Psychic Static: Difference between revisions

Often overlaps with the [[Jedi Mind Trick]], but is generally more passive.

== Anime & Manga ==

* At one point in the manga ''Ray'', the title character asks a telepath she's just saved to see if he can read her mentor's mind. He can't -- wherever he tries, the mentor switches his thoughts to a game of ''shiritori''.

* At one point in ''[[Fairy Tail (Manga)|Fairy Tail]]'', Natsu was confronted with an opponent whose hearing was so good he could literally ''hear thoughts''. Cue Natsu ''[[Confusion Fu|not thinking at all]]''.

* One episode of ''[[Lupin III (Manga)|Lupin III]]'' features a telepathic villain who can use his ability to avoid attacks. His killer kept the guy out of his head by whistling.

* When [[Nextwave]] faced off against the ridiculous-looking but intensely powerful Forbush Man, he lifted his pot-helmet and sent all of them on a mental journey into their worst nightmares. All of them, that is, except one, who was just too air-headed for the power to work on.

* ''[[Batman (Franchise)|Batman]]''

** It was revealed after the "Tower of Babel" arc that Batman developed his counter-measures against the League, and J'onn in particular, by actually burying his memory and restoring it with a series of mnemonic triggers when he wanted to work on his plans, and instructed the computer to track J'onn and "activate the burial key" should the martian come within 100 miles.

* In the ''[[Inheritance Trilogy]]'', you can block someone from entering your mind by concentrating solely on one thought. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell if someone has done so unless you are telepathic yourself. In ''Eldest'', it is revealed that a number of important figures have trained themselves to do this ''all the time'' without any hindrance.

** Eragon attempts to keep someone from entering his mind by concentrating on his big toe. Other characters often use similar techniques, with varying levels of success.

* In ''The Redemption of Althalus'' by David and Leigh Eddings, it is possible to prevent mind-reading by counting in your head, and mixing up the numbers intentionally. The villain's designated mind-reader hates this. A lot. Taking this a step further, fractions are actively painful to the reader.

{{quote| ''Tanalasta quickly chased from her thoughts all memory of the vision itself, instead picturing Merula the Marvelous trussed naked on a spit and roasting over a slow fire. If the wizard was spying on her thoughts, she wanted him to know what awaited if he dared report any particular one to the royal magician.''}}

* In R. A. Salvatore's ''[[Forgotten Realms (Tabletop Game)|Forgotten Realms]]'' novels, Jarlaxle uses a similar tactic on the psionic Matron K'yorl of House Oblodra. In this case, Naughty Thoughts irritate the Matron intensely, and mind-reading is frowned on in Menzoberranzan.

* In ''Angry Lead Skies'', Garrett verifies that the silver elves {{spoiler|(all right, the ''aliens'')}} are reading his mind by imagining an X-rated encounter between himself and one of them, then seeing her flinch in response.

* ''The Damned'' by [[Alan Dean Foster]] combines this with [[Humans Are Cthulhu]]: the Amplitur, the villainous aliens of the setting, can mind-control any sentient species except humans. We [[Brown Note|put them into comas]].

* The same rhyme is later used for a similar purpose in [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[IT]]''.

* In the ''[[Twilight (Literature)|Twilight]]'' series, Alice keeps Edward from reading her mind by translating a book in her head. This isn't as much to protect her secrets as to keep him calm -- she told him what she was hiding later.

** {{spoiler|After tapping in to Hellfire to patch up his wall,}} Harry manages to escape for a minute or two -- until a Ghoul throws a shuriken into his leg, breaking his concentration. After Corpsetaker successfully gets into his mind, Harry stumbles in such a way that the shuriken twists in the wound, driving her ([[Body Surf|him?]]) out through pain feedback.

** In ''Ghost Story'', it turns out that the White Council has stepped up their defensive training, resulting in much more elaborate constructs and culminating in a full-on [[Battle in The Center of The Mind]].

* In the ''[[Tunnels]]'' series, {{spoiler|Will's mother}} is able to resist the [[Mind Probe|Dark Light]] by reciting the litany, "I pray that I might not let those about me spoil my peace of mind". Unable to get anything out of her, the Styx turn the device up to the "[[Mind Rape]]" setting and destroy her consciousness instead.

* Some protagonists in Stephen King's, ''[[The Tommyknockers]]'' manage to avoid being read by the locals by reciting songs and nursery rhymes to "jam" their thoughts. Gard uses his old poetry as static at first, but it starts failing as the townsfolk become less human and more powerfully psychic. He resorts to abusing prescription pills that cloud his mind to keep them out. At the end, {{spoiler|when Bobbi forces him to try to overdose, and then failing that, shoots him, the pain and pills keep him from being affected, leading to his victory.}}

== Web Comics ==

** There is a line alluding to this in [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_587.php one strip].

** There's also [http://www.missmab.com/Demo/Cubi02.php the page picture]; apparently, the best way to keep a Cubi out of your mind is to bore it away. Of course, Jyrras doesn't know that...