Forensic pathologist says conflict resolution needs psychological warfare – it’s a mouthful, we know!
TEA TIME: Ryan Blumenthal, author of Mentalist Martial Arts, enjoys a sip of tea after talking about his book at the Golden Key breakfast. Photo: Lutho Mtongana
The academic elite of Wits University were treated to the mentalist musings of Dr Ryan Blumenthal at the Golden Key corporate breakfast held early this morning.
Blumenthal, a forensic pathologist based at the University of Pretoria, spoke at the breakfast about his book, Mentalist Martial Arts which focuses on the art of conflict resolution through misdirection.
His methods of conflict resolution mentions the use of tools such as triple negatives and the element of surprise to get out of high risk situations ranging from calming down a mental patient to rape attempts.
Blumenthal told Wits Vuvuzela that he feels like there is more of a need to explore the issue of anger and conflict management in South Africa today.
He said, “I see a lot of standard stuff go wrong, like if people fight, flight or freeze it often goes wrong. I’m just saying use your brain, misdirect, think and use psychological warfare.”
“The earth is becoming more populated, traffic, the recession, people are stressed nowadays. There’s going to be more conflict, you can bet on it. One has to think of innovative ways of dealing with conflict.”
Blumenthal was not short on suggestions for innovative conflict resolution strategies. “Always think about the best possible answers to a situation and try not to ask “why” and “how” type questions these come across as judgemental .”
Golden Key is an international organisation of students that excel academically and holds regular breakfasts with prominent speakers.
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