Derren brown

[Dak]

So, psycologically speaking... is the stuff that Derren Brown claims to do actually feasible? Or is it most likely faked?

[Glider]

What does he claim to do?

[Dak]

Psycological entertainment stuff. most of it I suppose i can see how it could be genuine psycology, like where he puts a check into an envelope, and leaves another envelope empty, and uses subliminal suggestions/hints to make people usually chose the envelope without the check inn it.

 

The more outlandish stuff that he does tho, i'm wondering wether it's genuine psycology or wether it's all staged. Stuff like the tricks mentioned in the wikipedia article i linked to, especially the 'waking the dead' one, where he hypnotises someone playing a computer game and moves them to a mock-up zomby-infested house, before hypnotising them and putting them back infront of the computer game, and supposedly afterwards they think it was just a game that they really got into (video here)

 

It seems really unbeliveable, but then i dont really have that much knowledge in psycology....

[Glider]

If he claims to do Psychological entertainment stuff, then he succeeds and thus it is feasible.

 

As far as I can see, he never claims special powers or anything like that. In fact he is a magic skeptic and spends a lot of time showing how 'mediums' and the like do what they do through 'cold reading' etc..

 

As far as Psychology goes, most 'magic', illusions, mediums and stuff is based on psychology; misdirection, manipulation, suggestion and so-on.

 

As for the video, that seems feasible. It's straightforward hypnosis. There are a few things about it that I noticed, but I don't see anything unexplainable. The real issue I think is ethics. Milgram wouldn't get away with his studies today, but in the name of entertainment, stage hypnotists get away with worse. Hey ho, that's how it is I guess.

[Dak]

As for the video, that seems feasible. It's straightforward hypnosis.

 

Cheers: that's what i was curiouse about. it seems too odd to be possible through flashing lites, but like i said i dont really know that much about psycology (hence the question).

 

 

The real issue I think is ethics. Milgram wouldn't get away with his studies today, but in the name of entertainment, stage hypnotists get away with worse. Hey ho, that's how it is I guess.

 

heh... sometimes i wonder wether things like derren brown's show, big brother etc are set up by psycologists wanting to side-step the legal/ethical gubbins

[tejaswini]

of corse he is faking......atleast that's what i think