The Idea of Intent

 The Idea of Intent

In an experiment there was a group of participants and a group of observers. The participants were to harbour harsh emotions but were also to suppress them. That is, they were not to express them via face or body gestures. During this emotional suppression by the participants, physiological parameters of the observers were recorded. Interestingly, the blood pressure of the observers shot up. 

This experiment demonstrates that there is no point in camouflaging emotions with socially appropriate decorum. Despite our social appropriateness, body and the brain of the person in sight will receive our negative vibes. Consciously they may not register the transaction but the exchange will happen.

Consciously, we can sense 28 types of signals. However there are around 40000 cues that the brain is picking up incessantly, processing them into either ‘reward’ or ‘threat’ states. The brain is such a diligent and detailed signal processing unit!

In another experiment, one year old infants were shown a puppet show in which there were three characters - a duck and two bears. The duck would lift a load. In the first part, one bear would join hands and help the duck. In the second part of the show, the other bear would sit over the load and weigh it down and not let the duck lift. The bears were distinct in colour and distinguishable. At the end of the show the infants were offered one of the bears. The infants would choose the kind bear and not the mean one. This kind of choice, based on sociability, and emerging from a one year old brain, means our brains are social neural circuitries from birth meant to engage with each other. 

One of the sensors of the brain are the 'mirror neurons'. These neurons automatically mimic actions and expressions of surrounding people. The trigger for them to get into action is an “intent”. Once activated, they send commands to motor neurons to copy the intent, either an expression or an act. One guy lifting a snack kept on a teapoy leads to another guy lifting a snack. A smile begets a smile, and a frown, a frown. Pessimism induces pessimism, and optimism, optimism.

"Your neurons and those of everyone on the planet interplay in a giant, shifting super-organism", says David Eagleman in The Brain. Each brain’s neural circuitry is constantly lobbying with cranial circuitries around it for their acceptance. In this process, it is frenziedly collaborating, competing, bonding, conniving, conspiring, judging, envying, disparaging, eulogizing, emoluting and aspiring to the states of other brains. It is like thousands of electrically charged circuits electromagnetically interfering with each other. 

We operate in teams. We interact with each other. If we resent and repel one another; if we disparage, discourage and disturb one another; if we don’t think and speak well; and if we plot and act against each other, our team will crumble. Arguments will boil into abuses, suspicions will twist into accusations, orders will be disobeyed, suggestions will be overruled, punishments will become the norm, fear will rule. The goal will be shifted. And the game will be all about blame.

On the other hand, if we suppress our resentment; don’t express our disparagement; if we subtly discourage and slyly disturb; if with poker faces and robotic bodies we think we can tide over the team members’ sentimentalities; if we disguise our suspicions and sugarcoat our doubts; if we become hideous about our exasperations; if we add caustic sarcasm to our accusations and bitter irony to our distrust, the results will be as bad or worse. Because, then, not only will nothing work but we also won’t know why. There will be organized chaos and we will be clueless. There will be social niceties and euphemistic vocabulary. And undelivered promises and dishonoured commitments. Our brains would have betrayed our better selves.

If we make our emotions show we are doomed. And if we fake our emotions we are damned. The vibes of our emotions will inevitably vitiate the atmosphere unless we apply Botulinum (Botox in common parlance) and paralyze the facial muscles into a crocodile’s hide. (People apply this neurotoxin externally to prevent wrinkles from appearing but it is so poisonous that if it is ingested we would die from brain paralysis.) Or we can intend better.

Our intent the other brains will anyway catch, just that their conscious parts will not know. So let’s cleanse our intent. Let our social behaviour mirror our mental state and not just be a mask. Whatever manner we think we should behave, talk or deal, let's assume that state inside. If we want to be cool outside, let’s be calm inside. Let’s remove the facade and accept fully. 

If we want our team to succeed, and to reach its goal, we cannot play a devious dual personality. We will end up losing anyway. Let us try to have the best intent. We may have to explain or convince more. There will be more objections and rejections. There will be initial delays. But then there will be momentum. The juggernaut will roll on. The going will be smooth. And the participation will be wholehearted. Jobs will be done properly. Quality will not be compromised. 

Trust them. And they will become trustworthy. Our intentions will be unintentionally mirrored by our team. So, what kind of intentions do we want them to mirror?