Tonight the Program Board from Catholic hosted a hypnotist for a program entitled "Hypnotic Intoxication." Aside from the irony within the title because Hypnotiq is in fact a variety of alcohol, the performance was incredible. People were completely under the sway of this hypnotists, they were convinced that the person next to them smelled, that they were certain teenage pop sensations, and one girl was extremely close to removing far more clothing than The Catholic University of America would appreciate.
Normally I am extremely skeptical about hypnosis and the programs colleges across the country bring every year. How is it possible. While I admit that I surely don't know everything about the dark recesses of the human mind but I am not inclined to believe that people can be so easily manipulated. I find it far more likely that the "randomly" chosen audience members are playing along, as is human nature.
The event tonight however has me questioning my position though. People who I know extremely well were doing ridiculous things onstage in front of a large audience. During one driving exercise the people looked as if they were about to be sick every time they hit a simulated bump in the road. Furthermore, people were throwing sweatshirts, Moulin Rouging on the audience members, and breaking out N'Sync style dance moves. More convincing however was there behavior when not the focus of the program. These individuals were truly dazed, and seemed to be wholly consumed with the presenter's voice.
Although this event has far from settled my opinion on this issue but it does deserve further inquiry.
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