In the midst of my 'flu' I had a pleasant evening last night sat front row watching one of my heros perform at our local guildhall: Derren Brown. For those who don't know, DB is a magician/mentalist/hypnotist with a penchant for controversy. He is also a genius at what he does. Of all his abilities, the one that stands out is his skill with suggestion - some would call it NLP, although DB is not very complimentary of the subject and it doesn't take too much research to realise that his skills have an earlier origin that also happened to inspire NLP.
Check out the following for a perfect example:
You can also check out his website as well as more clips on YouTube. His latest TV show aired on Friday in which he convinced a girl she had died in a car crash and was left watching her own body being raced off in an ambulance... hilarious, err, sort of
Anyway, my point is this - with this kind of ability in existence, what are the chances it is not being exploited by the powermongers in and around the Whitehouse? I'm not saying that GWB is perhaps open to suggestion... but let's face it, he wouldn't stand a chance in hell if DB put his mind to convincing him of a few things...
Anyway, my point is this - with this kind of ability in existence, what are the chances it is not being exploited by the powermongers in and around the Whitehouse?
Dude, this is being exploited by each and every person who had ever tried to get you to buy something.
Have you ever been telemarketed? have you noticed that at the end of telling you what they want you to buy, they skip right to the part where they're taking your billing information? Somehow you missed the part where you said "yes I want to buy that?"
It's because most people won't object if you don't give them a chance to. I guess I'm naturally contrarian by nature so I don't think I'd be handing over my keys and stuff. Feigning hearing loss is a good passive-aggresive dodge, by they way. "Hey, can I have your keys?" "I'm sorry, what?" Gives you a chance to think it through.
Absolutely, there's a whole continuum of suggestion, and I use it myself in many areas of my life... (I am a salesman myself!) but it is at these extremes where it becomes interesting and 'dangerous'. You would like his show where he converts a whole room of atheists to Christianity
As for this poor guy - he was already in a trance state by the time he was asked for his keys - he had no opportunity to rationally and/or consciously respond. I'm trying to find a good video-link to where passers-by pick up a ringing payphone. You see them listen for a minute or so and then fall unconscious to the floor
I can't help but wonder if the person with the really great powers to convince people is the gent in the green shirt who gave up his keys. Has he really convinced all the viewers thats he's just an ordinary bloke and not a shill for Brown? Doesn't the colour of his shirt kind of give this away? And by the way, what is an NLP (and where can I get one)?
DB has been a major act for seven years now - his reputation depends upon him not using shills and stooges, as he emphasises every show, including last night when I saw him live. If there was some fake aspect, it would have been leaked - unles his powers of suggestion are sufficiently good to ensure that it is not leaked - in which case they are good enough not to require stooges Half of his performance is devoted to exposing fakery, primarily of spiritualists, but also of certain other 'religious' types.
NLP is Neuro-Linguistic Programming - you can spot many of NLPs concepts in this clip alone (DBs stance, voice, the bottle, and most critically the 'handshake') but as mentioned, these all derive from an earlier source than appears to be DBs main inspiration.
I can't help but wonder if the person with the really great powers to convince people is the gent in the green shirt who gave up his keys.
I'm not convinced you're wrong, although I think he was on the up-and-up; but I'm less inclined to think that DB can cast Charm Person as a 9th-level sorcerer and more inclined to think that he's really good at picking a mark; plus, who knows how many people gave him directions and then told him to go fuck himself when he asked for their keys - but didn't make it into the video? You can look pretty good at anything when all you're showing are the successes.
