Shiller has always believed that people are naturally endowed with the power of mind manipulation, which is an instinct for the human race.
As a small infant, through crying, he reminds his parents to take care of him. This is the most primitive form of manipulation, and usually, neither party notices.
So children who have experienced failed education also demonstrate a similar tendency. In an age where they can still cry, they use crying to blackmail their parents to fulfill their desires. When they're too old to cry, they throw tantrums to blackmail friends and colleagues in order for them to satisfy their needs. This is the lowest level of manipulation, and usually, neither party is aware.
However, if one looks for common ground between the two, it's easy to find that the intense emotions these manipulators display can cause others to feel pain-like reactions. People must find ways to stop this pain, and if those in powerful positions lack the resolve to stop it, they will end up satisfying the manipulator's needs.
Emotion is certainly key to manipulation, but there is a significant difference between venting one's emotions and using them to manipulate others. Shiller has published several monographs to illustrate the connection and differences between the two.
The easiest way for ordinary people to distinguish between them is that in most cases, the venting of emotions doesn't have a very clear direction. When enveloped in strong emotions, the brain shuts down. People may sob uncontrollably, be at a loss for words with anger, or laugh until they can't breathe.
The capacity of the human brain is limited. When a strong emotion erupts, the rational part shrinks to a minimum. They usually cannot co-exist.
But if a person's emotions have a very clear direction, especially with notions like "If you do this, I will stop," or "Why would I be crying if it weren't for what you did?"—this is a form of mind manipulation.
The emotions of the human race are instinctual and erupt because they aren't entirely subject to rational control. If soone can willingly let these emotions burst out and stop at will, then they're not truly emotions—they're only a disguise.
When emotions explode, people only feel the emotion, not the source behind the emotion. If a larger part of the brain is still contemplating the source of the emotion, it ans that it also has enough brain space to suppress such emotions.
If he doesn't do it, it ans he wants to achieve his goal through these emotions. This isn't venting; this is manipulation.
Accepting others' intense emotions is a very painful thing. In situations where their empathy is working normally, they will unconsciously be affected by the emotion infection—the more intense it is, the more energy needed. This isn't sothing that can always be achieved by disregarding rational wants.
Empathy is the curse humanity is born bearing. It's not subject to any rational control.
Therefore, expressing intense emotions can be seen as a form of punishnt. If you don't please , I'm going to stuff your empathy organ full of things until you're in unbearable pain.
If parents don't et the demands, the naughty children cry incessantly. This kind of crying isn't due to sadness but is ant to punish the parents so they will et their unreasonable demands.
If, during the growth process, this child hasn't t any tough authority figures to show them that using emotions as weapons has a price, then they will rely on this thod until they're adults.
The majority of them, the foolish ones, are educated by the cruel society of adults. But so talented individuals don't require teachers to understand. They realize this invisible punishnt thod can manipulate others and bring great convenience to themselves.
So they beco real manipulators, and their thods aren't restricted to unsophisticated tantrums. Instead, they subtly feed others emotions they can't accept, making them confused and extrely panicked, willing to pay any price to end this situation.
The manipulated can only choose to et the manipulator's needs.
Of course, not everyone realizes they are manipulating others. In the long years of growth, they use this thod countless tis, continuously refining until it becos their instinct and part of their personality.
When the instinct to manipulate is embedded in their personality, their every move and word manipulate others every mont, turning them into a true ntal abuser.
They don't think they're abnormal because this has beco their instinct. Manipulation isn't their ans; it's who they are. They believe they're this kind of person, and all emotions they appear to burst with to manipulate others are their genuine feelings. When fake actions beco real, real becos fake.
This manipulation ability developed in the general public isn't particularly profound, but if supplented with theoretical knowledge and so natural talents the manipulators have, they can beco excellent master manipulators.
Inferior manipulators only use emotions as weapons to tornt others. This is punishnt-based manipulation. Truly smart manipulators usually have both reward and punishnt. They will wield the whip at the appropriate ti, but at the sa ti, they package their own enticing advantages into sweet candies, making people bear the pain willingly for them.
On the other hand, the opposite of manipulation is anti-manipulation. The best anti-manipulation is to manipulate others. Shiller wanted to explain this to Bruce. When Bruce dares to manipulate Shiller, it shows he has completely freed himself from Shiller's manipulation.
