Derren Brown , what an arsehole

Are you persevering in insisting this to be true

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That’s that sorted then 🙂

He’s done alright for a modern Paul Daniels hasn’t he?

I am a fan (despite seeing one of the live shows where the big reveal at the end went totally wrong), but there’s way more magician than manipulator about his antics. Except, maybe, in his manipulation of his audience – as has been said you shouldn’t take anything from him at face value, especially not his ‘honest and open’ explanations of how he does what he does.

He would make an awesome advertising exec, or a truly terrifying politician…

Derren Brown , what an arsehole

I’m not sure he is actually. I think the Guys talented and the shows he puts on are really interesting on many levels.

However I do think he really does hang loose in his subject matter on occasion, this being one of them. I do think it could be the pressure from the Producers and the Channel to continually push the boundaries of Human interaction, whilst gaining TV ratings.
A bit of Shock and Awe to gain bums on seats you might say.

As a technique, well he’s used it to many a good thing. Become a bit of a Legend in his own Lunchtime.
I’ve followed his progress up until a couple of years ago and read many of his books out of interest, but don’t much watch or read the output anymore.

If get the feeling that the ‘trick’ isn’t really on the person in the programme. It’s on us, the viewers. He’s managed to convince lots of us that what he’s doing isn’t a set up, and is actually happening. I enjoy it, but much as I know Bear Grylls was never really in the middle of nowhere I am pretty sure that I’m the patsy with Derren. Doesn’t stop it being entertaining though.

If get the feeling that the ‘trick’ isn’t really on the person in the programme. It’s on us, the viewers. He’s managed to convince lots of us that what he’s doing isn’t a set up, and is actually happening. I enjoy it, but much as I know Bear Grylls was never really in the middle of nowhere I am pretty sure that I’m the patsy with Derren. Doesn’t stop it being entertaining though.

I think that’s spot on. And in a way the illusion is not just on the viewer but on society in general. It’s based on creating the persona of a man of science, somebody who’s ‘honest about his dishonesty’, who uses psychological power to achieve many of his illusions. None of which are true.

The term for what he does is mentalism – not the Alan Partridge version. It’s finding ways to present convential tricks/illusions in a way which makes them appear to be something else.

Uri Geller did the same but claimed to be using psychic instead of psychological powers.

Uri Geller did the same but claimed to be using psychic instead of psychological powers.

Which is why Uri Geller should be considered the @rsehole. I read some of James Randi’s books that expose Uri Geller – at least Derren Brown doesn’t claim to be psychic…

TM

Uri Geller did the same but claimed to be using psychic instead of psychological powers.

The thing that made me chuckle about Uri Geller was the little industry of Uri “Geller debunking literature”. Something amusing about a Gravy train created out of debunking someone else’s gravy train. A nice little symbiotic money making scheme akin to academics selling revisionist books contradicting each other each other in an endless cycle of money making.

….but if people enjoy “psychics” and are willing to pay and people enjoy “psychics” being debunked and are willing to pay then who are we to complain?

The term for what he does is mentalism….It’s finding ways to present convential tricks/illusions in a way which makes them appear to be something else..

That’s hardly a revalation, it is explicitly stated in the first line of his Wikipedia page.

He says at the start of every show that it’s basically all trickery of various types and that he has no “powers”

If get the feeling that the ‘trick’ isn’t really on the person in the programme. It’s on us, the viewers

Sufficiently advanced psychology is indistinguishable from magic 😉

That’s hardly a revalation, it is explicitly stated in the first line of his Wikipedia page.

He says at the start of every show that it’s basically all trickery of various types and that he has no “powers

but this is thew issue with him – he claims to be using his mind to manipulate people, when really he is doing something else. It’s misdirection

I lost all respect for him when he claimed to predict the balls drawn in the national lottery. It was blatantly obvious he was using a split screen and a slight time delay. Literally anyone could have done it

The people who take part in his shows are all stooges – they know they are in a show, and they know they are expected to play along – even if no one explicitly says this to them. Its works the same way as a stage hypnotist act. Early in the show there are lots of people on the stage (I was once one of those people) – as the show goes on, and the action required gets more outrageous, people who aren’t playing along to the right degree are wheedled out. DB does the same thing – except those people who are rejected early on do not get shown on TV

He says at the start of every show that it’s basically all trickery of various types and that he has no “powers”

He doesn’t. The disclaimer he used to use disappeared years ago. He has publically stated that he’s moving away from ‘tricks’ and more towards science experiments – which is where I think he enters dodgy territory.

he claims to be using his mind to manipulate people, when really he is doing something else

What is he doing?

I saw him doing a hypnotism show to a few dozen people in ’96 in my halls of residence – I went believing hypnotism was complete rubbish and left utterly astounded at what I’d seen. He hypnotised a sceptical friend of mine to be unable to see Derren and had him cowering in terror that a chair was levitating and flying at him (that Derren was just picking up and swinging around).

He hypnotised a sceptical friend of mine

But surely…..

The people who take part in his shows are all stooges

I don’t know what to think now 🙂

I saw him doing a hypnotism show to a few dozen people in ’96 in my halls of residence – I went believing hypnotism was complete rubbish and left utterly astounded at what I’d seen. He hypnotised a sceptical friend of mine to be unable to see Derren and had him cowering in terror that a chair was levitating and flying at him (that Derren was just picking up and swinging around).

no, your Friend is just suggestible. I’m guessing Derren didn’t have your friend cowering in fear straight off the bat did he?
Stage hypnotism works by ramping up the crazy antics in small degrees. When I took part we were all told we were “driving a car” or “hot”. We all went through the motions. At no point did the hypnotist say “only act like this if you are truly under my spell and believe this to be real”

I got tapped on the head to leave the stage early on – guess I wasn’t getting into the spirit enough. But those that stay get asked to do more and more silly things. By then end someone thought he was a monkey etc. But by then they are invested in it – they can’t suddenly step out of the act and say “actually I’m not hypnotised and I’m not doing that” – they are never given the option, and they would look like an idiot in front of the audience if they did.

If you tried to run a hypnotism show with people who had never seen one – and had no idea what hypnotism is supposed to be – it wouldn’t work

I was hypnotised by a stage hypnotist once. As above I was in perfect control of what I was doing but couldn’t see any reason not to do it – I’m normally quite a self concious person, but basically the hypnotist encouraging you to do things (and getting the audience to encourage you too – as was evident in the Derren Brown thing last night) gives you the confidence to do them without any thought as to what the negative consequences are. Also they put you in a position of safety – you know that the audience aren’t laughing at you, they’re laughing at the ‘hypnotised’ you.

but this is thew issue with him – he claims to be using his mind to manipulate people, when really he is doing something else.

That’s exactly not what he does.