What Are Surface

"Do you know what a telepath has to do in order to avoid picking up stray thoughts? We have to kick down our natural abilities. Run rhymes and little songs through our heads, round and round. All that to keep from picking up what you're broadcasting loud enough to be heard halfway down the hall. You're one of those people who rehearses everything, Mr. Garibaldi. You never enter a situation until you've gone over it and over it a hundred times, worked out what you will say, what the other person will say, how you'll respond. It's quite remarkable. And extremely depressing. That little personality quirk must have cost you more than a few relationships. Mundanes want us to fill our heads with noise and babble, so we won't hear what you're shouting at the top of your minds. I didn't need to scan you, Mr. Garibaldi." - Byron Gordon, Paragon of AnimalsWhat are "surface thoughts"? What does it mean to project them (or not)?This essay also provides an in-depth look at what differentiates P4s from P3s (and at the different levels of "surface thought" telepathy).The prologue of Behind the Gloves is here - please read!