History Headscratchers / Intercom

*** Honestly (Pun again!), this headscratcher is never going to come to a definitive answer. And that's because its value ultimately comes down to how much you believe you should always tell the truth. Would you lie to law enforcement about having something morally questionable but illegal? Well, would Fear win out on that call? Would Anger? Would Sadness? You can't really know how to come down on that without endless debates about being truthful, illegality vs immorality and so forth. So sure, you could say that it's ok to lie there, but there would just as easily be others who say, "No! You must testify to the reality of a situation, no matter how much it might hurt you to say so." Is lying about an uncomfortable truth ok? Maybe, but again, what is the value of "uncomfortable"? If you were a military commander, and you had to tell your superior that you were refusing to massacre a village, even though you know others might be sent in to do so, and you'd be court martialed for refusing, but is is Right to be honest and refuse to do so anyways? If you had to speak truth to others on a topic such as...evangelizing on what you believe and you had someone who didn't believe you, would that force you to be silent even if they said they would never believe anything you said? Ultimately, we can go back and forth on the value of honesty, but we'll never reach a final conclusion that all people (or all emotions) agree on. And in the end, it's up to Potter Phantom Kitten to give her own interpretation to it too. There's bound to be disagreements down the line regardless of what's chosen, but it is one of those things that we're never going to fully get down to a definitive answer. No matter how we try.

*** Honestly (Pun again!), this headscratcher is never going to come to a definitive answer. And that's because its value ultimately comes down to how much you believe you should always tell the truth. Would you lie to law enforcement about having something morally questionable but illegal? Well, would Fear win out on that call? Would Anger? Would Sadness? You can't really know how to come down on that without endless debates about being truthful, illegality vs immorality and so forth. So sure, you could say that it's ok to lie there, but there would just as easily be others who say, "No! You must testify to the reality of a situation, no matter how much it might hurt you to say so." Is lying about an uncomfortable truth ok? Maybe, but again, what is the value of "uncomfortable"? If you were a military commander, and you had to tell your superior that you were refusing to massacre a village, even though you know others might be sent in to do so, and you'd be court martialed for refusing, but is is Right to be honest and refuse to do so anyways? If you had to speak truth to a bunch of students on a topic such as...evangelizing on what you believe and you had someone who didn't believe you, would that force you to be silent even if they said they would never believe anything you said? Ultimately, we can go back and forth on the value of honesty, but we'll never reach a final conclusion that all people agree on. And in the end, it's up to Potter Phantom Kitten to give her own interpretation to it too. There's bound to be disagreements down the line regardless of what's chosen, but it is one of those things that we're never going to fully get down to a definitive answer. No matter how we try.

*** There are many situations where it's okay to lie and it isn't a life-or-death situation. What if you have some illegal drugs for personal use and a cop asks you about it? Or what if you're lying simply because the truth would offend someone and not do any good?

** Strictly speaking, people's personality can be changed. And whether that change is good or bad depends on context of that change and why it was done. Riley losing Hockey Island might be a tragedy, but on the other hand, there might be a good reason for it...like if she got into Bobsledding or Basketball instead. Even if it's a shame she doesn't like something anymore, at least she has a corresponding interest that she'd be able to be drawn to as well. But Honesty Island? I know that just because Riley doesn't have it doesn't mean she's incapable of telling the truth. However, what it does say is something that any parent would be ashamed to find out about. That Riley no longer values telling the truth anymore. And lying being a better choice? That's reserved for something where lying would save either your life or the life of someone else. There's a difference between lying about taking bribes and lying to a burglar that you have a vicious attack dog. Riley lying about having little emotions in her head is....unclear I admit, but the TRUTH (pun!) of the matter is that Honesty Island is one of the few bits of Riley's personality that is about her being willing to do things that she won't feel good about just because it's right. It's kinda like her morality island in some ways. And besides, feelings change from point to point. Look at how her anger lead to the bad idea to run away. She can't rely on them fully to know what's right. (ok, so Anger's the closest cause "he cares very deeply about things being fair", but even he can make mistakes) She needs something like honesty to ensure she has some sense of how to act beyond "it feels right". And she needs to be able to build her life on being open rather than hiding parts of herself that would only backfire later on. And there's a difference between BrutalHonesty and being Honest as a policy, so it wouldn't mean Riley is blunt because of Honesty Island. Just that she won't be...afraid to speak truth in hard situations. THAT is why Honesty island is not only helpful to Riley, but ESSENTIAL for giving her a better life in the future.

