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Tongue: A Cognitive Hazard
- GenresPsychology
172 pages, Paperback
Published November 19, 2025
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300 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 7, 2026
Chase Hughes Tongue: A Cognitive Habit is a treasure hunt leading to the realization the riches is in finding no-thing; which leads to every-thing we thought we knew about some-thing.
Reminds me of the professor from Patch Adam’s asking, “how many fingers do you see?”
Jogging consciousness is the superpower of the oddest coolest book I’ve ever read.
The shortest summary to invite you to the challenge …
What this book is designed to do is help us pull our heads outta the rectum of reality. The question is whose?
Not your typical one line summary for a super unique book that’s designed to change the world between ears.
If you plan to read past this point, before you do, grab a beverage and snack. Sit back. Take a deep breath. Relax.
Why bother with this carefully constructed mental deconstruction zone?
Because the globe is a mess is a good enough reason. Or maybe you are because of the mayhem being bombarded every which way in our digital lives.
Some-times doing some-thing off the beaten path is where the road less traveled leads. Discover the gold we have been in search for our whole lives. Using a machete to cut down the forest someone, many others, self planted in our soul.
Gardens of the heart grow many plants. Born from stories we are taught or the ones we tell ourselves.
This book is odd and meant to alleviate the narratives that mean zero, but tend to sum total every single noun, person place or thing, we believe about the world and ourselves.
This book is not for a reader who wants to make sense of anything. The book is an exploration or untangling all that is so. Open doors. People disappear. New world’s manifest. Manifestos explode into millions of tiny pieces. Never to be sorted for pain again.
Okay, yeah, weirdo review. If you attempt to read the book without context, sure is.
If you have followed Mr Hughes for some time and relate to his background in government work with the CIA and psyops this book is a perfect compliment to detoxing what Harry G Frankfurt poignant book On Bullshit is notable for. Willingness to disrupt the messages believed. Replace with clarity of choice and peace. Priceless.
If you attempt this course in how to be a mentally free. Former subject to the democracy of mob think; discombobulating ritual beliefs. Finding facts and truth born from the ashes of reality conceived by instructions. Imposed. Composed by manipulation within dynamics like compulsory education to raise workers to pay taxes and student debt to malfunction a nation built on many secrets.
Free thinker be aware. This book is not a rebel without a cause. You are the cause. Collectively we are the answer.
In the words of Elsa from a movie I never saw, “Let it gooooo”.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled reviews 😁
…..
Bottom of page 36, “The deeper meaning of the story of Rumpelstiltskin.” Curious, looked this up to obtain clarity on part of the books context in regard to how constructed narratives by certain people or entities, such as social media conglomerates to governments around the world host intention with recipients of the strategy employed for psyops or some other nefarious goal.
“The deeper meaning of the story of Rumpelstiltskin revolves around several interconnected themes, including the consequences of greed, the significance of honesty, and the power of personal integrity. The tale serves as a cautionary narrative about the dangers of making deals without fully understanding their implications, particularly under duress. The miller’s boastful lie about his daughter’s ability to spin straw into gold sets off a chain of events driven by greed and desperation, illustrating how such actions can lead to dire consequences for others.
Central to the story is the theme of names and identity, where knowing Rumpelstiltskin’s true name becomes the key to breaking his control, symbolizing how knowledge and self-awareness can empower individuals to reclaim agency over their fate.
This moment underscores the idea that names hold significant power and represent identity, authority, and the ability to influence relationships and outcomes.
The narrative also explores psychological and societal dynamics, portraying Rumpelstiltskin as a trickster figure embodying the darker aspects of human desire—greed, cunning, and manipulation. He represents the temptations that arise when individuals seek shortcuts to success, often at a great personal cost. The story reflects on how desperation can lead people to make perilous bargains, with long-term repercussions that may outweigh any immediate gain.
Some interpretations view the tale as a metaphor for the initiation of a shaman or witch, where the supernatural being acts as a familiar spirit offering aid in exchange for service, often demanding a personal sacrifice. In this context, the demand for the child may symbolize a spiritual or psychological transformation rather than a literal loss, highlighting the personal toll of such a path. The story’s ambiguity allows for multiple readings: it can be seen as a warning against boasting, a reflection on the corrupting nature of power, or a commentary on the societal pressures placed on women in patriarchal systems.
