If that was flirting then Ren didn't want to imagine how violent the foreplay would have been. And now I'm imagining it, he grimaced. Damn it, Jaune.
She crossed her legs, as if suppressing the thought would somehow make it magically disappear. But when one tries their damnedest not to think of a white bear, they start thinking of a white bear. That is basic human psychology. Erina had a stampede of white bears running through her head, footfall so hard she physically trembled.
Mrs. Davis: Remember, the one thing most difficult to forget is what you're trying to forget. If you'll cooperate with me, Connie, I'll show you just what I mean with a simple little experiment. Just try to forget an object on this table. Anything at all. Well, the coffee pot for example.
Miss Brooks: This coffee pot?
Mrs. Davis: Any coffee pot. Now, close your eyes and clear your mind. Close them tightly. Mm. That's it. Now, Connie Brooks, I command you not to think of a coffee pot. There's no such thing as a coffee pot. No coffee pot at all. Just keep telling yourself you must not think of a coffee pot.
Miss Brooks: No coffee pot. I must not think of a coffee pot.
Mrs. Davis: That's right. No coffee pot. No coffee pot. Now, quickly Connie, what are you thinking of?
Miss Brooks: A coffee pot.
Mrs. Davis: I can't understand it. Something must have gone wrong. Try again now. Are you still thinking of a coffee pot?
Miss Brooks: Yes, but it looks like Mr. Boynton.
Miss Brooks: This coffee pot?
Mrs. Davis: Any coffee pot. Now, close your eyes and clear your mind. Close them tightly. Mm. That's it. Now, Connie Brooks, I command you not to think of a coffee pot. There's no such thing as a coffee pot. No coffee pot at all. Just keep telling yourself you must not think of a coffee pot.
Miss Brooks: No coffee pot. I must not think of a coffee pot.
Mrs. Davis: That's right. No coffee pot. No coffee pot. Now, quickly Connie, what are you thinking of?
Miss Brooks: A coffee pot.
Mrs. Davis: I can't understand it. Something must have gone wrong. Try again now. Are you still thinking of a coffee pot?
Miss Brooks: Yes, but it looks like Mr. Boynton.
— Our Miss Brooks "Connie Tries to Forget Mr. Boynton"
"Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute."
— Fyodor Dostoevsky, Winter Notes on Summer Impressions (1863)
Ravenor: Timurlin refused to answer us, and resisted our efforts to make him reveal her whereabouts or even identity. His mind was strong, even in death, trained in psychologik techniques to deflect interrogation, and even the probing of a psyker.
Beta: We were all taught such things. I would imagine the perfecti were schooled to an even higher degree.
Ravenor: Quite so. But I was in his mind, and I am rather more capable than the interrogation psykers routinely used by the Inquisition. He would not answer, but as we pressed him on her identity, he could not help but think of the very thing he was fiercely guarding. It is a basic trait of human consciousness, a subliminal thing.
Beta: We were all taught such things. I would imagine the perfecti were schooled to an even higher degree.
Ravenor: Quite so. But I was in his mind, and I am rather more capable than the interrogation psykers routinely used by the Inquisition. He would not answer, but as we pressed him on her identity, he could not help but think of the very thing he was fiercely guarding. It is a basic trait of human consciousness, a subliminal thing.
— Penitent
"The problem is that if you say to a journalist, 'Can you avoid that topic?', that's when they really go for it. It's like saying to the school bully, 'I'll wet myself if you tickle me."
— Terri Coverley, The Thick of It
When Mom kissed me good night, she told me not to worry. I was afraid to ask what it is I'm not supposed to worry about. Instead I just lay there in the dark—worrying.
— Max Disaster #1: Alien Eraser to the Rescue
