Involuntary thoughts

At the word "thought -crushing", everyone immediately recalls the big brother and other charms of the Orwell Oceania. But to get into the thoughts of subjects is the innermost dream of any ruler since time immemorial. The activity of a political investigation, the institute of denunciation, the methods of withdrawing the insan's and genuine truth, that is, the confessions received under torture, when they drove the nails under the nails or was beaten with a whip-tenant, were aimed at solving this problem.

How to find out not only things and words, but also the thoughts of the subject population? After all, the thought of the crime, from the point of view of the authorities, is the worst and most severe type of crimes.

Peter I came up with know-how. He canceled the secret of confession, impressing the priests in the obligation to inform the authorities about the "evil of intention" against the king, about the intention to commit treason, riot or "theft", that is, a crime against the state. It was necessary not only to convey about the words, "to his high imperial Majesty of honor, and the state of the wrecking," but also that the confessor "has evil on the sovereign, or on other, which is mentioned above, thought and unusual intention." As an example, the decree of the Synod was given the work of Tsarevich Alexei, who admitted to his confessor Yakov Ignatiev that he wished his father to death, but he not only did not report where he should, but also replied that he himself wishes the same, let the prince let this serious sin - "and for such a villainy of this Rostig and a worthy execution perceived."

And so that no one could evade confession, it was declared the duty of all Orthodox subjects - to communion with holy secrets, which means that, according to the spiritual regulations , one should confess at least once a year. The priest brought a special oath in which he swore to report anxiety. This Federal Agency fornadzor was canceled only in 1917 after the February Revolution, but the Bolsheviks resumed the practice of pursuing the clergy for refusing to reveal the secret of confession.

The contemporary of Peter Jonathan Swift, full of bitter irony, proposed a simple and effective way to read the secret thoughts of subjects. This amazing discovery was made by one of the scientists of the state of Balnibarby:

He recommends to the state men to explore the food of all suspicious persons; To find out at what time they sit at the table; on what side they sleep, which hand is wiped; Thoroughly consider their excrement and, on the basis of color, smell, taste, density and degree of digestance, make a judgment about their thoughts and intentions: for people are never so serious, thoughtful and focused, as at the time they sit on a chain, which he was convinced of his own experience; In fact, when, being in this position, he tried, simply in the form of experience, to think about what the best way to kill the king, then he took his greenish color, and his color was completely different when he only thought to raise the uprising or set fire to the capital.

The most important instrument of political investigation was per lustration. In Russia, the autopsy of the correspondence began in the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna and entered into constant practice under Catherine II. Historian Alexander Brikner justified Mother with the lack of reliable and quick communications:

With the then few developed means of message, in the absence of telegraphic dispatch, with very modest only the development of journalism, per lustration could be considered an inevitable evil, a necessary means of management, especially the affairs of foreign policy. Then easier than at present, resorted to such measures. Preservation of the secrets of letters, good faith in the management of mail is not to the same extent as now, were considered the responsibilities of governments.

As if in our time, when quick communications exist, the governments have disappeared curiosity for other people's secrets!

This activity was always illegal, and therefore the existence of "black offices" remained a state secret, which everyone knew perfectly. Pushkina enraged the consciousness that someone outsider reads his correspondence with his wife, and he more than once asked her not to write him by mail any intimacy, he did not write them himself and specially addressed the percluders about their occupation:

I did not write to you because the mourning of the mail was so delayed that I was not in strength to take the pen in my hands. The thought that someone is eavesdropping on you and me, leads me to fury à la lettre [literally]. It is very possible to live without political freedom; Without family inviolability (Inviolabilité de la Famille) is impossible: hard labor is not an example better.

It was not possible to shame the officials of the Black Cabinets. The reports of perelustrities gave valuable material to the third department, the duty of which was "observing the direction of minds in the state." The manager of the department von FOC made regular reviews "On the state of minds in the Fatherland."

During the reign of Alexander I, a new reception appeared in the system of Russian political investigation, adopted by the French police from Fouche, - the introduction of an agent -provocateur into the community. Agent Provocateur did not just convey what was said in an intimate circle - he in every possible way encouraged the frankness, with which purpose he himself spoke with bold free -thinking. The Minister of the Interior Viktor Kochubey called the Ministry of Police the "Ministry of Spy and wrote in a note for the highest name:

The city boiled with spies of all kinds: there were foreign and Russian spies, which consisted on a salary, voluntary spies; Practiced constant changing clothes of police officers; They assure even the minister himself (police Minister Alexander Balashov. - V.A.) resorted to changing clothes. These agents were not limited to collecting news and delivered the government the possibility of preventing a crime, they tried to institute crimes and suspicions. They entered the power of attorney to persons of different strata of society, expressed displeasure of Your Majesty, condemning government events, resorted to inventions to cause frankness from these persons or hear complaints from them. All this was given later the direction in accordance with the types of persons who led this case.

From here, it’s already a stone's throw to the gang of the nihilists from the novel “Demons”, in which everyone spying one after another and everyone is obsessed with espionage. This is the social ideal of Petrushi Verkhovensky:

“He has good in a notebook,” Verkhovensky continued, “he has espionage.” Each member of society looks at him one by one and owes a denunciation.

