Smart People Fall for Their Own Biases: Manipulation, Meaning, NLP, & Why Disagreement ≠ Dysfunction

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Even the most intelligent minds can fall prey to their own blind spots. In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Eddie explores a recent post by one of his former professors that accused a public memorial of using “covert influence tactics.”

What starts as a critique of manipulation opens up into a deeper conversation about bias, authority, and how easily psychology drifts into ideology when it loses touch with philosophy. Ed breaks down the difference between manipulation and meaning, examines the research behind NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), and explains why worship, ritual, and emotion are not inherently suspect.

Along the way, he asks a bigger question: What happens when disagreement itself gets pathologized? Why have we come to assume that if someone disagrees with us, something must be psychologically wrong with them?

This episode invites listeners to recover discernment without paranoia, to recognize when influence is healthy, when it’s toxic, and how to stay grounded in truth, love, and reason even when emotions run high.

In this episode:

• Why intelligence doesn’t protect us from bias
• How “influence” became a dirty word
• What happens when therapy pathologizes disagreement
• Why NLP isn’t the scientific brain-hack it claims to be
• The difference between emotional manipulation and sacred meaning
• How to hold your ground in a world that diagnoses dissent

Key takeaway:

“Influence isn’t the enemy. Losing our capacity to discern — that’s the real danger.”

If you’ve ever felt dismissed, misread, or accused of being “under influence” simply for disagreeing, this one’s for you.

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