TheKeyAuthor's Blog - Posts Tagged "psychology"

Humans live their lives through rose-tinted glasses. In other words, we are optimistic despite evidence to the contrary. Experimental results suggest the hypothesis is true. During tests, people were asked a series of questions such as what were the chances of cancer. In general, the responses were on the low side implying a positive outlook. As part of the test, the correct answer was immediately given after each response and then the same series of questions repeated. In general, even though the subjects knew the real answers, the responses were still on the low side -- your subconscious protects you first and foremost even at the cost of looking a bit dim!

So, what has this to do with my book? Well, its readers have been exhibiting the same behaviour with the middle section, the part that chronicles my four-year battle of attrition with the authorities: the red pill, bitter to digest but ultimately revealing. It seems the red pill is so unpalatable that your subconscious will fight it. Negative thoughts will be triggered and the book will be put down, perhaps forever. But you were warned. In total contrast to the claims of every other book, the only quote found on the cover of The Key? states “I can only read a short bit at a time and have to get up and do something else!”

So, what is going on? Surely we all like to read about the darker sides of the state? Well, the red pill is 150,000 words long. Its daily log format provides so much detail that you know the account to be true. However, such straightforward information can unlock traumatic truths about humanity and judging by a few responses, too much for some: it induced fervent denial. At first I was surprised and didn't understand until I came across the following Wikipedia article on Psychological Trauma:

Trauma can be caused by a wide variety of events, but there are a few common aspects. There is frequently a violation of the person's familiar ideas about the world and of their human rights, putting the person in a state of extreme confusion and insecurity. This is also seen when people or institutions, depended on for survival, violate or betray or disillusion the person in some unforeseen way.

The power of authority is far greater than you think. Our social organisation demands control and that is why we submit to it so readily. Conversely, to find out that your faith in the police, judiciary, lawyers, politicians, regulators and even the media is misplaced can come as a bit of a shock, particularly when you've been told for decades they are the “best in the world.” The Key? drip-feeds “Institutional denial followed by institutional deceit.” Although most will slip back to the comfort of illusion, I'm hoping some of you will engage the reality of its criminal abuse. Truth is, it has to be confronted.

I recently came across a BBC article that backed up my observation about truths.
The following is an extract from the article:

Some people suggest this refusal to think is produced by the system itself - it's the only way our current economic and political arrangements can keep on going. This may be so, but the resolute avoidance of unsettling facts is a deep-seated human trait.
While we live surrounded by unknown unknowns, we live on the basis of unknown knowns - intractable facts that we prefer to forget. We'd do better to confront these awkward realities and muddle through more intelligently. We humans are sturdy and resilient animals, with enormous capacities of creativity and adaptability, but consistently realistic thinking seems to be beyond our powers. This may well be the biggest unknown known of them all - in an age that prides itself on its advancing knowledge and superior understanding, we're as anxious as ever to avoid facing up to our actual condition.