For the Bolsheviks, the “direction of minds” ”has always been the subject of not passive observation, but active influence: we must not observe the direction of minds, but direct them in the right direction.

The Soviet government was in no way satisfied with the “internal emigration”, when a citizen, remaining outwardly loyal, in a narrow circle allows himself without proper enthusiasm for the policy of the party and government. The punitive bodies, following the example of the third branch, but on incomparably more scale, acquired a wide network of informants, who communicated primarily about the thought of their colleagues, acquaintances and even relatives. The arrested was not charged - he was offered to think and remember what he was to blame for the party. Apolity has become suspicious, which means criminal. All the outlets were carefully clogged - it was impossible to either play sports, nor collecting the brands of "Dislikedo". In Oceania, as we recall, even the improper expression on the face was punishable - lip crushing. How not to sympathize with the former trustee of the training district Khvorobyov from the "golden calf", whom the Soviet agitprop overtook even in dreams!

The totalitarian Stalinist regime has achieved impressive success in the dulling and moral molestation of the population, and yet its power over the thoughts of citizens was not absolute. Stalin lacked television and the Internet. Only they allow you to zombie the audience, turn it into drug addictive biomass. The Strugatsky brothers foresaw this opportunity back in 1969:

*Maxim listened to Guy, his ingenuous stories about the construction of antiballistic protection towers on the southern border, as the cannibals creep in to construction sites at night and abduct the educated workers and guard guards; As merciless ghouls, half-blessings, half-honey, half-bastards are attacked in inaudible ghosts; He listened to his enthusiastic praise of the PBZ system, which was created at the cost of incredible deprivations in the last years of the war, which essentially ceased military operations, protecting the country from the air, which is now the only guarantee of security from aggression from the north ... And these perzavians arrange attacks on reflective towers, corrupt bastard, killers of women and children, bought for the dirty money of Honty and Pandai, spurs. The scum is worse than any Krysolov ...

Maxim listened eagerly, as a terrible, impossible fairy tale, all the more terrible and impossible, that all this was really ...*

The towers emitting a headache for the "geeks" - because it seems to be written yesterday. I already felt like such a geek about ten years ago. It was enough to accidentally hear the sounds of Russian television as a party or in a state -owned institution like the Russian consulate, as I wanted to go out into the fresh air, and with a longer listening, nausea and dizziness appeared. Even without any picture, from the only cheeky, impudent, impudent intonation of the announcements.

In vain, the geeks living in Russia hope, having thrown out the TV, get rid of radiation and sit out, as in the trench, on the Internet. This infection, as any infection, is transmitted by airborne droplets, through the atmosphere and from man to person, it infects the brain, regardless of the will of its owner. Getting into the body of the geek, the Hate virus only changes the sign: the liberal hates the patriot exactly the same as he is.

Social networks are even the best conductor of the virus than the atmosphere. They allow manipulating consciousness with extreme efficiency. And they give a way out of the accumulated malice. We all know how this is done. One stuffing is enough or, as they are now expressed, the sketch of shit to the fan - well, for example, “Dr. Lisa - Mengel of our days,” - both Facebook begins a multi -day srach with both real people and trolls. What is Dr. Lisa. "On" or "in" Ukraine? " A meaningless dispute on this topic is conducted before frenzy and complete exhaustion. The more insignificant the question, the fierce the dispute. At the same time, social networks allow the user to show a civil position with minimal energy costs. I signed an online pattern, baked or reposted someone's appeal-and you can be proud of yourself. In English, such an imitation of civil activity is called slacktivism (from Slacker-"Oboltus" and "Activism"), in Russian-click-activism.

Now the big brother has a new tool for exposure to the wide masses of bloggers. It turns out that we inform Facebook much more information about ourselves than we wish. In order to make your portrait, you do not even need to read your notes - you are enough for your friendly and your likes. A living person is not required for such an analysis - the computer successfully performs this work. As a result, it is by no means a “consumer profile”, which is used by contextual advertising programs. The result with the accuracy of describing the psychological characteristics of the individual exceeds the knowledge of him of his close friends, relatives, sexual partners and spouses/ha. The error is practically excluded: tens of thousands of people participated in the study .

On the anonymity and confidentiality of personal data, you can put a cross. The masquerade is over. The authors of the study see its practical value in more effective marketing and recruiting, and scientists, they say, can now no longer disturb people with their questions - all the answers are already in the public domain. Colta.ru, which retold the essence of the study, at the end quotes the conclusion, painted with the "optimism of futurologists of the 60s":

In the future, people will be able to abandon their own judgments and trust the computer in matters such as choosing their own classes, careers or even romantic partners.

In fact, researchers, of course, are aware of the negative meaning of the results. However, they hope that this negative potential will be limited by the new laws that protect the secret of personal life. Finally, they recall the melodrama of Spike Jones " She " (Her), whose hero falls in love with the operating system of her computer, because she knows and understands him better than any living creature. This fantastic plot is written by the authors, now embodied in reality. I don’t know how to whom, but I am not at my mind from such reality. I strongly doubt that these new opportunities will be used for me for the benefit. But the opposite is almost sure.