# You have the chance to become telepathic with one other person. Do you take it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749 "2010-05-08T16:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/41 "2010-05-11T05:21:31Z")
I would enable the feature, but I haven’t yet found my linkster. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/42 "2010-05-11T16:15:57Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Have you ever refused to pick up the phone when your wife is calling? Everyone who knows me expects me to screen my calls. Only the one unreasonable sister ever acts surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/43 "2010-05-11T16:18:22Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Is there something wrong about me that the first person I thought of was my cat? No. There’s other things wrong with you, but that’s just a symptom. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/44 "2010-05-11T16:33:55Z")
Can you use it to learn a skill? If I could hook up with a great piano player, and learn enough to play well when I _wasn’t_ hooked up, I might consider it. And the other issue is – is it reversible? Can it be turned off permanently at the request of either? One more question – if it’s reversible, can it then be repeated with others? Because if it works the way I want it to work, it could revolutionize the education system. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/45 "2010-05-11T16:43:50Z")
No way in hell. I’ve seen what goes on in my head. Only exception would be if Jennifer Tilly agreed to be the “other”. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/46 "2010-05-11T18:20:07Z")
I would jump as this, provided the other person is my daughter. She’s almost completely non-verbal due to autism and I would love the chance to “hear” her, and to be able to communicate with her better than I think we do. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/47 "2010-05-11T19:17:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No way in hell. I’ve seen what goes on in my head. > > Only exception would be if Jennifer Tilly agreed to be the “other”. But would she ever stop slapping you? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/48 "2010-05-11T19:25:19Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Can you use it to learn a skill? If I could hook up with a great piano player, and learn enough to play well when I _wasn’t_ hooked up, I might consider it. > > And the other issue is – is it reversible? Can it be turned off permanently at the request of either? > > One more question – if it’s reversible, can it then be repeated with others? Because if it works the way I want it to work, it could revolutionize the education system. I think it’s implicit in the OP that it can be permanently turned off, since either person can block the other one out at will. But I don’t see how the telepathy I described in the OP would help much in education, since it’s restricted to one part of persons at a time. Can you explain what you mean? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/49 "2010-05-11T19:32:09Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But would she ever stop slapping you? You’re thinking of Meg. Common mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/50 "2010-05-12T00:33:55Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I think it’s implicit in the OP that it can be permanently turned off, since either person can block the other one out at will. But I don’t see how the telepathy I described in the OP would help much in education, since it’s restricted to one part of persons at a time. Can you explain what you mean? Sure. If you can learn with it, you hook up with someone who has a skill that you want to learn. Then you switch off with them, hook up with someone else with a different skill you want, and learn that skill. Etcetera, etcetera. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749/51 "2010-05-12T01:06:25Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I think both probably have sets of intensely private thoughts that they’d never want the other one to know about, and getting sent to the telepathic voicemail too often woul just end up causing too much anxiety and too many questions. > > Christ, no. And it’s going to stay that way. It’s somewhat vexatious when you state my opinion more succinctly than I myself, sir. Pretend I ended with the usual blather. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-chance-to-become-telepathic-with-one-other-person-do-you-take-it/538749.md?page=2)