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Invade other peoples thoughts for monetary/material gain

66 (25.5%)

Invade other peoples thoughts to exploit their emotions

50 (19.3%)

Learn what other people think of you

70 (27%)

Just do it a little, to see what some selected people think of you

25 (9.7%)

I wouldnt read others minds, its rude

14 (5.4%)

use it for good and get into a law enforcement job to stop bad people/crimes

34 (13.1%)

Total Members Voted: 117

Voting closed: September 24, 2011, 02:28:26 am

[ChairmanPoo]

People can only effectively hold their faces for so long. A person's true emotions will eventually start to show through.

Unless he has facial nerve paralysis. In that case they wont

[TheMasterTurtle]

Heehee, people often can't tell my facial expressions well because the right side of my face is minorly paralysed.

[Glowcat]

I would replace listening with mind reading and finish peoples' sentences for them. Mostly to be annoying.

[Grek]

Being able to read someone's mind is ethically identical to being able to predict what they'll think due to having a good model of their thoughts and, as such, is exactly just as moral as speculating on what someone is thinking. If you have a problem with "invading" someone's mental privacy, you should have the same problem whenever someone says "They'll probably think X if you do Y."

So, yes. I would make mad money using my terrifying telepathic powers, become a mighty cognitive scientist, enhance my social life and probably make expert testimony in critical court cases at various points.

[xczxc]

Oh the power! I would definitely just have fun with it.

I would make mad money using my terrifying telepathic powers, become a mighty cognitive scientist, enhance my social life[...]

Well, only until I become old. Then I would run for president (and get elected by an overwhelming majority ha ha, mind reading) and try to make something good out of it (otherwise I'd end up feeling kind of ashamed of not helping mankind) (The only flaw is dying before deciding it's time, so if I get the ability to read minds I would keep a seriously healthy lifestyle).

[MaximumZero]

I would be the best salesman. The best.

Riiiight up until I could afford a lair in a volcano. Or on the moon. Or something.

[squeakyReaper]

Go to the APA and volunteer my services.  I can do a lot of good with such powers.  I'd also unravel the eternal question of faith and religion by keep tabs on praying people.

[Criptfeind]

Being able to read someone's mind is ethically identical to being able to predict what they'll think due to having a good model of their thoughts and, as such, is exactly just as moral as speculating on what someone is thinking.

Except not because speculation is imperfect.

[Bauglir]

Well, getting the seed data would certainly be just as unethical as reading a person's mind, since to do so would require reading somebody's mind.

EDIT: I suppose that if you were Laplace's Demon, you could conceivably just plug in the data you already know, but since being Laplace's Demon just means that reading every creature's mind is mandatory (though understanding it is not; using this model would constitute understanding it), it really doesn't change a lot.

I think the question boils down to whether there are things it can be wrong to know.

[Bohandas]

Use it to combat my social disabilities.  I don't know if even mind-reading would fix everything, but at least it would help.

I would do the same.

HOWEVER...

But I would probably also wind up overcompensating and become extremely manipulative and abusive, eventually using the power to steal people's ideas, identify girls who put out, and gather information to blackmail people.

Also, I would go on trivia gameshows and cheat by reading the host's mind.

[Itnetlolor]

Use it to combat my social disabilities.  I don't know if even mind-reading would fix everything, but at least it would help.

I would do the same.

HOWEVER...

But I would probably also wind up overcompensating and become extremely manipulative and abusive, eventually using the power to steal people's ideas, identify girls who put out, and gather information to blackmail people.

Also, I would go on trivia gameshows and cheat by reading the host's mind.

Don't go for the host's mind, go for the judges'. They hold the answer, the host just holds the card or speaks the questions.

[Bohandas]

Use it to combat my social disabilities.  I don't know if even mind-reading would fix everything, but at least it would help.

I would do the same.

HOWEVER...

But I would probably also wind up overcompensating and become extremely manipulative and abusive, eventually using the power to steal people's ideas, identify girls who put out, and gather information to blackmail people.

Also, I would go on trivia gameshows and cheat by reading the host's mind.

Don't go for the host's mind, go for the judges'. They hold the answer, the host just holds the card or speaks the questions.

I was assuming that the answers are on the card.

[TSTwizby]

I'm not really sure what I would do. I'd like to think that I wouldn't use it at all, partly because it would be cheating and partly because I have this general worldview that anything as cheap as that can't possibly be anything other than a trap. But I suspect that if I did use it, then I would find it nearly useless. I mean, have you listened to yourself think lately? Do you have a string of coherent thoughts relevant to the current situation, or is it more like "Oh, whoops, I think I left my car door unlocked... I wonder what my cat is doing... Hey, someone should try to build a statue entirely out of glass, and then fill it with magma and then fill it with elves" while you remember how good the pizza you just ate tasted and listen to Queen playing in the background.

[G-Flex]

If you can read minds, what are you actually reading? Their verbalized thoughts, or something deeper than that? The latter would provide a level of (one-way) communication that can't be accomplished with words, and either would allow an interesting perspective on how people use language.


I don't know how I'd use it, because if I could use it reliably, the government would probably find out, lock me up, and study me to death or try to turn me into some kind of super-spy.

[Bohandas]

Yeah, that's a good point, are you just reading the thoughts at the surface, or can you probe the subconscious?