Derren Brown Memorises Atlases For Fun.
Oh, Derren Brown. How is it that a Twitter update that says nothing but 'Smug. X' can be so very endearing?
After his lottery prediction yesterday (the aforementioned Twitter update should give you some idea of how it went, and I'm looking forward to the explanation on Friday, whether he's actually going to explain it or just going to lie outrageously to us for an hour. Also, he was being adorably panicky and energetic and stumbling over his words, awww), I watched Derren Brown's The Gathering with my family.
At one point, Derren pulled a man out of the audience and gave him a pad of paper.
Derren Brown: I want you to draw something for me. But I want you to try to catch me out a little bit; don't draw anything too obvious. Don't draw a house, don't draw a stickman...
Riona's Brother: I'd draw a penis.
Derren Brown: And please don't draw a penis.
I think reading my brother's mind across time and through a television screen is fairly impressive.
Also, I cannot believe he memorised the entire London A-Z. Derren Brown, you gigantic freak. (I read somewhere (perhaps in Tricks of the Mind?) that he had been planning to memorise the phone books of every location he visited with one of his live shows, so he could tell audience members their telephone numbers from their names. I cannot remember why he eventually decided not to do this, but I am fairly certain that it was not the 'because that would be insane' reason that would sway any person with half a degree of common sense.)
Regarding the lottery prediction: there is such a strange cognitive dissonance with Derren Brown's more remarkable feats. On the one hand, one's rational brain is saying well, that's obviously impossible, there must be some simple trick behind it (and I don't believe for a moment all the things he was saying about 'legal reasons'). On the other hand, the rest of one's brain is saying oh, come on, spoilsport, can't we just believe he has magical powers?
And, of course, his act (outside the psychological tricks and memory feats, many of which I am prepared to genuinely believe in, and I think backing up his seemingly impossible tricks with the impressive-but-possible is a good part of why he has lasted for so long as an entertainer) relies on that cognitive dissonance. People who say 'well, that's rubbish, it must be a trick' are missing the point. If your standards for a stage magician are 'must have actual magical powers', I fear you'll be searching for some time. Derren Brown himself is the first to admit and the most vehement to insist that he is not psychic. But he's often good enough to make our minds fight against what we know of the world, just for a moment, in an effort to believe that something truly amazing has happened. That's the point.
And he does it all whilst being amusing and charming and inappropriately attractive, which helps.
...actually, upon rewatching the lottery prediction, I'd thought there might be a camera cut just before the prediction was announced, but no: the prediction really is in view the entire time. Hmmm. In that case, I actually have no idea how it was done.
(If you can work it out, please don't tell me. Not knowing (at least until Friday) is so much more fun.)
HERE IS A TERRIBLE PAIRING IDEA FOR YOU: Derren Brown/Psycho Mantis.
Yes.
LOOK, 'THEY'RE BOTH IMMENSELY CREEPY AND HAVE WEIRD MIND POWERS' IS TOTALLY A VALID BASIS FOR A PAIRING. And saying 'I knew you'd choose that envelope, and I'm telling you I knew you'd choose that envelope, and I'm telling you that I know you're not going to change your mind, and even knowing that I just said that you're still not going to change your mind, and you're going to be wrong' and being right about it is exactly the sort of cruel and brilliant thing I can see Psycho Mantis doing, were he to use his powers more for more-or-less-harmlessly messing with people's minds and less for causing death and destruction. YES, THIS MEANS THAT THEY ARE ROMANTICALLY COMPATIBLE. Although Psycho Mantis hates sexuality, which could cause a bit of a problem.
After his lottery prediction yesterday (the aforementioned Twitter update should give you some idea of how it went, and I'm looking forward to the explanation on Friday, whether he's actually going to explain it or just going to lie outrageously to us for an hour. Also, he was being adorably panicky and energetic and stumbling over his words, awww), I watched Derren Brown's The Gathering with my family.
At one point, Derren pulled a man out of the audience and gave him a pad of paper.
Derren Brown: I want you to draw something for me. But I want you to try to catch me out a little bit; don't draw anything too obvious. Don't draw a house, don't draw a stickman...
Riona's Brother: I'd draw a penis.
Derren Brown: And please don't draw a penis.
I think reading my brother's mind across time and through a television screen is fairly impressive.
Also, I cannot believe he memorised the entire London A-Z. Derren Brown, you gigantic freak. (I read somewhere (perhaps in Tricks of the Mind?) that he had been planning to memorise the phone books of every location he visited with one of his live shows, so he could tell audience members their telephone numbers from their names. I cannot remember why he eventually decided not to do this, but I am fairly certain that it was not the 'because that would be insane' reason that would sway any person with half a degree of common sense.)
Regarding the lottery prediction: there is such a strange cognitive dissonance with Derren Brown's more remarkable feats. On the one hand, one's rational brain is saying well, that's obviously impossible, there must be some simple trick behind it (and I don't believe for a moment all the things he was saying about 'legal reasons'). On the other hand, the rest of one's brain is saying oh, come on, spoilsport, can't we just believe he has magical powers?
And, of course, his act (outside the psychological tricks and memory feats, many of which I am prepared to genuinely believe in, and I think backing up his seemingly impossible tricks with the impressive-but-possible is a good part of why he has lasted for so long as an entertainer) relies on that cognitive dissonance. People who say 'well, that's rubbish, it must be a trick' are missing the point. If your standards for a stage magician are 'must have actual magical powers', I fear you'll be searching for some time. Derren Brown himself is the first to admit and the most vehement to insist that he is not psychic. But he's often good enough to make our minds fight against what we know of the world, just for a moment, in an effort to believe that something truly amazing has happened. That's the point.
And he does it all whilst being amusing and charming and inappropriately attractive, which helps.
...actually, upon rewatching the lottery prediction, I'd thought there might be a camera cut just before the prediction was announced, but no: the prediction really is in view the entire time. Hmmm. In that case, I actually have no idea how it was done.
(If you can work it out, please don't tell me. Not knowing (at least until Friday) is so much more fun.)
HERE IS A TERRIBLE PAIRING IDEA FOR YOU: Derren Brown/Psycho Mantis.
Yes.
LOOK, 'THEY'RE BOTH IMMENSELY CREEPY AND HAVE WEIRD MIND POWERS' IS TOTALLY A VALID BASIS FOR A PAIRING. And saying 'I knew you'd choose that envelope, and I'm telling you I knew you'd choose that envelope, and I'm telling you that I know you're not going to change your mind, and even knowing that I just said that you're still not going to change your mind, and you're going to be wrong' and being right about it is exactly the sort of cruel and brilliant thing I can see Psycho Mantis doing, were he to use his powers more for more-or-less-harmlessly messing with people's minds and less for causing death and destruction. YES, THIS MEANS THAT THEY ARE ROMANTICALLY COMPATIBLE. Although Psycho Mantis hates sexuality, which could cause a bit of a problem.