TCSO-BadSnipaDay wrote:

oo man, i think EA is using the spinning icon (2) to try and hypnotise us all!, thats why we are waiting so long... i think i am onto somthing people, call the Cops.. no the FBI, noo, The president, only crazy people talk to a bush.
To dispell some myths, and instill a little truth...  1) you cannot be hypnotized without permission, 2) you will only accept suggestions which your conscious mind believes to be beneficial, and 3) most people remain completely conscious through the hypnosis process... only 2% (you could say the gifted few) actually go into an unconscious trance... though it is not necessary for hypnosis to be effective, finally 4) as you must consent, actively participate, and believe the suggestions to be beneficial, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis...  a trained hypnotherapist is essentially just coaching you through it.

Pretty much anything you see in the movies is fiction (c'mon... to see that in a computer context, just watch "Masterminds", where the kid hacks a server using a friggin joystick, lol).

As for stage performances... just parlor tricks.  They attempt to pick those they thing will play along from the spectators, just like a lawyer trying to pick the jurists most sympathetic to their case from the jury pool.  After that... pretty much everyone on stage basically believes, "hah... he didn't hypnotize me... I must be special...  oh well, I'll play along, no reason to ruin the show"...  others may actually believe it...  but either way, you cannot be commanded to do something completely against your nature (doing something foolish up on stage such as cluck like a chicken would probably be fun... especially since you are given the easy out of saying, "I don't remember a thing", while laughing to yourself about your little secret).   Of course... it always helps when someone says, "well I'm too smart to be hypnotized", and the performer says something like, "well smarter people are more easily hypnotized"...   the hell if you're gonna fail to do the stereotypical trance thing, and make everyone think you're stupid.