Ultimately, the story emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and the consequences of one’s choices, particularly when made under pressure or without full understanding. The miller’s lie and the daughter’s agreement to give up her child are both actions that stem from a lack of foresight and accountability, reinforcing the moral that one must take responsibility for their actions. The tale’s enduring relevance lies in its exploration of human vulnerability, the seductive nature of shortcuts, and the ultimate triumph of wit and self-determination over manipulation.”
This summary is illuminating.
Randomness on YouTube popped up in my algorithm. Someone sharing about this book. How did the Google run engine know I’m reading in order to direct this connection? Best guess, I’d posted the book on Goodreads and maybe they have my order history from Amazon. Weird happenstance or complete randomness since I do follow Mr Hughes on his and other channels.
Knowing there are other weird ducks digging into Tongue compelled me to wanna share a little extra. Like the deeper meaning of Rumpelstiltskin. We are interested in the same outcome while on separate paths. Hope this not so strange overview extra supports your journey to deconstruct the scaffold of other peoples work to make you into someone you may not be or want to any longer.
I haven’t felt like napping after a chapter like other readers confessed on the review and in comments, but can see how someone might need to rest. This read can be exhaustive. Depending on how structured the mental scaffolding is.
I decided before beginning to look through the book to get an idea of what it is about. The structure is so unique stepped away to give myself an opportunity to let my brain settle into this read will not be a simple task IF I plow through it. Or convert text to speech. If I do anything other than read each word like a typist transcribes. Focus on one word at a time as best as possible.
The times I struggled with this is during longer side stories used to convey meaning, like with grandpa and Sadie in chapter 4. Though be aware, not all sections are labeled as chapters, or sections. But you can tell where the break is between segments of topics.
My approach since I read like a snail on a frozen pond in the dead of winter is just be with the text. Earlier in the book Chase has some exercises assisting with a bit of preparation for the trek. Once these early pages are complete the flow doesn’t feel so strange. Comprehension increases. Though sometimes looking up info like how I did using the Brave app is helpful. What I like about this app is it doesn’t save previous inquiries and it approaches questions with no pre-entered bias. Like, Google engines bias is based on the history of all searches and the next person’s is completely different.
This book might be for you if you are done with the constructs impregnated by all nouns, people places and things, influencing either consciously or subconsciously.
Pretentious people probably would chalk this up to crazy and pass on its power.
Not sure if it’s the Gen X in me or the fact I’m striving to be more feral but I’m enjoying the effort. If I hadn’t been following Chase for a while this would be a no. If you’ve known his work will likely be curious and give it a try.
Ultimate goal is wider mental freedom from the vortex of societal black holes. Awareness leads to knowledge understanding for wisdom of insight within choices.
For modern day tech depressives this is cheaper than therapy and will blow your mind. Check out the author’s YouTube and interviews he does with sane people so it tamps down the compulsion to chalk this up to he’s nuts. Rather than ponder, so this is what the government trained him to comprehend about human beings. He is now attempting to assist.
Besides, this type of adventure is safer than driving a car and will produce results that can and hopefully will improve perspective and lead to a happier coexistence in a world that’s a bit nuts.
A saying from Thick Nhat Hahn, Peace in Oneself Peace in the World … my screen saver on my phone. Reminds me that asking for world peace and being disheveled personally is not how we gain the result sought.
If everyone in the world felt internal peace we would have it globally.
We only control what’s within us. Not with out. Or outside of us.
Anything we can do, even if kookie like reading this book, to invite peace within ourselves will ultimately draw more peace around us. Studies have shown in cases of happiness, if a house of people in a neighborhood is happy this impacts and ripples throughout the block. Having tested this in different locations for periods of a year or more can confirm at least in my case this is true.
What I noticed is the further away someone is or the less in person time spent together impacts the quality of the connection. If and when the other person is having less peace or happiness the impact is different. They may acquire a bit of the influence for a moment or it might agitate them because the story they’re living is incongruent with the connection.
