I'm looking forward to next week, because it looks like we'll actually get to see some asskicking.

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Even if he's deleting by time?

To me, yes, because of a few reasons.

First of all, if MBG can't read what's going on in someone's mind, how would he, or Claire's dad, ever have realized he (MBG) has whatever powers he does have? Secondly, he can block someone else from mind reading, and in the scene where he blocked the cop from mind reading, he seemed to know he was doing so and to whom. Thirdly, he can wipe other people's minds both selectively and entirely. All of those are forms of telepathy, in the sense that he's giving commands to other people's minds. Additionally, Claire's dad seems to be able to be where he needs to be, which makes me think they know what the supes are up to.

It seems a bigger stretch to assume MBG has 3 kinds of telepathic powers (blocking; full wipe; selective wipe), but not actual mind reading. If he can't read their minds (I do think that's possible, just highly unlikely), there are going to be times that he and Claire's dad won't be privy to what timeframe they need to wipe out of someone's mind.

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It seems a bigger stretch to assume MBG has 3 kinds of telepathic powers (blocking; full wipe; selective wipe), but not actual mind reading.

Given that the telepathy is all being made up, I disagree strongly with this statement. Now, I'm not saying that he can't read minds. I'm just saying that I've seen no evidence he can. And in such an author-constructed reality, Occam's razor doesn't work so well. There isn't any experience-derived statistical base to assume that any measure of telepathy implies another.

To me, MBG does what we've seen him do. Period. He may also have command over pink elephants and the ability to know what underwear you're wearing. But he does what I've seen.

I realise it makes me something of a story-projection buzzkill, but it looks like fanon in the birthing, and I don't see why the extrapolations are safely acceptable--if it's a what-if-he-mind-reads, that's one thing. But a since-he-mind-reads? Gonna whip my head around every time.

Also, note my use of the term mind reading. We can all have different definitions of telepathy. But I hope mind reading is clear and unambiguous.

Also, why are you making a distinction between full wipe and selective wipe? It's like saying I have the power to eat half a candy bar and the power to eat the whole thing--it may just be simpler to say I have mad candy-eating skillz instead of getting that granular.

there are going to be times that he and Claire's dad won't be privy to what timeframe they need to wipe out of someone's mind.

How is this possibility eliminated by what we've seen? A cop's ability to investigate a crime is hampered by them not knowing who did it, but they still stumble through. I don't see the requirement of your proposition.

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Now, I'm not saying that he can't read minds. I'm just saying that I've seen no evidence he can.

I've acknowledged that since I entered the discussion. My posts were (I think) all framed on my opinion of what was more likely, based on what we've seen.

Also, note my use of the term mind reading. We can all have different definitions of telepathy. But I hope mind reading is clear and unambiguous.

It is, which is why I've tried to use both terms as well. I get the distinction. I'm not saying your alternative scenarios are impossible, they just strike me as more complicated to maintain throughout the series, and less likely in the first place.

Also, why are you making a distinction between full wipe and selective wipe? It's like saying I have the power to eat half a candy bar and the power to eat the whole thing--it may just be simpler to say I have mad candy-eating skillz instead of getting that granular.

Not really. It's like the difference between using a degausser to erase and entire tape, or using a more precise tool to edit out some scenes (tools which, by the way, generally come with the ability to read what's on the tape, so I can be precise in my selections). Causing complete amnesia is way more general than using some event-selective mind wiping power.

How is this possibility eliminated by what we've seen?

I can't remember what they erased from the cop (or anyone else) and what they didn't, so I can't answer this, except to go back to restating my opinion, that since they've had MBG be able to be selective in what he wipes out, it seems to me more likely that he has some read-access to the material he's wiping out.

How would he ever know he got the job done, and again, how would he ever have realized he had the power in the first place?

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It's like the difference between using a degausser to erase and entire tape, or using a more precise tool to edit out some scenes (tools which, by the way, generally come with the ability to read what's on the tape, so I can be precise in my selections). Causing complete amnesia is way more general than using some event-selective mind wiping power.

See, for me I don't see that there's enough fact to be able to say that it's more like degaussing or cutting and pasting. I don't see evidence that he can cut out last Tuesday but not Wednesday, or the bits with the dog last week, but not the bits without.

As far as my memory serves, he's done two wipes--one standard "full" amnesia (language skills intact and mature, facts gone--but the whole "Why are you calling me Brody" was weird--does he think he has another name? Wouldn't that question trigger the realisation he doesn't know what his name is, otherwise) and one that seems to be the past day or so.

It could be degaussing and search and wipe, or it could be something with a simpler mechanism.

since they've had MBG be able to be selective in what he wipes out, it seems to me more likely that he has some read-access to the material he's wiping out.

Unless I'm missing anyother blanking scene, they've just as clearly shown him be selective about the time periods he's wiped. What read access would that require?

how would he ever have realized he had the power in the first place?

How do you discover you can fly without having your brother jump off a building? You can. You can wish you girlfriend would forget that whole last hour when you were fighting...and conversation soon shows that she does. There's no hard work done to come up with scenarios like that.

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See, for me I don't see that there's enough fact to be able to say that it's more like degaussing or cutting and pasting. I don't see evidence that he can cut out last Tuesday but not Wednesday, or the bits with the dog last week, but not the bits without.

But even allowing him to choose his starting point in the person's memory is specific, where wiping the whole memory bank out is general. A selection is made.

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But even allowing him to choose his starting point in the person's memory is specific, where wiping the whole memory bank out is general. A selection is made.

Where did I say he couldn't be specific?

My point is, if I were writing code (which is what it too often boils down to), I'd write one procedure, and you'd specify your starting point. I'd not write one that says "wipe all" and another that says "wipe from this starting point forwards." The set of all starting point for memory wipes includes the beginning.

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FWIW, I've been told that what helps doctors distinguish true amnesia and true paralysis, etc., from cases of 'hysterical' afflictions is that generally those victims with the latter seem somewhat unconcerned or at least at peace with their condition, since the brain at some level realizes that it is 'faking'. So Brody not being terribly upset would actually be consistent with MBG giving him a case of (perhaps permanent) 'hysterical amnesia'.

Or, you know, just bad writing/acting of a character's reaction.

(Guess how I'd bet.)

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I think P-C saw an unaired version of the Heroes pilot, too -- maybe at Comic Con. The one he saw had a different ending with Peter.

It wasn't the Comic-Con version, which was longer. I saw a screener, and it didn't have the van scene.

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How to make a Dalek o'Lantern

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