According to the 31st law of power, one of the best deceptions is giving your adversaries the freedom to create a choice. By giving them options, they feel like they are the ones who are in control but are actually falling into your hands. Whichever option they choose, they will still come out to your advantage. This is very similar to a bull with a pair of horns that backs you into a corner. Whether you escape to the left or the right, you move into their piercing ends and get gored.
An example from history of giving others options as a means of deception is Ivan IV (later known as Ivan the Terrible). During his reign as czar of Russia, the country desperately needed reform but he lacked the power to push it through. This was due to the boyars, the Russian high class that dominated the country and terrorized the people. He knew that the boyars were out to get him and he could not face them for even if he would be victorious, it would lead to more destruction.
Because of this, Ivan decided to instead use "false withdrawal." He fled to a village in Moscow, leaving Russia with no czar to govern the country. This resulted in chaos and terror.
The citizens blamed the boyars for Ivan's fleeing and decided to convince their czar to return. At first, he denied their pleas of him returning to the country. But after some time, he gave them two choices: Give him absolute power and let him govern as he pleases or find a new leader.
Faced with either having civil war of accepting the rule of boyars, they opted to make Ivan have absolute power over Russia. Since they themselves gave him power, they could not complain if he behaved dictatorially. Ivan's false withdrawal was a very good way of deceiving the people and controlling the options. His abscence gave them a glimpse of what will happen without them and you give them a choice that you will clean things up but you can do as you please or you suffer the consequences. The people opted for the lesser of the two evils and because of this, Ivan was able to get what he wanted: absolute power over Russia.
There are many forms of controlling the options.
1) Color the Choices
"Coloring the choices" refers to proposing several choices and presenting the choice that you yourself prefer in such a way that it seems that it is better than all the other choices. This is a very good way to deceive the insecure and indecisive person into choosing the option you want them to take.
2) Force the Register
This is good technique to use on children and other willful people who enjoy doing the opposite of what you ask them to do. When you want to ask them to do something, tell them the opposite of what you want them to do. By doing so, your are pushing them to "choose" what you want them to do by appearing to advocate the opposite.
3) Alter the Playing Field
In this technique, you control the external factors so that you can limit the options of other people. Even though they know they are being forced to succumb, they won't be able to do anything. This is useful against people who resist at all costs.
4) The Shrinking Options
This technique is about decieving the undecisive by giving them worse options as time passes by. The late nineteenth-century art dealer Ambroise Vollard perfected this technique. He would sell paintings but he will neglect to mention a price and doze off, making his customers leave. They would return the next day but this time, less beautiful paintings are displayed. He would view different paintings every day, with each day having worse paintings than the day before. This forced the people to buy the paintings immediately, thinking that they are getting the better deal if they buy now than later.
5) The Weak Man on the Precipice
This tactic is very similar to “Color the Choices” but with a more aggressive twist: You use fear and terror to force people into picking the option that most benefits you. You give a person choices but you exaggerate and describe negatively those you do not want the person to take. This will convince the person that the best option is the choice you want him to take. This technique is best used against the weak.
6) Brothers in Crime
A classic con-artist technique, you attract victims into some criminal scheme, creating a bond of blood and guilt between you. They take part in it, commit a crime (or think they do), and are easily manipulated because the very hint of their involvement in the crime will be very harmful to them.
7) The Horns of a Dilemma
An example of this technique is a lawyer leading his witnesses to decide between two possible explanations of an event, both of which can poke a hole in their story. They have to answer the lawyer’s questions but whatever they say will harm them. The secret to this technique is striking quickly: Don’t give them a chance to escape. As they try to get out, they are digging deeper and deeper into their grave.
There are many forms of dealing options but there is no one technique that stands out. The effectivity of a technique depends on what kind of person you are dealing with and the current situation.
Although limiting other’s options is a very powerful tool, it can also be advantageous to you as you can also limit your own options while trying to deceive them. You won’t be able to spy, gather information and attempt other forms of deception. But this tactic works best when you have very little power and you want to deceive your foes by giving them a choice.
What do you think? Is it better to deceive a person by giving them choices? Or is it better to give them more freedom and be able to spy and gather info on their plans?
