I know what you're thinking

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Thorsten Havener

I know what you are thinking , with the subtitle The secret of reading minds , is the first non-fiction book by the mentalist and magician Thorsten Havener , published in 2009 , which describes the basics of perception and suggestion and thus gives instructions for techniques and experiments to be carried out personally to learn the “ mind reading ” methodology .

Subject

The book I Know What You're Thinking (2009) belongs together with Don't Think About a Blue Elephant! (2010, ISBN 978-3-499-62609-8 ) and Think what you want (2011, ISBN 978-3-8052-5021-4 ) on Havener's non-fiction books on mind reading.

In six chapters, the book deals with human perception and behavior in a popular scientific way, which can serve as a basis for recognizing the intentions and knowledge of others (mind reading). In the course of his explanations, Havener suggests simple experiments that are based on situations in everyday life and that the reader can carry out himself in order to put into practice and try out what has been explained before. Havener also substantiates his statements with psychological experiments from the literature and cites many anecdotes from the literature and from his own experience as explanatory examples. The bibliography includes 25 references.

content

1. The world is what we think it is
first treats phenomena of human sensory perception such as selective perception and inattention blindness , as well as keywords that provide immediate attention, expectation, halo effect , involuntary pattern recognition , habitual "information blindness" (thinking in lines) and cliché thinking . These behaviors, which generally occur in people, can be beneficial to the mind reader in his project on the condition that he has himself under control with regard to these phenomena. This is followed by references to targeted, analytical observations with regard to people, for example the expressiveness of clothing and accessories, the type of language, gestures, body structure, muscle distribution, etc., which allow specific information to be derived from the entirety of these details.
2. The body betrays our thoughts
is the most detailed chapter in terms of pages and deals with the analysis and interpretation of the other person's body language . Havener specifically deals with the importance of eye and mouth movements, head postures, shoulder and arm positions, the use of hands and the positioning of legs and feet.
3. Determine the world with our thoughts
deals with techniques such as autosuggestion and external suggestion to create “ images of reality” such as those used in advertising .
In the second part of the chapter, Havener deals with external suggestion through the use of “magic words” and certain statements and questions that trigger specific feelings and reactions in the observer, whereby the speed and rhythm of speech, pitch of the voice , volume , articulation and emphasis of the mind reader are particularly important . These attempts at suggestion are supplemented by references to the adaptation of the mind reader's body language to the body language of the person to be manipulated.
The third part deals with building contacts - among other things by addressing key topics, systematic questioning and listening, complimenting , rewarding and using “Barnum statements”.
4. There are no limits: A mental training
deals with topics of mental preparation in general, but also in a special case for mind reading: Achieving relaxed attention ( alpha state ) through the conscious reduction of stress , sensitization through intuitive behavior, constructivist thinking and visualization of the expected processes and the desired goal , Processing of past failures through “positive manipulation of the past” and the importance of rituals (before public appearances).
5. The moment of power
encourages the reader to implement the presented techniques in the proposed experiments.
6. More is possible than you think
Havener uses, among other things, the barometer question as an example that for the (future thought) reader, a goal can be achieved in different ways and that one should also be open to a certain flexibility and willingness to experiment with the mental strategies proposed by him.

Quotes

“I show my effects to entertain people! [...] The fact that most people don't know how I do something does not mean that these things cannot be done in a comprehensible way. This is not something supernatural. The amazing thing is that others don't know how it works. "

- Thorsten Havener, Chapter 3 ( No X for a U: expose deceptions )

“May I tell you a secret? What you are learning in this chapter will worry you very much. If you are tender-tempered or have moral reservations about manipulation, you should by all means skip these pages and on no account continue reading. [... here follow more sentences in the same style ...]
If you read my remarks on anyway, then I have already had success with the first verbal control technique: by conjuring up fear. It is a very seldom used but extremely successful attention technique. "

- Thorsten Havener, Chapter 3 ( The most important magic words under the microscope )

reception

From March to August 2009 the book was in the top ten of the bestseller list in the paperback / non-fiction category, with the best ranking in second place on March 16, 2009; it has been translated into 17 languages ​​and reached number 1 in Japan.

Tour of the same name

In 2013 Havener went on tour with the program “I know what you think” ; the premiere took place in the GOP Varieté Munich. The presentation in the Lichtburg Essen was documented on DVD .

literature

  • I know what you're thinking. The secret to reading minds . Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-499-62520-6 .

References and comments

  1. ↑ Havener refers to the priming experiments of John A. Bargh and the technical rules of the stage hypnotist Ormond McGill.
  2. ↑ "Barnum Statements" are sentences that the majority of people immediately feel addressed. The term goes back to the psychologist Paul E. Meehl .
  3. ↑ Book report paperback bestseller list: I know what you're thinking . ( Memento from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Ingo Schiweck: Paperback bestseller: Uri Geller for enlightened people , Spiegel Online, March 9, 2009.
  5. ^ Pro Talents website
  6. ↑ Kathrin Rosendorff: Der Alleswisser (Interview with Thorsten Havener on the occasion of the show "I know what you think" in the Neues Theater Höchst), Frankfurter Rundschau, February 13, 2013.