However, many people, especially those who are kind and have a high moral baseline, have an instinct that can't bear to see any life in pain. Naturally, they're unable to cleverly use their own emotions to punish others,
so they either try to shut down their own empathy organ or at least weaken their ability to accept others' emotions, then they're not so easily subjected to emotional punishnt.
One option is to maintain physical isolation, to run imdiately upon sensing sothing awry; but rember, the criteria of this judgent rely entirely on personal feelings. Over sensitivity is not a problem. One must refuse to tolerate any discomfort. If this alert system dulls, you won't perceive where the danger is coming from despite the continual suffering, which can only lead to a plunge into depths of depression.
Between manipulation and counter-manipulation lies a more niche proposition, the induction of manipulation.
There are countless psychological works on the topic of ntal abuse, even more on combating it, but as for cultivating a ntal abuser, as far as I know, only Shiller has achieved it.
Because these are rigidly academic articles, conjectures and hypotheses lacking rigorous reasoning could not be published. The body of Shiller's actual research far outnumbers what is presented.
The theory still originates from infants.
Why does a baby know that crying will cause adults to fulfill its needs?
Conventionally, when a baby is in pain, it can only express this through sounds, because it can't speak, thus, it screams and cries. Its sharp cries are simply the release of its feelings.
But if we go further back on the tiline, how did humans, or animals for that matter, evolve the ability to scream?
Animals need to communicate, but when it cos to the initial developnt of sound and hearing functions, they most likely weren't for intricate social exchanges, solely for warnings.
Identifying danger and informing one's kin was the sole function of these communication organs, regardless of whether it was through sound, sonar, or comparable ans, their pri function was to alert.
Another theory is that won have a higher-pitched voice than n because when a tribe faces danger, a higher pitch can notify the distant guards to partake in defense or retreat. This applies to babies as well.
Consequently, throughout millions of years of evolution, the cries of won and infants instinctively trigger individuals' alertness. So sensitive people would feel extrely frustrated when exposed to such sounds, an agitation flowing in their blood since prival tis, a form of the alert instinct that has been triggered.
The ability to cry cos from an infant's pain, but the underlying cause of the cry's developnt is to let others know of the pain.
The reason why this function is preserved today is that the tribes who reacted to the alert sound survived, while those who ignored it were destroyed.
Infants who cry loud enough get prompt attention from their parents, and those who don't have the acuteness to cry are easily overlooked, hence not properly grown.
Those who are good at emotionally punishing others, who wield the whip skillfully, will attract more attention, and they will find it easier to gain profit and success by manipulating others.
Conversely, while crying was originally only an expression of pain and alertness, once it gets responded to, the crier realizes its efficacy and the instinct is reinforced.
For the manipulators, once they taste the sweetness of manipulation, they will intensify their efforts, consciously or unconsciously trying over and over again, honing their skills, even developing a passion for it until they beco addicted and totally reliant upon manipulation.
The essence of cultivating a manipulator lies herein, and induced manipulation operates on the sa principle. Once the manipulator sends out signals of manipulation, one controls their emotional changes and displays suffering to make the manipulator believe that their manipulation was successful.
A clear advantage is that it lets them lower their guard. When encountering a persistent spiritual manipulator, if all other thods to get rid of them are ineffective, induced manipulation would be the last weapon.
Besides allowing targets to relax their guard, making escape easier, those who are highly skilled and brave can also try to give the manipulators strong positive feedback, making them keep investing effort, until they pull their ntal threshold to a point where they beco ntally addicted and rely on them.
If they then abruptly leave, the manipulators will either suffer imnsely, but are good to go after eighteen years, or they will try to advance further on other people, eventually securing a stable job that lasts for at least three years.
Shiller knew that Lex must have been born with a talent for mind manipulation. Even without his cultivation, Lex would have been able to wield this skill proficiently. The more valuable factor is that, largely, it wouldn't affect Lex himself. It would be a weapon rather than a skeleton.
However, Shiller needed to ascertain Lex's level. Thus, he needed to do so induction to gauge Lex's manipulation skills.
Technically, there was hardly any difficulty. As the saying goes, don't challenge one's profession with your hobby. Less so, challenge their lives with your profession. Emotional performance is Shiller's life.
However, the only problem was that Shiller hadn't signed off on Lex's final record yet. He was still his professor. Any manipulation or abuse on student's ntal state was an absolute breach of teaching ethics. Arrogance always has a boundary in this regard.
But morbidity doesn't.
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