In any event, this book, in my best estimation, based on the science behind influence within social circles. The effect if internalized may compel people away from the reader because their perspective is depended on the psyops paradigm.
Like, if someone accepts and receives Jesus as their savior. Has immediate or slow changes. This can compel people to feel some kinda way because their view of the person is disrupted. Sometimes this change requires new boundaries and social commitments. This includes with family.
This book will rock worlds. Maybe the reader. Maybe the witness to the shift.
Another example, people are hysterical online about their perception of losing rights. While the next person who’s of the same community, let’s say women, will confess they haven’t lost any. Perspective and perception are the only difference.
If the person who’s hysterical reads this book. Gets to know people like Chase Hughes and others who talk about psyops infiltrating people’s ability to discern reality. Perhaps they’d shift ideas and feel lighter and free of group think that’s soliciting emotions based on ideas implanted through their algorithm.
The question we should ask, what’s the purpose to driving people to hysteria? Control. Pharma sells legal drugs or there’s the illegal route.
What’s the purpose of media and digital platforms? Control. Profit. Decease populations. So many options to choose from.
For 2026 am committed to visual reading. Beginning with this quirky trek.
I’m in chapter four but figured the review police probably don’t care if I share this now. There are no rules. I can add bits later. I got a lot outta processing the information here.
The book is designed for lots of processing. Figure what the heck. If you got this far in the book isn’t finished yet review, hopefully don’t feel as strange as when you opened the cover. Fingered through page with the uncontrollable wtf moment in thought.
If this is you, I get it.
If you haven’t ventured to the purchase button yet … https://amzn.to/49BLbO4
Happy new year. New you. And may peace be with you 😁
Reminds me of the professor from Patch Adam’s asking, “how many fingers do you see?”
Jogging consciousness is the superpower of the oddest coolest book I’ve ever read.
The shortest summary to invite you to the challenge …
What this book is designed to do is help us pull our heads outta the rectum of reality. The question is whose?
Not your typical one line summary for a super unique book that’s designed to change the world between ears.
If you plan to read past this point, before you do, grab a beverage and snack. Sit back. Take a deep breath. Relax.
Why bother with this carefully constructed mental deconstruction zone?
Because the globe is a mess is a good enough reason. Or maybe you are because of the mayhem being bombarded every which way in our digital lives.
Some-times doing some-thing off the beaten path is where the road less traveled leads. Discover the gold we have been in search for our whole lives. Using a machete to cut down the forest someone, many others, self planted in our soul.
Gardens of the heart grow many plants. Born from stories we are taught or the ones we tell ourselves.
This book is odd and meant to alleviate the narratives that mean zero, but tend to sum total every single noun, person place or thing, we believe about the world and ourselves.
This book is not for a reader who wants to make sense of anything. The book is an exploration or untangling all that is so. Open doors. People disappear. New world’s manifest. Manifestos explode into millions of tiny pieces. Never to be sorted for pain again.
Okay, yeah, weirdo review. If you attempt to read the book without context, sure is.
If you have followed Mr Hughes for some time and relate to his background in government work with the CIA and psyops this book is a perfect compliment to detoxing what Harry G Frankfurt poignant book On Bullshit is notable for. Willingness to disrupt the messages believed. Replace with clarity of choice and peace. Priceless.
If you attempt this course in how to be a mentally free. Former subject to the democracy of mob think; discombobulating ritual beliefs. Finding facts and truth born from the ashes of reality conceived by instructions. Imposed. Composed by manipulation within dynamics like compulsory education to raise workers to pay taxes and student debt to malfunction a nation built on many secrets.
Free thinker be aware. This book is not a rebel without a cause. You are the cause. Collectively we are the answer.
In the words of Elsa from a movie I never saw, “Let it gooooo”.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled reviews 😁
…..
Bottom of page 36, “The deeper meaning of the story of Rumpelstiltskin.” Curious, looked this up to obtain clarity on part of the books context in regard to how constructed narratives by certain people or entities, such as social media conglomerates to governments around the world host intention with recipients of the strategy employed for psyops or some other nefarious goal.