* So far the only reason we've seen why emotions don't normally talk to their hosts is because it could scare people, or cause psychological problems, because it's not something people are used to. But that had to start somewhere. If humans had been able to communicate with their hosts (not to mention access their Mind Worlds) as a normal thing for all of history, it wouldn't be something to worry about. It would make a lot more sense that way, not to mention being better in many ways (see the WMG page, Ctrl+F "new era for mankind"). So, given that the normal concerns didn't apply then, why did the very first emotions decide to keep their existence a secret from their hosts?[[note]]I'm tempted to put this in the movie's Headscratchers page, considering it applies more to the universe as a whole. But the topic of people talking to their emotions, or entering their Mind Worlds, doesn't come up in any way in the movie, so there's no way to know they ''do'' generally try to keep their existence a secret in official canon. Maybe ''Inside Out 2'' will come out and we'll see that the field of psychology is entirely based around the Mind World, with transcribed copies of the mind manuals used as textbooks.[[/note]]

** Strictly speaking, people's personality can be changed. And whether that change is good or bad depends on context of that change and why it was done. Riley losing Hockey Island might be a tragedy, but on the other hand, there might be a good reason for it...like if she got into Bobsledding or Basketball instead. Even if it's a shame she doesn't like something anymore, at least she has a corresponding interest that she'd be able to be drawn to as well. But Honesty Island? I know that just because Riley doesn't have it doesn't mean she's incapable of telling the truth. However, what it does say is something that any parent would be ashamed to find out about. That Riley no longer values telling the truth anymore. And lying being a better choice? That's reserved for something where lying would save either your life or the life of someone else. There's a difference between lying about taking bribes and lying to a burglar that you have a vicious attack dog. Riley lying about having little emotions in her head is....a borderline example I admit, but the TRUTH (pun!) of the matter is that Honesty Island is one of the few bits of Riley's personality that is about her being willing to do things that she won't feel good about just because it's right. It's kinda like her morality island in some ways. And besides, feelings change from point to point. Look at how her anger lead to her bad idea to run away. She can't rely on them fully to know what's right. She needs something like honesty to ensure she has some sense of how to act beyond "it feels right". And she needs to be able to build her life on being open rather than hiding parts of herself that would only backfire later on. THAT is why Honesty island is not only helpful to Riley, but ESSENTIAL for giving her a better life in the future.

** Strictly speaking, people's personality can be changed. And whether that change is good or bad depends on context of that change and why it was done. Riley losing Hockey Island might be a tragedy, but on the other hand, there might be a good reason for it...like if she got into Bobsledding or Basketball instead. Even if it's a shame she doesn't like something anymore, at least she has a corresponding interest that she'd be able to be drawn to as well. But Honesty Island? I know that just because Riley doesn't have it doesn't mean she's incapable of telling the truth. However, what it does say is something that any parent would be ashamed to find out about. That Riley no longer values telling the truth anymore. And lying being a better choice? That's reserved for something where lying would save either your life or the life of someone else. There's a difference between lying about taking bribes and lying to a burglar that you have a vicious attack dog. Riley lying about having little emotions in her head is....a borderline example I admit, but the TRUTH (pun!) of the matter is that Honesty Island is one of the few bits of Riley's personality that is about her being willing to do things that she won't feel good about just because it's right. It's kinda like her morality island in some ways. And besides, feelings change from point to point. Look at how her anger lead to her bad idea to run away. She can't rely on them fully to know what's right. She needs something like honesty to ensure she has some sense of how to act.