I'm not saying he's not preternaturally good at manipulation; but I once saw a guy who could balance basketball-sized stones, jagged ones, point to point in stacks taller than me. You can get really good at stuff if you practice doing it all day long for years.
but I'm less inclined to think that DB can cast Charm Person as a 9th-level sorcerer and more inclined to think that he's really good at picking a mark
THat's exactly it, and he's very up front about it. He did a show called russian roulette where he got someone to put a bullet in a gun and he knew which chamber it was in. 95% of the show was the selection process for the mark, a number of tests and trials to see how suggestable people were, he eliminated his way through a crowd of something like 200 people and got down to this one guy. Then he talked to the guy interview style, all the while suggesting with body language and spoken language which chamber he should put the bullet in.
he really isn't trying to pull a fast one, he makes clear his methods, and he makes clear that his methods do not work on everyone.
he really isn't trying to pull a fast one, he makes clear his methods, and he makes clear that his methods do not work on everyone.
With the RR scenario he couldn't take chances With the guy in Blackpool, he knew long before asking for his keys that it would probably work. But I think it would be a huge mistake to think that this sort of thing can only be done to 5% of the population.
I don't believe he went through several sets of advertising execs to get his desired result (a very early DB stunt designed to pay back the advertising world for its own use of subliminal suggestion - with wonderful results)
And last night, a randomly picked guy in the audience phoned his father, and DB managed to get the father to pick a random 3 digit number. DB had predicted he would pick 734 - before DB revealed his guess, I guessed 736 based on people's propensity for certain numbers. In hindsight, 734 is better.
Anyway, the father totally failed to get 734. DB asked him for a second go, and again he totally failed. DB had bet the guy a tenner that he would succeed. DB looked a bit taken aback, said 'shit happens' and paid up... and then pointed out that the 6 numbers that his father had picked happend to be the last six digits of the serial number of the ten pound note
Now, how much selection was used here to get the suitably suggestable stooge???
I am personally skeptical of this guys abilities as implied in the video. There is no way that I would give him anything if I just ran into him on the street.
Humans only have as much power over us as we give them.
then pointed out that the 6 numbers that his father had picked happend to be the last six digits of the serial number of the ten pound note
You know how long it took me to figure out what you were talking about when you said "ten pound note"? This ethnocentric American isn't used to the word "pound" being used for anything other than weight. I want my 5 minutes back.
We are BOG. Resistance is voltage over current.
Disclaimer:
Occasionally, owing to the deficiency of the English language, I have used he/him/his meaning he or she/him or her/his or her in order to avoid awkwardness of style.
He, him, and his are not intended as exclusively masculine pronouns. They may refer to either sex or to both sexes!
Phat, sometimes you have to think beyond yourself a bit. I often tell myself and other people that I would never buy this or that or that I would never freely give my keys to strangers and all of that. But here is a confession. A few years ago, a salesman called me and wanted to sell me internet cable for $30 a month and the cable modem he wanted to sell me for $90. I was busy with something at the time and before I know it, I had promptly said yes and bought the damn thing.
Or consider this. I often tell myself that I would never do this or that while driving, and yet one time a deer jumped in front of my car while I was driving at 60 or so mph causing me to swerve, fly off the road, and landed on some bushes. Afterward, I kept telling myself that that was the silliest thing I ever did swerving the car like that while going that fast. The better course of action was to hit the deer head on because the deer was movable while something like a tree was not.
What we do during the situation isn't always the same as what we thought we'd do in such a situation.
We are BOG. Resistance is voltage over current.
Disclaimer:
Occasionally, owing to the deficiency of the English language, I have used he/him/his meaning he or she/him or her/his or her in order to avoid awkwardness of style.
He, him, and his are not intended as exclusively masculine pronouns. They may refer to either sex or to both sexes!
The guys website states that he studied law and psychology. Unimpressive, in my mind...I would match wits with him! If he had mentioned Jesus, however, I probably would have given him my watch, my credit cards, and my car!
The guy did not have much choice at this point - he was in a trance and exceptionally open to suggestion! The genius is in the methods used to get him into this trance. From the moment the clip begins, every word, gesture and mannerism from DB is key to putting him into this trance state.
I should emphasise that this clip is one of DBs least dramatic stunts - it is just brief and conveys his approach well. Check out the following for more simple stuff:
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