Gullible
Chapter 2: The Big Lie
Jill settles in one of my chairs, smoothes down her skirt and asks “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I want to talk about some health issues and concerns I have. Specifically women’s health issues and specifically regarding you.” I say as I sit down in my big chair across from her.
“Oh...” she seems at a loss for words. Like she was not expecting me to say that but, now that I have said it, she is not surprised at all.
“Yes. I am certain that you are not taking good enough care of yourself. Your health should be your highest concern. You want to be healthy. ...Don’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I want to be healthy.”
“Of course. Maintaining good health is important. Since you want to be healthy, you must want to do things that will promote good health, and avoid doing things that will lead to poor health. If you do the wrong things for your health, they could make you sick, and you do not want to become sick. I am correct in this, right?”
“Yes! Of course I want to do things that will promote good health.”
From watching her reactions, I am fairly certain the drug is working. No way to be absolutely certain, of course. Carefully, I begin to make statements that are more and more absurd.
“Certainly. The only problem with that is knowing what sorts of things to do that will improve your health. There are too many hack medical journals out there, full of bogus theories. Magazines, and especially fashion magazines, are full of junk information. If you trust the wrong source, believe the wrong article, and do the wrong thing, you could make your health worse... and you never want to do that! You don’t want to trust the wrong source when it comes to information about your health, do you?”
“Gosh no, I don’t want to trust the wrong source at all.”
“So you need to find the one source you can trust, to teach you what you need to know about your health, and follow the suggestions from just that one trustworthy source so that you can stay healthy and not get terribly sick.”
She is nodding along with my words. I carefully continue, “And it just so happens that I am the source you can trust.”
I hold up a three-ring binder. The cover reads “Women’s Health Facts” in big bold letters. I had made it a few minutes ago to use as a prop. Most of the pages inside are just blank, scrap paper, or random documents.
“I have a Women’s Health Almanac here, and I’ve been reading it extensively.” I tell her. “This book is thoroughly researched, and cross-checked by the leading women’s health experts around the world, so that it contains only information that is completely 100% true. Everything in this book is a fact, and anything I read to you from it is totally true. Since I have been reading this book that makes me an expert on the subject of women’s heath... doesn’t it?”
“Yes... I suppose you are an expert.” No doubt about it now, the drug works.
“So you know that you can believe everything I tell you about women’s health, especially if I read it out of this book. But you cannot trust other sources, because they are not well researched and are probably flat out wrong. If anything you think, or anything you hear, or read, from another source ever contradicts what I tell you... then you know that the other source is incorrect. I am always right.”
“That’s true.”
“And even when your own perceptions disagree with what I tell you, you know that I am right. You are no expert, so you cannot trust your own judgement and perceptions, as they are a faulty source. But you can trust me. A person’s body can mislead itself. So if you see or feel anything that contradicts what I tell you, or you don’t notice something that I said you should, then you know that your own perceptions must be wrong because I am always right. In cases like that, it is best to just ignore your senses and forget all about what you thought you felt or didn’t feel, and believe only me.”
“Yeah... that makes sense.”
“So when you see, smell, hear or feel anything, or experience a lack of sensation that contradicts something I have said, you will simply ignore your perceptions and immediately notice that you are actually feeling exaclty what I describe, because you know I am always right.”
“Yes. I will see and feel things exactly as you describe them.”
“That’s good. You do not want to become sick, so you will follow all my health suggestions. And only my suggestions, because I am a source you can trust. If you ever stop following my advice, your health could take a turn for the worse. You want to stay healthy and you want to improve your health, so you will follow only my suggestions and even seek me out to learn new ways that you can become even healthier.”
“Yes, I will only follow your health suggestions.”
I catch my breath and ask “Do you enjoy feeling healthy, Jill?”
“Yes, of course!”
“That’s because when you are in good health, you feel good. Being healthy feels good, and improving your health feels even better. Both physically and emotionally. You always feel a sense of pride when you do things that are good for your health. So when you follow my suggestions about your health, which you know are good for you, you feel proud and happy with yourself.”
“That’s right! I don’t want to become sick.”
“Of course. Doing the things I suggest for your health feels good, because the suggestions are for your own good. Also, consider that good health is the norm; poor health is an abnormality that must be avoided. So when you do things that are good for your health, you are trying to become more normal. It is perfectly normal and natural to do things those things, the things that I tell you will make you healthy... Isn’t it?”
“Yes. It is.”
“And one more thing to consider... is that different people are different. What works for one person may not work for another. Nobody else on the planet has a body that is exactly like yours. I am your personal health expert, and every suggestion I give for your health always works for you. But my advice may not work for other people.”
“That makes sense.” She nodded.
“If someone else followed health tips meant for you, they might get terribly ill. You don’t want that, so you should not share my health secrets with others. Better yet, do not even talk about my suggestions at all, with anyone else. That will make it easier for them to avoid getting confused. Other people need to find their own sources they can trust... right?”
“Yes. I will not tell anyone else about your health tips.”
I run out of things to say. When I check my watch, I see that only a few seconds remain until the effect of the drug wears off. I figure that amount of time is best used as a buffer, in case my watch runs slow or I had otherwise miscalculated.
I sit there in silence while the learning center of her brain hardens back into place, with the things I had told her firmly and permanently fixed in her mind.
“Wow.” she says “I had never thought about that before, Mr. Bennett.”
“I’m not surprised. Most women haven’t. So you can see why I am concerned for your health?"”
“Yeah. I mean, I had always thought I was living pretty healthy, but now I see that I could’ve been following bad advice... you’ve really opened my eyes to the danger!”
In theory, she is no longer artificially gullible. But the framework that now exists in her mind will hopefully allow me to give her new suggestions. I figure it is time for the acid test.
I lean back in my chair, look her in the eye and ask “so now that you are aware of the danger, would you like to learn something that you can use to improve your health?”
“Oh, yes!” she replies.