I haven’t written on Control Savvy for almost five months, but the hiatus is over, so you will be seeing more posts in the coming weeks. Before resuming, I would like to ask and answer a very important question:
Who or what do I want to control by writing these posts?
First, I want to learn as much as I can about control so that I can avoid falling under the influence of those who would try to manipulate me with evil intent. Therefore, I want to control my own mind and behavior as I research and write.
Secondly, I would like to pass my knowledge on to you, the reader. That means that I seek first to control your mind by adding new information or helping you to reinterpret facts that you already know. Then I seek to control your behavior by making you as immune as possible to controllers who want to use or abuse you.
Learning is a form of mind control and so is teaching. Reading is a form of mind control and so is writing. We don’t usually think of it that way because the term “mind control” brings up images of helpless zombie robots. However, by giving a person knowledge, you change his brain forever and therefore exert control over that mind. The person might reject the knowledge as false, but he will never be able to unlearn it.
This is a huge responsibility. Teachers, like doctors, should swear to “Do No Harm”, but how would you define “harm” when it comes to knowledge? There is no easy answer to that question, but hopefully we can figure it out together.
The drawing of Zombie Robot is shared from http://drawdoo.com/draw/zombie-robot/
Control Savvy 
I love your posts: they are so thoughtful and well-written. They are helping me to think about things that are hard to think about–Thank you! I particularly agree with the paragraph in this post that starts off: “Learning is a form of mind control and so is teaching. Reading is a form of mind control and so is writing.” It is something I keep at the forefront of my mind as I homeschool my five-year-old. I can guard against consciously manipulating her, but it is true that the things one can learn will change the brain forever, for good or ill. I am slowly reading through all of your posts, pausing frequently to think about what you’ve written and trying to work through how I interact with the world in terms of control and being controlled, and how that has impacted my life and my daughter’s.
Thank you for your kind thoughts and words. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas to you also. 🙂