Hypnotists Need to Stop: Abuse of Persuasion

I have been paying attention to what's going on in the United States over the last year, and I was reminded of a story by Hans Christian Andersen. One day, a new emperor wanted to celebrate his ascension to power. Many of his subjects were so excited by his persona that they believed him no matter what he said or how he said it.

So tailors from all over the land were called in by his advisers to make the emperor some new clothes. The most impressive pair of men proposed a new suit made of the most expensive fabric and materials. These persuasive tailors described the suit they would make in such exquisite detail and such exciting promises that everyone, the emperor and his ministers and advisers were very impressed. The tailors asked for a lot of money, and they got the project.

Soon the grand day arrived, the emperor and his ministers were waiting. In walked the two persuasive tailors with a large box tied with purple ribbon. They described the finished suit and everyone was congratulating themselves and each other for making a smart decision. Then the box was brought forward and opened.

Unfortunately, the most persuasive tailors were scoundrels. The box appeared completely empty. Concerned, the entire court leaned forward, but before they could ask their questions, the two men smiled and said, "Naturally, this suit is made of the rarest and most expensive fabric in the world. Only the most intelligent people can see this fabric."



Of course the entire court, the emperor, hist ministers and his advisers couldn't see the new suit, but not wishing to appear stupid or even unintelligent, they all pretended that they could see the new suit. They remarked to each other, "How beautiful! This is the finest suit of clothes we've ever seen." The emperor, unwilling to be embarrassed about not seeing this rare fabric which only the smartest people could, reached for the box, took out the suit and put it on as best he could.

The scheduled parade was about to start, so every one went outside. They lined up and started walking around the city. Ahead of the procession, the ministers wanted to save face and avoid embarrassing the emperor. So they spread the word about the suit and special fabric. No one could see the clothes, but they all pretended they could because they wanted to pretend they were smart too and avoid embarrassment.

After walking through most of the city, they happened upon a little child who asked his mother, "Why is that man walking around in his underwear?" The mother shushed the child who asked even more insistently and loudly. Soon everybody realized the emperor was really just walking around in his underwear and there were no new clothes. The illusion was broken and everyone felt very ebarrassed.

The truth of this story is described in this earlier post from 2007.