The tin foil hats debate has been going on for a long time. Some say that it prevents the gov't from mind reading the thoughts of the citizens. Recent research at MIT shows that the opposite may be true -- It actually enhances the government's ability to read minds.
Some people in gov't, apparently think that wearing the tin foil hats will prevent the citizens from reading minds (see example below), but I think the MIT study results are proven to be true. It just enhances our ability to see that she is a fruit cake.