What if the government could change our beliefs through sneaky mind control? Wacky conspiracy, right? Read on and you’ll see we might have solid reasons for concern.
Back in 2002, The Economist ran an article about neuroscience being the future of mind control. Now, their prediction is closer than ever to becoming a reality.
With $100 million funding from President Obama’s ten year BRAIN Project and a whopping $1.3 billion commitment from the European Union, this area is undoubtedly expanding.
The last few years have seen quite a number of advancements in this field, such as the microchip that mimics the human brain and the “neural dust” that could theoretically spy on the human brain. There’s even a 3D digital model of the human brain, the fruit of ten years’ worth of labor between an international team of researchers.
Scientists are actively researching new ways to break the final barrier –the human brain. In essence, this is a good thing but it can and probably will prove to be a double-edged sword.
Naturally, DARPA ( the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency) wants in on this. Documents leaked by an anonymous whistleblower reveal the agency’s interest in mind control through advanced neuroscience, as if their intentions weren’t painfully obvious enough.
There’s an ongoing program focused on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ( TMS) which aims to remotely disrupt one’s thoughts. TMS is basically the stimulation of the brain’s temporal lobe by employing electromagnetic fields.
The temporal lobe is involved in processing visual and auditory input and it also governs the creation of new memories. On top of that, it is also the center for emotion association. Here’s what TMS does:
By tinkering around with some one’s temporal lobe you can effectively influence the way they think. Coupled with sophisticated propaganda mechanisms, we have our mind control. If this all seems too far-fetched, it isn’t. There’s a program going on just as you’re reading this.
The program is being conducted by Arizona State University’s Center for Strategic Communication and DARPA funding for the project is confirmed on their website.
There are many who believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. This project is relatively out in the open and its funding is made public. But then there’s the issue of black programs. These programs are classified due to obvious security-related reasons and their budgets are sky-high. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden detail how the U.S. government allocated $52.8 billion for 2012’s black budget.
Naturally, the program’s goal is to combat terrorism as this always make for a good excuse. Should we believe that their only targets are overseas extremists? To what extent does the term “extremist” apply?
In all truthfulness, DARPA aims to influence or disrupt the operation of narratives in people’s brains. That is to say, preventing people from thinking certain thoughts while determining others to believe things they normally wouldn’t. It would literally change people’s minds.
Undoubtedly, such a tool would have immense domestic potential. Bye-bye, political dissent, hello propaganda, and crowd contro.
“Our research fundamentally develops the capacity to disrupt cognitive narrative processes to alter their persuasive power and further establishes a methodology for inducing narrative validity, transportation and integration in strategic communication messaging.” (our emphasis)
Once their research determines which areas of the temporal lobe are responsible for cognitive reasoning and narrative formation, their focus will shift towards switching off those areas to “create a fundamental basis for understanding how to disrupt or enhance aspects of narrative structure and/or brain functioning to minimize or maximize persuasive effects on subject proclivity to engage in political violence.”
Once this step is completed, the more practical applications arise. Subjects could be determined to commit acts of violence. Ideas could be easily implanted, regardless of the subject’s willingness to comply. Such a program would also prove refreshing in the field of interrogation. The beans are easily spilled when there is no can, the can being the mind’s natural barriers.
The scariest part is that DARPA ultimately aims to be able to remotely produce the effects of TMS:
“Mechanical disruptions of narrative processing may be, ultimately, replicated in through targeted strategic communication campaigns that approximate the narrative disruptions induced via magnetic stimulation.”
What this means is that after mapping out the areas of the brain that respond to certain stimuli, they would effectively convey the effects of TMS without actually subjecting the brain to electromagnetic fields. That’s right folks, mind control made possible through plain words. Just imagine the possibilities brought on by mass brainwashing.
It seems there’s a strong possibility that in the future, our thoughts won’t be our own. Documents for research here and here.
Author: Ian Paxton