** Strictly speaking, people's personality can be changed. And whether that change is good or bad depends on context of that change and why it was done. Riley losing Hockey Island might be a tragedy, but on the other hand, there might be a good reason for it...like if she got into Bobsledding or Basketball instead. Even if it's a shame she doesn't like something anymore, at least she has a corresponding interest that she'd be able to be drawn to as well. But Honesty Island? I know that just because Riley doesn't have it doesn't mean she's incapable of telling the truth. However, what it does say is something that any parent would be ashamed to find out about. That Riley no longer values telling the truth anymore. And lying being a better choice? That's reserved for something where lying would save either your life or the life of someone else. There's a difference between lying about taking bribes and lying to a burglar that you have a vicious attack dog. Saying that Riley lying about having little emotions in her head is....a borderline example I admit, but

* If Honesty Island were to fall completely, how big of a problem would that really be? Riley could still be honest if she wants to. And in cases when she feels like lying is the right choice (like when her parents were questioning her about hearing voices) it would probably actually be a lot easier because without Honesty Island, she probably won't feel (as) guilty about it. Not to mention she wouldn't need to worry about it falling anymore. Looking at what's best for Riley, Honesty Island might actually do more harm than good.

** Technically speaking, we don't know how upgrades work. Heck, we never saw the transition from 1 button to mini console. All we do know is that as a person matures emotionally, they get bigger consoles for wider emotional ranges. In regards to getting the intercom at age 12, I suppose it could go in 2 directions. That intercoms get installed when emotions (or mind workers, depending on who you think is responsible for initiating upgrades) think their child is too astray or really developing their worldview. Remember, Intercoms were originally meant for "occasional back of head" conscious speaking. So that would imply that the emotions need it to help people stay moral to the degree they believe themselves to be. So it's possible they get installed as people begin to realize the notions of Good and Evil as a way to help build character.

*** Because the power of using the mind world was abused. As stated in the manuals, things like lucid dreaming visits, consciousness tampering, or psychotic breaks are very real fears in the modern era. Perhaps when humans who did have emotion conversations began abusing their powers, thus hurting themselves, the emotions in other people decided to have a collective memory purge so that humans wouldn't destroy themselves on their behalf. I mean, think about it. If you had a chance to live in a world where you could do so much on your own, why live in the cruel world of farming, disease, and helplessness.

* To explain why Riley got her intercom installed at the age of 12, could the age for the installment of the intercom be selected based on a person's upbringing? For example, Riley has led a happy and safe life, did the mind workers think because she has had such a smooth ride, getting the intercom when she was 12 sounded reasonable? It's all a matter of life's choices and the decision of the mind workers?

*** Because emotions didn't even think to do something like that before. This ties in a bit to the 12 before you got an intercom idea, but perhaps since the emotions were just used to doing their work one way, they got lazy and thought that they didn't need to help their people by directly communicating except for conscious voices. That what they were doing on a day to day basis was enough.

**** Then the question just shifts to why that rule exists.

**** As long as you're not hurting anybody else, you aren't abusing it. Also, how would the emotions communicate with other people's emotions in order to do the collective memory purge?

*** Because the power of using the mind world was abused. As stated in the manuals, things like lucid dreaming visits, consciousness tampering, or psychotic breaks are very real fears in the modern era. Perhaps when humans who did have emotion conversations began abusing their powers, thus hurting themselves, the emotions in other people decided to have a collective memory purge so that humans wouldn't destroy themselves on their behalf.

* So far the only reason we've seen why emotions don't normally talk to their hosts is because it could scare people, or cause psychological problems, because it's not something people are used to. But that had to start somewhere. If humans had been able to communicate with their hosts (not to mention access their Mind Worlds) as a normal thing for all of history, it wouldn't be something to worry about. It would make a lot more sense that way, not to mention being better in many ways (see the WMG page, Ctrl+F "new era for mankind"). So, given that the normal concerns didn't apply then, why did the very first emotions decide to keep their existence a secret from their hosts?[[note]]I'm tempted to put this in the movie's Headscratchers page, considering it applies more to the universe as a whole. But the topic of people talking to their emotions, or entering their Mind Worlds, doesn't come up in any way in the movie, so there's no way to know they ''do'' generally try to keep their existence a secret in official canon. Maybe ''Inside Out 2'' will come out and we'll see that the field of psychology is entirely based around the Mind World, with transcribed copies of the mind manuals used as textbooks.[[/note]]

