HEY! Stop reading my mind! My thoughts are my own!
I went forward and shook hands with Aunt Thessalonika. She had a kind face and I knew at once that I was going to like her. The only problem was, of course, her mind-reading. Could she really tell what people were thinking? And if she could, then I’ll have to be very careful not to think about anything rude. And that’s very difficult, you know. Just try it. Imagine that somebody else, maybe your best friend, could tell what was in your mind and imagine that you knew it. The first thing you’ll think about is something that you wouldn’t want her to know you were thinking about, and this happens even if you weren’t thinking about it before.
Extract from the book The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean
By Alexander McCall Smith
All Rights Reserved.
London: Blackie, 1990
Call Number: J English MAC
Extract submitted by Haryani Binte Othman
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Do you think it is a good thing to be able to read the minds of the people around you?
September 6th, 2008 at 1:36 am
in our tiny little island, it wouldnt be a good thing. you’d probably only hear complaints and gripes, like why are people so rude? why is there always something under construction? why are the rich getting richer?
or something along those lines.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
i wish i will win
November 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
it isn’t a good thing as if you were to say something bad about other people in your mind, people would think you are rude. people would be angry with each other and would start fighting. singapore would not be a safe place anymore if people could read each other’s mind.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
What are you going to do after knowing what others think? Feeling bad to ignore their thoughts? Feeling obliged to change yourself and live a life of what others expected it be be? What’s more, it is not that everyone who will think alike!
December 12th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Well, if the people around me know that I can read their minds, wouldn’t that be exciting? Because they will try not to think of the things that they would want me to know yet can’t stop themselves thinking of them just like what the author said.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Hey I remember the show What Women Want - boy knowing thoughts of others gives one lots of power - yet can make you depressed as well. I think it all depends on the person with the gift and how one uses it. But I do not want to be like Bruce Almighty where he can’t cope with the many prayers or voices from people.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:46 pm
No I don’t think so.It will only get you into more trouble.You will feel trap around people who are thinking about something when you never realise that it is unfair.You get to read other people mind but what about yours?Nobody can read your mind.And what can reading the mind help you?You can’t work as a mind reader can you?This is modern age nobody will believe that everything you say is true…
January 12th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I would love to. This will prevent myself from speculating what people are thinking and come up with a misconception of it, and hence, causing misunderstandings.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I wish someone could read my mind instead. There’s just so much I can’t put in words…
March 8th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
If people could simply read the minds of others, what will happen to personal boundaries? What will happen to secrets?
May 15th, 2009 at 4:00 am
my child has the abality to read my mind beacause of this his grouth stop iam healpless do you have any solution
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 am
Yes, that would be interesting. I always wanted to be a psycologist and being able to read others’minds would be an asset to my career.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Have you ever read, Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats? There’s a character named Aunt Thessalonika…
June 27th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
I think it would not be good to be able to read people’s mind because its like not giving other people their privacy and i think we should respect other people.