One of my long-running social experiments on non-verbal, non-physical telepathic communications just got a fillip when I literally ran into a good looking-lady the other day at the airport.
I was in a hurry to reach home and she was in a hurry to catch a flight. We were walking towards each other and to leave the way clear for her, I moved slightly to my left, only to see her moving to her right, I recalibrated and moved right only to see her move left and a few such manoeuvres later we were both in each other’s path. We stopped short of head-on collision and both couldn’t help laughing even as we said sorry and moved on. It forced me to relook at my experiment that I had, for a long time, put on the back burner.
It is something all of us have been through. On our walk we encounter strangers coming in the opposite direction on the same path and, without any effort, we move aside and continue to walk past them. At work here is, what I call, a telepathic non-verbal communication that passes on between two such people almost instinctively. No indicators or hand signals are exchanged. No aggressive body languages. One just moves right or left and keeps walking.
What I found intriguing is that it happens so regularly that it does not even seem out of place. And as I deliberated further I realised a pattern. It takes just about a micro nano-second of eye contact for the signals to be passed and received, even as the subjects are in motion absolutely unaware of such a signal. Another aspect I noticed was that the said signals are short-range ones as it happens only when the subjects are about a few steps away. I also observed that there are three types of reaction when the said telepathic waves entangle resulting in wrong signals leading to an almost headlong crash. Some laugh and move on, a few are outraged and and a few move on dispassionately.
Now being aware of such signals I thought, can these be tampered with? No. I realised given that the time frame is far too short. But a deliberate miscommunication was not beyond the realms of possibility, even though there was no controlled environment to conduct the experiments. I, however, set about trying it out.
Given that the instinctive signals have muscle memorised in the subconscious through aeons of evolution, the initial attempts proved tough. Trying to calibrate a subconscious mind consciously was quite a job. Even as I kept muttering right, right I found myself moving left and vice versa in respect to the experimentee, who wavered not an inch from the path. The key aspect, I later realised, was the timings. For it was within a very, very brief nano-second post the eye contact the signal had to be interfered with. Also I realised that within that time frame I, the experimenter, had to be the one signalling. For, the telepathic communication happens when one is the sender and the other the receiver. The almost-crashes happen when both send the signal simultaneously, I deduced. To catch that particular moment, then, was the key.
After various failed attempts I did crack the moment. I managed to have the experimentees move in the direction I wanted and that too on quite a few occasions. Lack of scientific equipment and rigour notwithstanding, I had reason to believe I had a good success ratio. I put my experiments on hold when I realised I was not the only one experimenting.
I ran into a new subject, and even though I tried my manipulated telepathic signalling I found myself within shaking-hands distance. We stopped and smiled and wanting to give way I moved aside only to see, she too had done the same. And it came as a surprise when she asked “experimenting,? Are you?” We then, like two good scientists, exchanged a few notes over a cup of chai and moved on.
Now in this world of instant communication, the primordial telepathic messaging is still holding out strongly. And even though almost all have their eyes glued on to their devices and yet almost everyone veers away instinctively. I now have to figure out how to interfere with the signals, given that the eye contact, which I thought held the key, is tough to establish.
Time now for a new experiment.
I was in a hurry to reach home and she was in a hurry to catch a flight. We were walking towards each other and to leave the way clear for her, I moved slightly to my left, only to see her moving to her right, I recalibrated and moved right only to see her move left and a few such manoeuvres later we were both in each other’s path. We stopped short of head-on collision and both couldn’t help laughing even as we said sorry and moved on. It forced me to relook at my experiment that I had, for a long time, put on the back burner.
It is something all of us have been through. On our walk we encounter strangers coming in the opposite direction on the same path and, without any effort, we move aside and continue to walk past them. At work here is, what I call, a telepathic non-verbal communication that passes on between two such people almost instinctively. No indicators or hand signals are exchanged. No aggressive body languages. One just moves right or left and keeps walking.
What I found intriguing is that it happens so regularly that it does not even seem out of place. And as I deliberated further I realised a pattern. It takes just about a micro nano-second of eye contact for the signals to be passed and received, even as the subjects are in motion absolutely unaware of such a signal. Another aspect I noticed was that the said signals are short-range ones as it happens only when the subjects are about a few steps away. I also observed that there are three types of reaction when the said telepathic waves entangle resulting in wrong signals leading to an almost headlong crash. Some laugh and move on, a few are outraged and and a few move on dispassionately.
Now being aware of such signals I thought, can these be tampered with? No. I realised given that the time frame is far too short. But a deliberate miscommunication was not beyond the realms of possibility, even though there was no controlled environment to conduct the experiments. I, however, set about trying it out.
Given that the instinctive signals have muscle memorised in the subconscious through aeons of evolution, the initial attempts proved tough. Trying to calibrate a subconscious mind consciously was quite a job. Even as I kept muttering right, right I found myself moving left and vice versa in respect to the experimentee, who wavered not an inch from the path. The key aspect, I later realised, was the timings. For it was within a very, very brief nano-second post the eye contact the signal had to be interfered with. Also I realised that within that time frame I, the experimenter, had to be the one signalling. For, the telepathic communication happens when one is the sender and the other the receiver. The almost-crashes happen when both send the signal simultaneously, I deduced. To catch that particular moment, then, was the key.
After various failed attempts I did crack the moment. I managed to have the experimentees move in the direction I wanted and that too on quite a few occasions. Lack of scientific equipment and rigour notwithstanding, I had reason to believe I had a good success ratio. I put my experiments on hold when I realised I was not the only one experimenting.
I ran into a new subject, and even though I tried my manipulated telepathic signalling I found myself within shaking-hands distance. We stopped and smiled and wanting to give way I moved aside only to see, she too had done the same. And it came as a surprise when she asked “experimenting,? Are you?” We then, like two good scientists, exchanged a few notes over a cup of chai and moved on.
Now in this world of instant communication, the primordial telepathic messaging is still holding out strongly. And even though almost all have their eyes glued on to their devices and yet almost everyone veers away instinctively. I now have to figure out how to interfere with the signals, given that the eye contact, which I thought held the key, is tough to establish.
Time now for a new experiment.
Random Ramblings of a Reluctant Blogger 
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