Opinion | Columnists
Reading between the lines
A new technology promises to reveal on a computer screen what people have on their minds, such as dreams.
- By Vanaja Rao, Stone Editor
- Published: 23:45 December 18, 2008
A new technology promises to reveal on a computer screen what people have on their minds, such as dreams. Japanese researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories say they have succeeded in processing and displaying images directly from the human brain, with their study to be published in Neuron magazine.
I am not sure if this is something path-breaking or not. For as long as I can remember, my mother had this uncanny ability to read my thoughts much before they were even formulated. This inborn skill made it possible for her to forestall any ill-advised actions on my part. Thus, I would hear her say in a tone of voice that brooked no dissent, "Don't even dream of going to the kitchen". Feet that were heading in that direction, towards the plate of freshly baked goodies cooling on the table to be more precise, were stilled. As I turned around to vehemently deny any such nefarious intention, the avaricious gleam in my eyes would give me away.
I am sure all of you will agree with this maternal perception and anticipation of one's innermost thoughts. On being asked by a cousin to engage in some activity that would surely invite parental wrath, a young niece refused the invitation, saying that her mum had eyes in the back of her head. No amount of reassurance to the contrary would entice her into venturing into troubled waters. So strong is this belief in a mother's ability to see right through you that one automatically uses this conviction to gauge the rightness of any premeditated action.
The sixth sense that mothers come armed with has helped prevent many rash deeds. One doesn't need to have them in the vicinity or the scene of the "crime" to know that you will be found out. This prescient reading of one's intentions can be unnerving, so much so that plans to indulge in any kind of mischief are usually pondered over at length and the pros and cons weighed before considering any kind of precipitate action.
Of course, mothers aren't the only ones to be blessed with this gift. I know of wives who possess the same powers of foresight. Thus, they will let their spouses ramble on about a busy day at work, knowing fully well that the rambler left the office at 5.30pm sharp and that the way home involved a detour to the golf club.
Suddenly solicitous
Neither is she taken in when the husband is suddenly solicitous of her comfort and wellbeing. Even as she allows him to indulge her every wish, all the warning alarms are going off in her head, so loud and insistent that she can hardly hear herself think. She is fully aware that this is his way of letting her know that he has either got up to or is getting up to something that he knows will not go down well with her. Such as investing a huge amount of their hard-earned savings on some hare-brained scheme that he is convinced will double their wealth. So, she starts talking about this friend of hers whose husband emptied their bank balance on the advice of a so-called friend only to learn too late that he had as good as thrown his money down the drain. The facts will be imaginatively embroidered with not-so-subtle hints that she knows that her husband would never do anything like that without her knowledge and assent.
As soon as the pampering stops, she knows that she has got her message across. And thanks her stars for the return of the man whom she is so much more comfortable with, warts and all.
It has just struck me that all these mind-readers belong to the fairer sex. But there's no denying woman power. You've been warned of the woman scorned. Also beware the woman who knows too much.
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