“The deeper meaning of the story of Rumpelstiltskin revolves around several interconnected themes, including the consequences of greed, the significance of honesty, and the power of personal integrity. The tale serves as a cautionary narrative about the dangers of making deals without fully understanding their implications, particularly under duress. The miller’s boastful lie about his daughter’s ability to spin straw into gold sets off a chain of events driven by greed and desperation, illustrating how such actions can lead to dire consequences for others.
Central to the story is the theme of names and identity, where knowing Rumpelstiltskin’s true name becomes the key to breaking his control, symbolizing how knowledge and self-awareness can empower individuals to reclaim agency over their fate.
This moment underscores the idea that names hold significant power and represent identity, authority, and the ability to influence relationships and outcomes.
The narrative also explores psychological and societal dynamics, portraying Rumpelstiltskin as a trickster figure embodying the darker aspects of human desire—greed, cunning, and manipulation. He represents the temptations that arise when individuals seek shortcuts to success, often at a great personal cost. The story reflects on how desperation can lead people to make perilous bargains, with long-term repercussions that may outweigh any immediate gain.
Some interpretations view the tale as a metaphor for the initiation of a shaman or witch, where the supernatural being acts as a familiar spirit offering aid in exchange for service, often demanding a personal sacrifice. In this context, the demand for the child may symbolize a spiritual or psychological transformation rather than a literal loss, highlighting the personal toll of such a path. The story’s ambiguity allows for multiple readings: it can be seen as a warning against boasting, a reflection on the corrupting nature of power, or a commentary on the societal pressures placed on women in patriarchal systems.
Ultimately, the story emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and the consequences of one’s choices, particularly when made under pressure or without full understanding. The miller’s lie and the daughter’s agreement to give up her child are both actions that stem from a lack of foresight and accountability, reinforcing the moral that one must take responsibility for their actions. The tale’s enduring relevance lies in its exploration of human vulnerability, the seductive nature of shortcuts, and the ultimate triumph of wit and self-determination over manipulation.”
This summary is illuminating.
Randomness on YouTube popped up in my algorithm. Someone sharing about this book. How did the Google run engine know I’m reading in order to direct this connection? Best guess, I’d posted the book on Goodreads and maybe they have my order history from Amazon. Weird happenstance or complete randomness since I do follow Mr Hughes on his and other channels.
Knowing there are other weird ducks digging into Tongue compelled me to wanna share a little extra. Like the deeper meaning of Rumpelstiltskin. We are interested in the same outcome while on separate paths. Hope this not so strange overview extra supports your journey to deconstruct the scaffold of other peoples work to make you into someone you may not be or want to any longer.
I haven’t felt like napping after a chapter like other readers confessed on the review and in comments, but can see how someone might need to rest. This read can be exhaustive. Depending on how structured the mental scaffolding is.
I decided before beginning to look through the book to get an idea of what it is about. The structure is so unique stepped away to give myself an opportunity to let my brain settle into this read will not be a simple task IF I plow through it. Or convert text to speech. If I do anything other than read each word like a typist transcribes. Focus on one word at a time as best as possible.
The times I struggled with this is during longer side stories used to convey meaning, like with grandpa and Sadie in chapter 4. Though be aware, not all sections are labeled as chapters, or sections. But you can tell where the break is between segments of topics.
My approach since I read like a snail on a frozen pond in the dead of winter is just be with the text. Earlier in the book Chase has some exercises assisting with a bit of preparation for the trek. Once these early pages are complete the flow doesn’t feel so strange. Comprehension increases. Though sometimes looking up info like how I did using the Brave app is helpful. What I like about this app is it doesn’t save previous inquiries and it approaches questions with no pre-entered bias. Like, Google engines bias is based on the history of all searches and the next person’s is completely different.
This book might be for you if you are done with the constructs impregnated by all nouns, people places and things, influencing either consciously or subconsciously.
Pretentious people probably would chalk this up to crazy and pass on its power.
Not sure if it’s the Gen X in me or the fact I’m striving to be more feral but I’m enjoying the effort. If I hadn’t been following Chase for a while this would be a no. If you’ve known his work will likely be curious and give it a try.
