his hand, repeat a zillion times, and destroy the Imperial army with desertion?
>
> It just seems to me like Jedis just get a little taste of a power, not a hugely powerful ability. They can jump high but they can’t fly like Superman. They can move objects (within reason) but can’t point at a ship and make it careen off course into a star. They can distract the mind but not change it.
>
> Of course, I suppose only George Lucas knows for sure, if anyone. \*\*
But there in lies the truth of the Force. Those who have mastered it can use that power for good or evil. The Jedi have always used for good. The Sith have always used it for bad.
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### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/15 "2002-12-08T02:17:40Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Achernar \*
> \*\*What the heck? Nobody’s commented on the fact that this guy’s name is Sleazebaggano? That was like my favorite part of the credits! \*\*
Yea, you mentioned it earlier. Jeez, don’t you remember anything? 🙂
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/16 "2002-12-08T02:34:00Z")
Yes of course I remember. I was expecting people to respond to what I said. I didn’t really comment on the fact other than mentioning it, though.
But if I were to comment on it…
…it might go something like this…
**BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!**
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/17 "2002-12-08T03:20:33Z")
So _that_’s who Sleazebaggano was! There was a discussion here before the movie came out that there was a character by that name, but I wasn’t sure who it was. I think that the reason nobody commented on it, was that we had already all commented on it then.
But no, the mind trick isn’t permanent. Obi-wan’s suggestion wasn’t “You don’t want to sell death-sticks”, it was “You don’t want to sell me death-sticks”. Focus on the here-and-now, immediate situation. Likewise, it wasn’t “You want to go home and change your life”, it was “You want to go home and re-think your life”. So the kid went home and thought things over. Maybe he came to the same conclusion as before and kept on selling death-sticks; we don’t know. But he might have changed, and if nothing else, he spent one evening of his life doing something other than peddling death-sticks.
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### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/18 "2002-12-08T03:53:30Z")
I suspect that, being stuck with a name like Sleazebaggano, it’s probably pretty hard for him to get away from a proffesion like death-stick peddling. It’s kind of like my friend who’s last name is Stoner. What do you think he’s like? 🙂
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### Author:  [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/19 "2002-12-08T03:57:44Z")
Yes. I bet the guy rethinks his life. Maybe he’ll stop and maybe he won’t. Who knows. I moved off of Tatooine to Middle Earth.
I am now the last poster in the top 4 threads as of right now. Whee.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jedi-mind-trick-question/141140/20 "2002-12-08T19:05:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> My WAG would be that the mind trick is just that – a ‘trick’, not actual mind control. It’s essentially just a distraction - a temporary turn of mind that helps the Jedis become inconspicuous if they want to be. After all, if they could really mind control, and had no ethical objection to it, it would be an insanely powerful ability. Why wouldn’t Obi-Wan just tell Stormtroopers “You don’t want to be a Stormtrooper”, wave his hand, repeat a zillion times, and destroy the Imperial army with desertion?
Or it could be that the implications of the Jedis having such abilities were not thought out propperly by George Lucas in the grand tradition of other plot devices in things with the title Star \_\_\_\_\_.
And just out of curiosity what kind of name for an illicit drug is “death sticks”? A nick name picked up by people against it I could see, but it’s not the sales pitch I’d use to try to sell it.
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