Posted by Helen on: 03.14.2008 /
After posting the Derren Brown video two weeks ago I found out there are lots of other youtube videos of him. He’s a skilled hypnotist: here’s one in which he uses hypnotism to convert people (make them believe in God) with a touch.
Comment by: Jason Horton
1 03/16/08 6:52 AM | Comment Link |Amazing, I’d love to know how he did it. In other tricks he’s taken some characteristic of human psychology and manipulated it to show a seemingly magical result. Very clever.
Comment by: karen
2 03/16/08 10:56 AM | Comment Link |David S., who used to post on the old DB and studies magic and hypnosis, gives some of his thoughts on this video here.
Also, there’s some detailed explanation on this from the James Randi foundation. Click “about this video” at this link.
Comment by: Jason Horton
3 03/16/08 12:44 PM | Comment Link |Thanks Karen, the explanations seem reasonable. He is very good at manipulating people to perform in predictable ways. One thing that I noticed in the clip above was that everyone attributed his “magical” abilities to God. There are plenty of other explanations both natural and supernatural (if that’s your thing) but they all went to God straight away.
I wonder if children would attribute his powers to magic or super powers rather than divine intervention? I mean, adults have had more time to experience the cultural bias towards God whereas children tend to believe everything equally.
Comment by: Helen
4 03/16/08 1:14 PM | Comment Link |Thanks Karen. I enjoyed David S’s video. I forgot he had a youtube account.
Jason, I was assuming the audience attributed Derren’s powers to God because that was what he was suggesting to them - it was part of the advertising beforehand and then part of the hypnosis; also because they weren’t aware he was a skilled hypnotist. If they had known that I would think they would have been more skeptical from the outset. At least some of them.
I’m guessing children would attribute his powers according to whatever they’d heard of that could account for them. Some children hear about God from an early age so they might attribute his powers to God.
Comment by: Jason Horton
5 03/16/08 2:20 PM | Comment Link |Good point Helen, I’d forgotten that.