Ultimate goal is wider mental freedom from the vortex of societal black holes. Awareness leads to knowledge understanding for wisdom of insight within choices.
For modern day tech depressives this is cheaper than therapy and will blow your mind. Check out the author’s YouTube and interviews he does with sane people so it tamps down the compulsion to chalk this up to he’s nuts. Rather than ponder, so this is what the government trained him to comprehend about human beings. He is now attempting to assist.
Besides, this type of adventure is safer than driving a car and will produce results that can and hopefully will improve perspective and lead to a happier coexistence in a world that’s a bit nuts.
A saying from Thick Nhat Hahn, Peace in Oneself Peace in the World … my screen saver on my phone. Reminds me that asking for world peace and being disheveled personally is not how we gain the result sought.
If everyone in the world felt internal peace we would have it globally.
We only control what’s within us. Not with out. Or outside of us.
Anything we can do, even if kookie like reading this book, to invite peace within ourselves will ultimately draw more peace around us. Studies have shown in cases of happiness, if a house of people in a neighborhood is happy this impacts and ripples throughout the block. Having tested this in different locations for periods of a year or more can confirm at least in my case this is true.
What I noticed is the further away someone is or the less in person time spent together impacts the quality of the connection. If and when the other person is having less peace or happiness the impact is different. They may acquire a bit of the influence for a moment or it might agitate them because the story they’re living is incongruent with the connection.
In any event, this book, in my best estimation, based on the science behind influence within social circles. The effect if internalized may compel people away from the reader because their perspective is depended on the psyops paradigm.
Like, if someone accepts and receives Jesus as their savior. Has immediate or slow changes. This can compel people to feel some kinda way because their view of the person is disrupted. Sometimes this change requires new boundaries and social commitments. This includes with family.
This book will rock worlds. Maybe the reader. Maybe the witness to the shift.
Another example, people are hysterical online about their perception of losing rights. While the next person who’s of the same community, let’s say women, will confess they haven’t lost any. Perspective and perception are the only difference.
If the person who’s hysterical reads this book. Gets to know people like Chase Hughes and others who talk about psyops infiltrating people’s ability to discern reality. Perhaps they’d shift ideas and feel lighter and free of group think that’s soliciting emotions based on ideas implanted through their algorithm.
The question we should ask, what’s the purpose to driving people to hysteria? Control. Pharma sells legal drugs or there’s the illegal route.
What’s the purpose of media and digital platforms? Control. Profit. Decease populations. So many options to choose from.
For 2026 am committed to visual reading. Beginning with this quirky trek.
I’m in chapter four but figured the review police probably don’t care if I share this now. There are no rules. I can add bits later. I got a lot outta processing the information here.
The book is designed for lots of processing. Figure what the heck. If you got this far in the book isn’t finished yet review, hopefully don’t feel as strange as when you opened the cover. Fingered through page with the uncontrollable wtf moment in thought.
If this is you, I get it.
If you haven’t ventured to the purchase button yet … https://amzn.to/49BLbO4
Happy new year. New you. And may peace be with you 😁
January 24, 2026
On the one hand, the theme of this book is quite important: stop thinking and reacting “automatically,” realize that language tries to dumb down reality and to keep you under social control. On the other hand, the presentation is fairly uninviting in many cases—using the kind of groupspeech groupthink terminology so common in education and industry to get you to see past it.
January 2, 2026
honestly, the entire book felt fucking whacky. rapidly switching between different formats and styles, syntax, rhetoric, I had to reread it a few times to fully understand the point. so many different styles were used in order to get the point across, and it played a lot on metacognition and programming to make something almost fictional. again, that phrase meta, it felt like it was trying to be some kind of meta fiction.. maybe..
February 4, 2026
This is definitely not like any other book I’ve read, if you haven’t read it already i will give you a warning, don’t read this book unless you’re willing to go through a wild experiment because that’s what it will give you. Your whole view of life, world, objects around you will change, but in a fun way, you will be able to find joy and curiosity through the simplest things,
it’s like experiencing life for the first time as a child.
it’s like experiencing life for the first time as a child.
February 14, 2026
AI-generated, methinks.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews