(This blog was originally posted on August 7,
2014)
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| Photo courtesy of Fotolia |
Children are cautioned
to not jump to any conclusions about what they might have seen or heard on the
playground because it might not be accurate or true. Scientists must follow
specific research guidelines when they conduct an experiment to ensure that
what they observe in the lab is a legitimate result and not a fluke produced by
confounding data. Criminal investigators are also expected to follow a protocol
when they collect clues so they can correctly deduce not only who committed a
crime but also know when and how it was done. Without this information, there can
be no case to prosecute; and if the evidence is incorrect or prejudiced, the mystery
will not be solved. Despite these warnings, it can be very hard to resist the
temptation to fill in the blanks and provide some kind of answer to an unusual
situation, even if our explanation is equally likely to be wrong.
Two stories
have been featured in the news recently that likely fall into the category of
erroneous conclusions versus actual fact. Around this time last year (2014), speculation
was rife that the Duchess of Cambridge might be pregnant with her second child
really amped up a couple of days ago when some photographs were released that
showed Kate clutching a handbag in front of her abdomen. The fact that she and
Prince William were apparently planning to stay at their new home that month only
added fuel to people’s new-baby theory. Why else would they stay home, right? Then,
just a few weeks ago the rumor mills were at it again: having just given birth
to Princess Charlotte in early May of this year, the Duchess has seemingly “disappeared”
from public view. Apparently, she even missed attending a friend’s nuptials,
sending her younger sister to the event as Prince William’s plus-one on the invitation.
Could her absence mean she is suffering from acute morning sickness again? the tabloid headlines scream.1
In the second
story, a security camera recently filmed a grainy image of a large cat- or
dog-like animal was prowling a neighborhood in Norwalk, California.2
Local residents and wildlife experts have pitched different explanations for
the creature: it’s a cougar; no it’s a large dog; uh-uh, it’s an African lion
that escaped from the zoo, and so on. Television viewers and social media are
also discussing a possible identity of the mystery animal; I have even heard
speculations about it being a cross between a large dog and a mountain lion
(unlikely). Having said that, at the time I wrote that blog no one had
identified the animal. One biologist speculated that it could even be an
African lion, which someone is keeping illegally as an exotic pet. Then, on
July 22, 2015 reports surfaced that a large cat—also possibly an African lion—was
prowling the neighborhood streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.3 Human
mythology is rife with tales about mysterious creatures of the night. It is fun
to imagine what this one is and how it got here. We ultimately may learn that
it is just a very large dog that jumped out of its yard, or a mountain lion
that came down from wherever to scavenge for food and water. However, the
grainy quality of the surveillance video combined with the eerie night lighting
and the ambiguous form prowling around a peaceful neighborhood set our
imaginations into overdrive. The fact that no one knew what it was gave us
license to imagine what it could be.
I am fascinated
with these stories not because of their content, but how people react and
respond to them. I am interested in which message units and subconscious knowns these news reports trigger in us
that we want to look for reasons, information and explanations to support our
beliefs about what is really going on in these situations. Not knowing
something or not having a believable explanation is uncomfortable, even
painful. As John Kappas, Ph.D.
explained in his Theory of Mind, the subconscious mind will default to a story
or mental script that it already knows and is comfortable with to avoid the
discomfort of not knowing, said the Hypnosis
Motivation Institute founder. This is true even when the conscious mind
also doubts that this script is accurate. The mindset seems to be, “Well,
that’s our story, and we’re sticking to it,” regardless of the facts. “The
truth is out there,” as they used to say in The X-Files. Well, it’s out
there somewhere.
Stay tuned…
1. Where Is Kate Middleton? http://www.eonline.com/news/687906/where-is-kate-middleton-on-the-trail-of-the-missing-royal-wedding-guest
2. Big Cat Prowling Streets of
Norwalk, CA: http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_oddities/2014/08/is-an-african-lion-roaming-the-city-streets.html
3. Big Cat Prowling Streets of
Milwaukee, WI: www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/23/milwaukee...report-lion-roaming-streets
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist
based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the
Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about
Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2015
