Derren Brown - The Heist

Watched it last night. Completely frightening to think what the human mind can be made to do.
I saw him live last October and have tickets for the same show in May this year. Highly recommended "live", as the audience members are chosen completely at random and how he gets them to were he wants them is absolutely amazing.
 
That is really quite scary. It makes you wonder how far you could push it, with the requisite resources. Could you influence someone into going as far as killing somebody, maybe somebody important like a President?
 
DO, the Liverpool Empire theatre holds 2,100. A stuffed toy the size of a football is hurled out into the audience. It is is then thrown again by the person who catches it in any direction they choose. This is then thrown again at random by the catcher, and then a third time. the fourth person who catches the toy comes to the stage. This is done for every stunt throughout the show, the last person up on stage then starting the round of three throws. You can either explain to me how in an audience of 2,100 people he can plant enough extra's to ensure selection, or failing that, you can nip to the bottom of your garden and ask the fairies to explain it for me.
 
I know a card trick in which you repeat a process three times and end up with a designated card.

This is showbiz-bigbiz.
 
Originally posted by Desert Orchid@Jan 7 2006, 12:09 AM
I know a card trick in which you repeat a process three times and end up with a designated card.

This is showbiz-bigbiz.
Click to expand...
Desert, years ago I saw a stage hypnotist perform once a fortnight - in fact on many occasions I introduced him. While he was no Derren Brown, nor anywhere near, what he did was quite straight. He told us that he needed to have a few up on the stage to muck around with irst so that he could identify those who were susceptible. I can assue yopu that every one of the people he hypnotised into doing silly things was a genuine holidaymaker.
 
And Brian has been hooked on betting ever since... Brian, look at my face, my face, don't look around my face, look at my face... you will close all of your accounts tomorrow... no, look at my face, my face... you will relinquish all ventures into owning horses and will take up Airfix model building... Airfix model building... Airfixxxxx... and now, when you look at the next posting, you'll be awake... :blink:
 
Ah, I did wonder about the programme - I saw the traileres but didn't realise that the people involved were hypnotised. I did wonder how the hell they could get away with arranging a bank robbery (and finding people willing to join the gang) without the authorities wanting to get involved!
 
Derren Brown doesn't use hypnotisn as such, just very strong powers of suggestion and what the intelligence services might call brain-washing techniques
 
As for the ball/soft toy throwing 'trick', in an audience of 2100, presumably in a fairly compacted area, how many plants would it take for one to be found by the fourth throw. Was it coincidence that it was a plant found on the fourth throw? Would they have kept throwing - under the pretext of increasing the odds against a plant receiving it - until a plant got it? In other words, the more they throw it the mroe likely it is to end up with a plant?
 
Nope. He states at the beginning of the show that it will always be 3 throws, and the direction and how hard is always left to the person with the toy so as to ensure completely random.
 
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