Dedicated to my school friend Vladimir

All of us, reading and rereading two brilliant novels by Ilf and Petrov, laughed, “listening” to Lokhanikin’s “scolding iambics”:

“You’re a she–wolf,” Lokhankin continued in the same drawling tone, “I despise you.

You’re leaving me for your lover.

You’re leaving me for Ptiburdukov…”

I interrupt quoting with difficulty, since the topic is not quotes from great talents, but an attempt to get into their minds and understand where they got this strange episode, which they themselves write about:

“Reveling in his grief, Lokhankin did not even notice that he spoke in iambic pentameter, although he had never written poetry and did not like to read them.”

KEYWORDS!

And I’ll ask: Where did Ilf and Petrov get exactly what Lokhankin, according to their plan, spoke in verse!

Have they figured it out?

That’s not the answer.

It is necessary to find some kind of association that prompted them to express their feelings in this particular poetic manner from a person who did not like poetry!

And then I was reminded again of Hypnability and the Law of Latent (Delayed) Induction.

What is Hypnability – a medical term that defines the degree of suggestibility of a person, his susceptibility to hypnosis.

The Law of Latent (Delayed) Induction reads briefly like this:

When we perceive a talented work of human thought, in any form, we receive not only “open”, “direct text” information, but also unconsciously, a certain CHARGE of creativity, a piece of the Creative Way of Thinking of the author. It doesn’t seem to be felt by us, but it can suddenly manifest itself in our own sudden creative impulse on topics that are completely UNRELATED to DIRECT TEXT or any other form of art or science.

That is, all the same, our ability to give in to suggestion!

HYPNABILITY to talent!

In addition to the direct and explicit information contained in a talented work, the VERY WAY OF THINKING of TALENT imperceptibly penetrates into us. His perception is both – by mind and heart.

What does this mean on a neurophysiological level?

When perceiving a talented work, in order to understand it with both the MIND and EMOTIONS (this may be even more important than just consciousness), it is necessary that NEURAL CIRCUITS SIMILAR TO THE BRAIN OF A TALENTED AUTHOR arise in our brain.

But this is the meaning of talent!

The emergence of extraordinary thought chains in OUR brain.

SELF-GENIALIZATION.

So, Ilf and Petrov certainly had a sense of suggestibility. They themselves have felt the Power of Hidden Induction more than once or twice.

And they expressed THEIR FAMILIAR FEELING by humorously making Lokhankin, who did not like poetry, a writer of iambic pentameters.

Mockingly attributing THEIR HYPNABILITY to him!

This is, of course, just my assumption, but I guess it’s NOT unreasonable.

25 V 2025