(Continued from Part 1.  Read that first.)

Let’s keep this post a bit shorter, shall we?

You’re already starting to get the idea …

Your mind?

It can be hacked!

How?

Well, you know a few ways now.  The tools of “emotional manipulation” you just learned are but one class of mind hacks.  There are many others.

I’ll give you two more in just a second.  First, let’s talk about an even bigger idea …

The Shield Lesson 2:
The Grand Mind Hack Hypothesis

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you’re on a beach … getting a massage from someone you find quite attractive … thinking about the millions you just made from that big business deal …

Go ahead.  Close your eyes and imagine it for a moment.

Back?

OK, now tell me this …

- what color was the sand?

- where was the sun?

- how many clouds were in the sky?

- what did the air feel like on your skin?

Chances are, you can’t answer any of these questions.  See, we are in a constant sea of information, but the mind can only focus on a few bits of information at a time.

How does our mind know what is important?

The prevailing theory in cognitive science is that we use “shortcuts”.

There are fancy scientific names for the various theories that espouse this model … the Heuristic-Systmatic Model … The Elaboration Liklihood Model … etc.

But they are all saying mostly the same thing:  we need to use shortcuts to process information as a matter of survival.

Think about it … if you are in the forrest and you see a bear, do you have time to count the leaves on the trees?

These shortcuts tell us two things:

• what is important
• amongst what is important, what we should believe

Again …

So What?

Well, some diabolical students of persuasion figured out that these same shortcuts can be used to hack the human brain.

Think of it …

If you know the shortcuts the brain uses to decide what to believe, you can use these same shortcuts to package your information in a way that is likely to be believed.

 ”That sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.  People can’t be that diabolical.”

You’re free to believe that, but you’d be discounting the existence of:

• advertising
• military psychological operations
• public relations
• etc …

Not only is this stuff “real” – it’s being deliberately practiced every day … on you!

So, in order to protect yourself, it would be an exceedingly good idea to familiarize yourself with these shortcuts, wouldn’t it?

You learned about a few of them yesterday.  Allow me to equip you with two more.

Cognitive scientists have identified many, but I’m highlighting the handful I’ve chosen in this series because they are some of the most commonly used.

Obedience to Authority

For the sake of brevity, I’m not going to cite any of the copious literature that supports this theory.

Instead, I’m going to ask you a simple question:  Who are you more likely to take medical advice from?

• A: A hobo on the street

… or …

• B: Your doctor

 ”My doctor, of course!  But what’s wrong with that!”

Well, nothing really.  Most of the time.

But two things …

First, it illustrates the principle:  we tend to obey people in positions of authority.  It’s one of those shortcuts we use to decide what to believe.  We don’t have time to study, digest, and understand all of the scientific literature related to our problem, so we obey our doctors.

Second, and here’s what the problems begin, you’re just as likely to obey a hobo in a lab coat (assuming he’s taken a shower) as you are a real doctor.

The world is awash with fake authorities all vying for your obedience.

For example, many of the people presented as “authorities” on news programs don’t have any real authority on a particular subject aside from self-proclaimed expertise.

You think you’re too smart to be outsmarted by this kind of thing, but … you’re not.  None of us are.  We’re all easily duped this way.  Even those of us who should know better.

Conformity to Group Norms

Again, for the sake of brevity, I’ll skip all of the (quite fascinating, I should add) studies that have verified this phenomenon.

Instead, I’ll make it easier to understand by asking you a question:  If you were walking down the street and you spotted a mob of people running toward you – fear in their eyes as if they were running away from something terrible – would you:

• A: Keep walking to find out what they were so afraid of

… or …

• B: Start running in the same direction

B, of course.  We tend to conform to the behaviors of the group, and again, this isn’t necessarily a bad idea.  It might even save your life.

But again, there’s a problem.  Sometimes the masses have been collectively duped.  Indeed, they might even be under the spell of mass hysteria (reference:  every mass murder in history).

Persuasion professionals are quite good at creating the appearance of group norms to dupe you into believing what they want you to believe.

For example, in 1953 during Operation Ajax in Iran, the CIA paid fake protestors to create the illusion of mass dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.  They also paid journalists to broadcast the story of these fake protests to the masses, and … it duped an entire nation.

Read that again.  Yes, it really happened.

“Surely, such things could not be happening today.”

Haha.  Good one.

Further Strengthening Your Mind

In the next post, we’ll start building out your “sword.”

But first, let’s take another precautionary measure.

Learning about this type of thing can be quite stressful.

Once you are aware these types of games are being played on all of us every day, most of us have a tendency to become a bit depressed.

So, I want to give you a free resource that is an “antidote” to that reaction, if you will.

It’s another quick and easy read that more or less “programs” your mind to be positive, upbeat, enthusiastic, and success-driven.

You can download it here for free …

FREE Download:  The Old Book That Brainwashes You