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?
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.
Women would never stop slapping us.
Regards,
Shodan
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.
I’m sort of reminded of the Twilight Zone episode called “It’s a Good Life” 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?
Fired within seconds and fights all the way home.
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.
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.
Would knowing how badly I want her make her want me any more? Probably not.
This. Also, many used car salesmen will have to find other work.
On the plus side, no more lies.
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.”
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?
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.”
*
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.
You mean you can’t already do that?
Do what?
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.
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.
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.
First, mass stabbings.
Then, the survivors go back to normal, pretending they can’t read everybody’s thoughts.