Derren Brown's YouTube clips are absolutely mental

From Brown's "Paying with Paper."

In the hands of magician and hypnotist Derren Brown, the mind can seem like a blank slate. This is the British “mentalist” who once visited a series of stores in New York City and tried to pay for his purchases with scraps of blank paper.

The trick didn’t always work — although he was able to buy a $4,500 diamond ring from a serious looking jeweler, the fellow minding the hot dog cart angrily refused the phony cash.

There’s a whole library of Brown’s mind needles buried in the YouTube haystack.  (Though many of the clips have been on YouTube for nearly two years, few appear to be authorized copies).

In another great video, Brown teaches a man at the greyhound track how to get a payout from a losing ticket: Simply insist to the person behind the window that your worthless stub is a winner:  "This is the dog you're looking for."

One after another, confused tellers find themselves pushing piles of cash through the window like automatons.

And in this astonishing video, some advertising consultants are taught a lesson about how subliminal messages work.  It worked on me: I haven't been able to get this one out of my head since I first saw it. 

It’s hard to decide if Brown himself is an illusion — an actor who hires other actors to participate in his unbelievable scenarios. But the more Brown you watch, the more you start to believe what you already know: There’s nothing magic at all about the human mind’s susceptibility to distraction and manipulation.

Comments

[chantelle]

oh yeah derren is quite amazing especially live,

i have been lucky to see him live several times the great thing about seeing him live is that you can see he is genuine & doesn't use actors or 'stooges' as he throws things like stuffed toys or fribees into the audience to pick 'volunteers' so sometimes it doesn't work out quite so well as he can't always read everyone or 'control' everyone so to speak but it makes it all the more entertaining & fascinating

he really is the greatest illusionist on the planet & if you're ever in the uk you should see him live , he really does put on absolutely fantastic shows & even if you see the same show twice (as i have done in the past) it is still mindblowing stuff.

I have so far over the years seen him live 14 times & I can't wait until he tours again next year.

may I also say he's a magnificent guy & really sweet & funny & an absolute gentleman too

I have had the utmost pleasure of meeting him after every show & he really is a lovely guy & always has time for his fans & if you get picked to take part in a trick as i have once (he actually hand picked me as he does for just one single trick, as i've said for the others he throws things to pick people) you shouldn't be nervous at all, it really is a remarkable experience & a utter joy to have the honour to take part in his marvellous show!