* So far the only reason we've seen why emotions don't normally talk to their hosts is because it could scare people, or cause psychological problems, because it's not something people are used to. But that had to start somewhere. If humans had been able to communicate with their hosts (not to mention access their Mind Worlds) as a normal thing for all of history, it wouldn't be something to worry about. It would make a lot more sense that way, not to mention being better in many ways (see the WMG page, Ctrl+F "new era for mankind"). So, given that the normal concerns didn't apply then, why did the very first emotions decide to keep their existence a secret from their hosts?[[note]]I'm tempted to put this in the movie's Headscratchers page, considering it applies more to the universe as a whole. But the topic of people talking to their emotions, or entering their Mind Worlds, doesn't come up in any way in the movie, so there's no way to know they ''do'' generally try to keep their existence a secret in official canon.[[/note]]

*** The way I see it, everything in Headquarters is directly in time with the Outside world, while time seems to pass differently in other areas. That would be why only a few minutes seem to pass from when Joy and Sadness tried to cross Goofball Island to the island collapsing, when Outside that event that triggered the collapse didn't happen until hours later.

** Actually, come to think of it, how is that even supposed to work with the intercom? They're able to talk to Riley at a normal speed.

** I thought it was the reverse of that since only a short amount of time seems to pass for Joy and Sadness, but much more time passes Outside.

* In Chapter 16, it is explained that time passes in the Mind World on a YearOutsideHourInside principle. Sadness says this immediately after saying that "everything in Headquarters is needed for immediate responses", which I assume is referring to how people can feel emotional responses to events faster than you would expect it to take for someone to walk to a control panel and press a button. But if this is the case, wouldn't it be YearInsideHourOutside instead?

*** Again, it's more a moral/emotional veto rather than a veto by force per se. Riley, as a child, probably also doesn't think she has that right to do something so big for mind world. Idea bulbs getting replaced is one thing, but if it's bigger than that, well, all 5 would do everything in her power to make her understand why the action is a bad idea.

* In Chapter 16, it is explained that time passes in the Mind World on a YearOutsideHourInside principle. Sadness says this immediately after saying that "everything in Headquarters is needed for immediate responses", which I assume is referring to how people can feel emotional responses to events faster than you would expect it to take for someone to walk to a control panel and press a button. But if this is the case, wouldn't it be YearInsideHourOutside instead?

*** How ''could'' they veto her? She has more control there than they do.

** Riley's still only 12. And for most of her life (aside from brief flare ups from anger or when she's on the rink) she's been a rather mild, non-aggressive child. Heck, even when she was depressed, she never took it out on her parents directly. Never yelled, "I hate you for taking us out here!" She might enjoy things and want things, but she's not naturally inclined to demand someone to "step aside". (aside from demanding joy remove an idea from her head) It's...not in her personality. Also, Riley's still getting use to the idea of having living mind beings who live for her. She doesn't consider herself their Boss or their Goddess or anything like that, because such a thought seems unthinkable to her at the moment. And besides, the emotions are her friends now. Part of me wonders if she doesn't want to go against them because she's worried they're the only friends she'll have left. Hence her going behind their back because she doesn't want to fight with them over this. Or as an alternate view, what Riley's thinking of doing is so radical, she's certain the emotions will veto her, and she'd never get a chance to see those manuals anyways. It's like the CEO demanding her best managers to let her do their job. Sure, she might technically have the authority to do so, but there's an unspoken rule that doing so is stepping over their authority as her emotional guiding forces.

* Why does Riley accept it as a given that she can't directly read the manuals simply because Fear doesn't want her to? It's not up to Fear; it's her own mind.

*** Doesn't mean it's unauthorized though, or that there's anything wrong with it.

** WordOfGod here: I called it "conscious tampering" because a host interacting with the Mind World isn't a normal everyday procedure like on a normal day.