# Mind Control **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 10, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-control/567102 "2011-01-10T15:53:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 13
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-control/567102/13 "2011-01-10T17:11:05Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > One of the biggest hurts you can impose on a child and later society as that child enters the productive part of their life is to destroy their creativity. Children have wonderful ways of communicating beyond what adults do because they are not bound by our rules on language. > > As rules are imposed and enforced by threat of punishment (such as bad grades) the children lose their ability to think freely, and the wonders they could have brought into society is blocked by that wall of fear. This might be a hijack but I’d say understanding and following the rules of language aids in communication. Look at some of our best writers throughout history. They had a masterful command of the language and because of that were able to communicate profound ideas with wonderful clarity (read something like the Gettysburg Address for an example…stunning piece of writing). Internet/texting shorthand is not an aid to clear communication. I cannot imagine the Gettysburg Address would have been improved if Lincoln used emoticons. _“If you cannot say what you mean you cannot mean what you say.”_ (Forgot where I heard that to give proper credit) --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-control/567102)._