There’s been an episode of Dr Phil about a lawyer who was convicted of “hypnotizing” his clients and sexually abusing him. It happened in Ohio, but still, it’s bizarre that there should be a whole courthouse full of people who believe in “hypnosis.”
If the fellow in question really had the power to switch off people’s consciousness like that, why would he waste it on getting sex from old, fat, sad divorcees instead of becoming ultra rich and powerful?
Medical fact:
There are some individuals with certain personality deficits (excessive gullibility, trust in others, eagerness to be psychologically dominated) who can quite easily be put in a deep hypnotic state, and sometimes even lured into that state without realizing it. These individuals are the exception, but they exist and can be readily manipulated by a skilled hypnotist. I saw this demonstrated repeatedly when I was a medical resident in psychiatric training.
While there are many popular myths about the altered psychological state called hypnosis — like the old, erroneous legal belief that hypnotized subjects always tell the truth — denying that hypnosis is a real phenomenon is equally false.
“why would he waste it on getting sex from old, fat, sad divorcees instead of becoming ultra rich and powerful?”
If I knew why the world was full of stupid people, I’d write a bestselling non-fiction book on the subject. 🙂
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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