# Would telepathy save us or destroy us? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 2, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804 "2013-09-02T15:22:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/1 "2013-09-02T15:22:39Z")
Limited telepathy-You have to be able to physically see the person, you can only read their mind if you choose to do so, and you cannot block anyone from reading _your_ mind. Would the loss of secrets and the revealing of true intentions and actual opinions bring greater understanding and eventual peace, or would greater understanding tear apart the veneer of civility that stops us from clubbing each other to death? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/2 "2013-09-02T15:43:37Z")
Well, for starters, lies would be much less effective, if not downright worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/3 "2013-09-02T15:55:50Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Well, for starters, lies would be much less effective, if not downright worthless. But would that be good or bad? Diplomats would be useless, and any personal customer service would be a joke. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/4 "2013-09-02T15:59:41Z")
Its not so much the lies, IMHO, as it is the “unspoken” truths that would doom us. How far does this telepathy extend? line of sight? any “connection” (if I am on the phone with them) I can also hear the thoughts if I choose? Any controls over law enforcment usage? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/5 "2013-09-02T16:02:28Z")
Any attractive woman walking through a public space would have a constant chatter in her head of “ooh, boobs, ooh, boobs, ooh, boobs”, from every direction. I wonder if we would learn to be able to control our own thoughts more, if we knew people could be listening in? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/6 "2013-09-02T16:02:35Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Its not so much the lies, IMHO, as it is the “unspoken” truths that would doom us. > > How far does this telepathy extend? line of sight? any “connection” (if I am on the phone with them) I can also hear the thoughts if I choose? > > Any controls over law enforcment usage? Line of sight(no binoculars or telescopes), you only hear thoughts if you choose to do so, and no way to block it(law enforcement or otherwise). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/7 "2013-09-02T16:03:43Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Any attractive woman walking through a public space would have a constant chatter in her head of “ooh, boobs, ooh, boobs, ooh, boobs”, from every direction. You can only “read” one person at a time, and only if you choose to do so. ---
**Author:** ![jsutter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@jsutter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsutter)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/8 "2013-09-02T21:34:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Limited telepathy-You have to be able to physically see the person, you can only read their mind if you choose to do so, and you cannot block anyone from reading _your_ mind. Would the loss of secrets and the revealing of true intentions and actual opinions bring greater understanding and eventual peace, or would greater understanding tear apart the veneer of civility that stops us from clubbing each other to death? Great question. I’ve thought it about myself. I expect initially there’d be a lot of rough going as we suddenly find out what really has been going on and who’s responsible for what. However, I don’t think it’d be too long before we all realized that to some extent we all share in the mess that the “veneer of civility” has imposed on us, we’d grant amnesty to all, including ourselves, and get on with cooperating in bringing about a better world. Transparency is always a good thing, I opine. Aloha ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/9 "2013-09-02T22:08:52Z")
It certainly wouldn’t destroy us. It would change things remarkably. Trials would become much shorter! In my opinion, it would marginally improve the world. Arrant cruelty would be a little harder, if cruel people could directly sense the pain they cause. (A handful of really nasty psychopaths would arise who enjoy the sensation…) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/10 "2013-09-03T12:29:27Z")
Would marriages increase, or decrease? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/11 "2013-09-03T12:33:47Z")
Is this something that starts from birth or occurs later in life? I wouldn’t want to go through puberty with it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/12 "2013-09-03T12:51:48Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Is this something that starts from birth or occurs later in life? I wouldn’t want to go through puberty with it. Let’s just say it started at midnight last night. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/13 "2013-09-03T13:10:26Z")
Initially divorce rates soar: you can’t hide an affair or a troubled marriage, and you know what your spouse thinks of you. But, future marriages are based on a more solid knowledge that the other person loves/cares about you, so eventually that may recover. Going through security at the airport will be much quicker: –Pardon me, but are you a terrorist? Ah, I see, step over here please. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/14 "2013-09-03T13:45:05Z")
If it happened suddenly, society would fall apart very rapidly. It would lead to isolationism. I don’t think our minds are built to cope with this kind of brutal honesty. If it happened as a process of evolution over a long period of time, we’d adjust without even realizing it. But society would be very different. ---
**Author:** ![MsBatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@MsBatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsBatt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/15 "2013-09-03T21:44:57Z")
I know I’d be spending a LOT more time indoors with the shades drawn. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/16 "2013-09-03T23:00:35Z")
I suppose we would develop a rule of etiquette – might even be backed up by the law – that you don’t read another’s mind without consent; and a whole set of rules about circumstances where consent is reasonably expected (no consent required of officials making lawful inquiries, but what’s lawful there being still subject to the usual constitutional protections, as developed in new post-telepathy case law). Of course, the OP does not specify whether it is possible to read another’s mind without the read mind knowing it. But, like all other secrets, the fact you have done so is no longer one you can keep if the point is pressed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/17 "2013-09-03T23:32:16Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I suppose we would develop a rule of etiquette – might even be backed up by the law – that you don’t read another’s mind without consent; and a whole set of rules about circumstances where consent is reasonably expected (no consent required of officials making lawful inquiries, but what’s lawful there being still subject to the usual constitutional protections, as developed in new post-telepathy case law). > > Of course, the OP does not specify whether it is possible to read another’s mind without the read mind knowing it. But, like all other secrets, the fact you have done so is no longer one you can keep if the point is pressed. In this scenario, there is no way to tell if your mind is being read or not. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/18 "2013-09-04T00:40:09Z")
Suicides would skyrocket, since anyone who has “incorrect” thoughts, would be shamed, ostracized and tormented by almost everyone they meet. Some would manage to isolate themselves, but this itself would become suspicious (even more so than it already is) - what are you trying to hide? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/19 "2013-09-04T00:54:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > In this scenario, there is no way to tell if your mind is being read or not. Well, sure: if someone reveals a secret that only I know, that clearly gives away that my mind has been read. In fact, there is a kind of double-blind security against this, involving writing stuff on paper and giving to someone else…who hasn’t read the paper. You can’t read a piece of paper’s mind! Other means of isolating knowledge would develop in protection of secrecy. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804/20 "2013-09-04T01:05:25Z")
It occures to me that the price of tin foil would skyrocket. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-telepathy-save-us-or-destroy-us/667804.md?page=2)