The “Can I Ask You” Trap

If you want to colonize their mind and command their attention, there is a psychological trap that almost

no one sees coming. You send a single, baited message: "Can I ask you a question?"

The moment they reply with interest, you do not answer. You vanish. For hours

You leave them staring at a screen, waiting. In that silence, their brain begins

to turn against them. Innocent curiosity curdles into irritation. Irritation escalates

into an obsessive fixation. When you finally reappear, you don't explain.

You dismiss them with: "Leave it. Nothing." That is the moment the shackle clicks

shut. The human mind is terrified of unfinished business, and you have just