Derren Brown

Jun 13, 2013
237
1
Germany
Hello,

lately I've seen many tricks by Derren Brown. I know he's a psychology student but where does he get all these ideas or concepts. Does he invent them all by himself or what sources/books did he read?
Cheers
Philipp
 
Jan 11, 2013
168
2
Dubai
On his website there is a reading list. He works closely with a guy called Andy Nyman as well. He also just uses well know magic principles and applies them in creative ways.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
He's not a psychology student, by the way. He majored in Law and German.

Derren Brown has an excellent creative team backing him up. Andy Nyman is one of them, but he works with a lot of really creative, interesting people.

As far as sources - Well, slicksleights is right - he does have a reading list on his site. But he also has a massive library. He draws inspiration from all forms of entertainment from theater to classic literature in multiple languages to science to culture.

The real question to ask yourself is what sources, outside of magic specifically, seem really interesting to you?
 

somecallmetim96

Elite Member
Dec 7, 2013
62
1
Dallas, TX
www.youtube.com
Hello,

lately I've seen many tricks by Derren Brown. I know he's a psychology student but where does he get all these ideas or concepts. Does he invent them all by himself or what sources/books did he read?
Cheers
Philipp

I know a guy (a good friend of mine actually) who helped create, and write his TV show for half of a season. He actually came to Dallas, TX (Where I live right now) a while back and my friend advised him against trying a certain effect in one area of Dallas. He actually told Derren it wouldn't work. But he went ahead to try and failed lol. He has a creative team behind him.
 
Jan 11, 2013
168
2
Dubai
I know a guy (a good friend of mine actually) who helped create, and write his TV show for half of a season. He actually came to Dallas, TX (Where I live right now) a while back and my friend advised him against trying a certain effect in one area of Dallas. He actually told Derren it wouldn't work. But he went ahead to try and failed lol. He has a creative team behind him.


Thats cool, what's your mates name?
 
Jul 13, 2009
1,372
0
33
Hello Phillip.

Derren Brown uses the psychology aspects to mask trickery of "basic" mentalism. I use the word basic because his methods aren't really basic but you can achieve the same effects by applying psychology to anything learned from 13 Steps To Mentalism. But really I think presenting mentalism as mentalism is better even if it is more plausible that it could be principles of NLP and Psychology. Its more of a personal preference. I'd rather people who don't suspend beliefs that what a mentalist is doing is actually mentalism then playing on ignorance and instilling a sense and arguably misunderstanding of what real psychology and NLP principals is about.
 
Sep 2, 2007
1,186
16
42
London
Hello Phillip.

Derren Brown uses the psychology aspects to mask trickery of "basic" mentalism. I use the word basic because his methods aren't really basic but you can achieve the same effects by applying psychology to anything learned from 13 Steps To Mentalism. But really I think presenting mentalism as mentalism is better even if it is more plausible that it could be principles of NLP and Psychology. Its more of a personal preference. I'd rather people who don't suspend beliefs that what a mentalist is doing is actually mentalism then playing on ignorance and instilling a sense and arguably misunderstanding of what real psychology and NLP principals is about.

I'm fascinated by this post. If you find the time to answer some questions for me, feel free to PM me the answers so we don't derail the thread, or you can post them here (or in a new thread) if you prefer to open them up for discussion

What do you mean by "mentalism as mentalism"?

What do you think participants in a mentalism performance should believe has happened?

Do you believe that psychology (as taught and studied in mainstream universities) and NLP (as a particular approach to the study of subjective experience) are equally rigorous and should be regarded as equally scientific?

Do you believe that psychology as an academic field is as rigorous as one of the natural sciences, physics, for example?
 
Jul 13, 2009
1,372
0
33
I'm going to preface my post by saying I am not well read on psychology or NLP ideas and won't be commenting much on the subject.

When I'm saying Mentlism as mentalism I mean it in the way of Kreskin, Annemann, Osterlind, and to an extreme Uri Geller. I'm not saying mentalism should be used to scam people but as entertainer and performers of mentalism this should be the goal in my opinion. But as performers playing the part of a foreseer or telekinetic super dude, I feel instead of explaining away how things are being accomplished is a disservice. The performer isn't a mentalist at this point, they are more of a professor showing off their latest findings and curiosity. Which is fine! But I wouldn't label myself as a mental performer if this is the persona I've adopted.

I've kind of hinted at an answer toward the second question however just to expand a bit, the audience should believe that there is the possibility that someone was born with a gift. Why they are performing instead of using their powers for riches could be explained that it doesn't always work. This I would assume can help the audience relate more to the performer and remind them that they really aren't all knowing all the time. Everyone has made mistakes, everyone has had a failure in their life, and when someone who has extreme powers shows vulnerability they become more human.

In regards to psychology, etc. I'm certain the course is rigorous but as applied to magic its negligible. Psychology as a science I think is, how do I phrase this? I think psychology and its cousin sociology are great supplemental courses in fields like neuroscience, I'm sure people who actually take the course consider it equal to other sciences. But I can't help but compare psychology to a D-lite effect performed by a magician and calls himself an artist.

Hope that helped TeeDee,

Be well.
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results