Alfonso S. Laviña
II AB MEC
HI 18 Section O
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17 comments:
"What do you think? Is it better to deceive a person by giving them choices? Or is it better to give them more freedom and be able to spy and gather info on their plans?"
both are evil by the way fons, but if given the choice, id rather give them choices that i can manipulate than giving them freedom and spying on them. when you give them choices you're just giving them semi-freedom coz its still you who defines what the choices are and how theyll work but when you give people freedom, your just putting yourself in a dangerous situation. why? because you're giving them every right to do whatever it is that pleases them, and you'll never get to control them totally. i guess its kinda bad to control others but its in human nature to want to feel superior than others
Nastashja Melevo
II BSLM
HI18O
It's okay that you give options, or "coloring the cards". I think options are the best freedom a man has. To give yourself advantage on choosing what you want, you may disguise it as beneficial to them. However, for me, if you wish to deceive, deceive with care, most are smarter than you think they are.
-Jedd Emille Chua
Hi 18 O
i agree with jedd that you indeed have to decieve with care, if there really is such a thing... one law from the book states something like act as someone lower than you so that you'll surprise your rivals with what talent you have and with what you can do. so i guess jedd has a point
Nastashja Melevo
II BSLM
HI18O
If you give an opponent options, it might back fire against you, that is a risk involved in this law. You have to outsmart him, give him choices that can be used against him, thats the way to, let him be caught.
Luigi Ramirez Hi18-O
I think giving opponents choices are better because it's you who have more advantage either way. It's hard to trust people nowadays so it's better to pick the safer side and, as Luigi said, just try to outsmart your opponent. Weigh the odds. Even if you have to make a compromise, make the choices lean towards you, just don't make it obvious that that's what you're doing.
-Bianca Michaela Bes, Hi 18-O
Letting others have a say on the situation gives you options to attack. but we must take care of this because it might backfire our plans and suddenly, the servant betrays us.
-Janine Cindy Santiago HI18 N
Giving options to opponents that may backfire against you defeats the purpose of this law. That is why the choices you present to them are all to your advantage. And as much as possible, trick them into taking the option that will benefit you the most. And if the person doesn't choose what you want, make sure that what he chooses is still to your advantage.
This is very hard to put into action, because it is subtly manipulating your peers. But it surely fits the title of law of power because it makes you control others.
Contrary to what has already been said, I think that freedom does not consist in having options- it consists in commitment, and in our capacity for self-determination. One may have the options, but what are those options for if one is void of the capacity to determine which among those choices one would like to choose? Plus, picking one option over the other does not make one less free: it shows an exercise of freedom, or of determining one’s own choices.
I think that this is what this law is trying to undermine- by getting others to play with the card you deal, you are furtively controlling their capacity for self-determination. Your victims may feel that they are in control because of the presence of options when they’re actually your puppets.
Well said. Hmm, the only problem with this law is that if your enemy is clever enough and creative enough to make options aside from those you gave your enemy.
Does the law provide any sort of safeguards against this type of enemies?
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Ian Cadelina
The question is how do you expect people to win in a game that you yourself helped create. They will be like little white rats running aroundin your experiment chamber. Basically, the point is that you are assured of many things. These would be foresight, manipulative powers, omnipotence then in turn victory. So after knowing these, you must also be aware not to play in other people's games. Strike first before they entangle you first. Let them play your rules, your cards and your game.
Dexter Tanengsy, Hi18-N
Dexter took the words right out of my mouth. Once you manipulated all the factors and elements in the game, your opponent's only option is to give in.
Taking the title of this law literally, arrange the deck of cards before the poker game begins in order to give yourself an assured royal flush. With such a powerful hand at your disposal, you've given your opponent a zero chance of winning and a slap in the face.
Marvin Velasco
Hi18 N
Arranging the deck of cards before the game begins may be a good idea and may also give you the advantage of gaining the upper hand but you should always remember to play with caution. Because if you make it too obvious that you're playing that person you might get caught and be threaten to submit to them. With that, it will be like the tables have turned on you. And before you know it, you might already be sitting at the end where you're the one given the choices.
sharleen ong chiong
HI18-O
Coloring the cards is basically sales talk, yes? This requires much skill and knowledge, but can be very effective indeed.
The Shrinking Options and the Horns of Dilemma are similar, but I'd much prefer the Horns. In the Shrinking Options, you still have the eventual possibility of just letting it all slide, but in the Horns, it's do one thing or die. The latter has much more... oomph in it. The first is like watching an hourglass slowly drain away, while the other... well, it's like watching a bull charge at you.
Just imagine which is more likely to cause panic. And as we all know, with panic comes bad decisions.
This law is basically controlling the flow of the game and letting your enemies play in it. Let them follow your beat, let them lose their beat, so that you can win. Be the dealer in the game, so that you control the game.
Limiting options is a sign of power. It makes the others at a disadvantage.
Don Faylon
Hi18N
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