We have always been curious, paranoid even, about what influences others might have on us. We are vulnerable to pressure, propaganda, manipulation, deception and straight up force, and yet these ideas never fully satisfy us, leading us to create theories of mesmerism, hypnosis, psychic control and alien influence. These often conspiratorial ideas have been around since long before tin foil hats and the internet, but is this a sign that human beings will always believe in utter nonsense, or is there a truth behind the absurdity?