From Tom Chamberlain
You mention people’s ability to make reliable judgments about others in a very short time (5 May, p 32). I have seen this dramatically demonstrated in psychodrama sessions. Typically a participant is asked to pick a few people from an audience of 50 or so strangers, to role-play family members or colleagues. Time after time, the chosen ones not only know exactly how to play their roles but turn out to have an entire family history that dovetails with that of the participant. How the details fit is quite spooky.
This seems to be an ultra-rapid collection of vast amounts of detailed information – and only to work when people are off-guard. Within a few seconds conscious reflection intervenes. How it’s done, I can’t explain.
Newark, Nottinghamshire, UK
