[Martinelv]

Did anyone from the UK see that program on Channel 4 the other night about television programs that had been the most complained about ? Wasn't it hilarious !

3rd on the list was Derren Browns program about Seances. I actually saw that myself, and it was spectacular. To cut a long story short, this guy is an illusionalist, and he convinced this group of students that the house they were in was haunted by the ghosts of a cult who had committed suicide years ago. There was the whole weegie-board stuff, objects flying through the air, and one of the students actually claimed to be possessed by 'Sarah', one of the 'spirits' that was in the house. I must say, it was all very convincing...until at the end...when he went outside and got a very alive and well Sarah out the back of the van. How I laughed. Just goes to show that all this spiritual guff is just that, guff, an illusion. But how he did it I'll never know. Of course, this got a lot of complaints from the religious. Yawn, how unpredictable. A program about child abuse got less complaints. Just makes you realise some peoples priorities.

 

[danny]

yeah, I saw the banned TV program and the sceance, Derren Brown is the man. Did you see his messiah? that was out of this world. He is nothing else but a psychological illusionist who was officially endorsed by a leading evangelist that he could convert people to the faith by a finger touch :shock: He sends people to sleep by talking to them on the phone, amongst other amaizing things.

He is the dude!

http://www.derrenbrown.co.uk/home.asp

Personally i thought that brass eye was quite a funny show, obviously a fair few didnt. And jerry springer the opera was awesome, again 50'000 people didnt find it that way though, the majority of the cast in that were christian also, but nevermind.

 

[Martinelv]

HOW does he do it though ? How does he do that stuff that he did on the Seance program ? It's astonishing. Unless everyone on the program was in on it, I haven't a clue. The bit where he laid all the photo's of the 'dead' people and told you to pick one, and the students all picked 'Sarah', so did I (and I think the entire coutnry as well, by the sounds of it)!! It's obviously some kind of misdirection, but how !! It's incredible.

Brass Eye was fantastic. Blue Jam too. Do you remember when that guy had a radio show, and was interviewing Cliff Richard and he suddenly blurted out "Christ's fat cock". Stunning.

I've never understood why the religious get so offended about everything. Surely their faith isn't in such a weak state that they can't tolerate some criticism and humour aimed in their direction. In fact, the more they complain, the more I WANT to offend them.

 

[g-funk]

Hypnosis and suggestion. He will have at some point subliminally suggested 'Sarah'. Through graphical media around them or with words. He's shown before how he uses the power of suggestion. The guy is pure genius.

 

[Homeskooled]

One of my hobbies has been magic since I was six years old. I havent seen this special, since UK and US magicians tend to move in different circles, except for the international convention in Las Vegas once a year. There are two main organizations - the International Brotherhood of Magicians, with its base in London, and the American Brotherhood of Magicians, with its base in Ohio. I belong to ABM. Anyways, I do similair tricks, and I can imagine that he used a concept called "Magicians Choice" to force the choosing of Sarah's card. I use it quite alot, along with other card forces, in magic tricks where I'm showing proving that I'm telepathic. There's also one other trick, and it never fails with women. I use it alot on campus. You have a woman think of a virtual deck of cards. You have her name the numbers, then the suits, then the face cards. When your satisfied that she knows them well, you ask her to think of one she likes. Whatever pops first into her mind. If you know the secret, you invariably can "read her mind". It works with women 9 out of 10 times. It can be done with men as well, but they tend to believe that psychics and magic are mumbo jumbo, and will try to mess the trick up rather than work with the illusion. I believe that magic with the least props, setup, and what magicians call "patter" , is the most convincing. If it looks effortless and miraculous, you get the best results. In my mind, Darren's work is alot like that of David Blaine. His stunt over the Thames didnt go too well, but they both use a similair style.

Peace
Homeskooled

 

[g-funk]

please can you tell me the card trick or is that breaking the circle of trust that magicians have?

 

[Martinelv]

Yeah, that's probably right Homeskooled. But there was other things he did, like putting a girl in a 'spirit cabinet' with a bell and telling her not to touch it. He closed the curtain and suddenly the bell starting ringing, and when he got her out she SWORE blind that she didn't touch it. However, and over-head camera showed that she did ring it. What's that all about, hypnosis ? But how ? He didn't put her in a trance or anything, or if he did, it took him about .5 of a second to do it, without anyone noticing. Another guy he put in there suddenly started screaming in terror, then abruptly calmed down, and he couldn't remember why. Strange stuff.

 

[Homeskooled]

Dear Martin,
He uses "cold reading", like I do myself for the virtual deck of cards trick, and picks up clues about his victims. From having checked out some of his video clips on that cool site, it seems he chooses highly suggestible people for his experiments. The one about the woman who thought she couldnt speak because he was tying a string around the voodoo dolls neck was a good example. Also upon watching another video clip, I think that he used a variation of magicians choice to force the choosing of a card. It seems he places them in an arc form and hopes that the (highly suggestible) person he has chosen chooses the center one. The trick didnt actually work on me, because I'v done magic and watched other magicians for too long, but I'm sure it would work on dumb college kids. Actually, I know it does, because I've done it. But I dont think it was hypnosis. It really isnt all it is cracked up to be. I know some magicians who do it, and the essence of it is picking people who are highly suggestible from the audience, and putting them in an extremely relaxed state. Thats hypnostism. They tell me that one of the greates suggestions they can give a person is that they are "hypnotised" because it evokes such absolute control over a person's mind, which is absolute rubbish. Anyways, even in his video clips, he does things off camera before taping begins, so I have no doubt he conditioned the woman's response with the bell in some way. Since I've never seen this done before, thats still anyone's guess.

Peace
Homeskooled

 

[Martinelv]

Interesting. Thanks.

Can anyone learn to develop this cold reading skill ? I suspect lesser men than me ( :wink: ) might want to use this skill for devious ends..especially where women are concerned, but my intentions are completley honourable. For the time being....wa ha HA.

No, seriously, do you think you have to have a talent for this, or can anyone do it ? If he uses the techniques you describe, then it's either incredibly subtle or is so obvious we overlook it, or don't recognise it. And if you knew these techniques, would you be able to recognise when another magician was 'laying the moves' on you, so to speak ?

 

[Homeskooled]

Dear Martin,
If your a good conversationalist, dont have a problem talking to people you dont know, and are quick on your feet, then you can do cold reading effectively. Its been used for years by magicians, but it didnt hit the general populace until David Blaine did his first street magic special in about '99. The best, and really, only way, to learn magic, unless your apprenticed to someone, will be to go to a library and read books about it. I worked with a magician from the ages of 6-10, and then I started going to libraries in elementary and highschool, devouring as much knowledge as I could about the subject. Most magic books are poorly illustrated, ancient, black and white hard-bound books. The easiest to understand, nicest illustrated, with the most relevant tricks would be the Handbook of Magic. Its a good starter to intermediate book, and its the best one I own. I recall last year looking at some street magic wares online. Trickshop.com had some nice books and items - and I think they had a beginner's guide to cold reading. You might want to try that.

Peace
Homeskooled