Derren Brown: Archive
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From: cryptonominal
Date: Mon Jan 7, 2002 10:22 pm
Subject: Re: Dud betting ticket
Gordo ala Moore,
Concerning obedience,
Milgram doesn't fit four square onto the betting slip
trick but my study of psychology so far leads me to
believe (entirely in accordance with intuition) that much
human behaviour is driven by the desire for social
acceptance if not love/attachment (usually a prerequisite
for passing on one's genes if nothing
else).
My interpretation of the primary function(s) of the
bang on the window frame is that as a threat it is a
method of distracting the cashier from independent
thought (a common element in DB's demonstrations surely)
and reminding the cashier that she risks
rejection.
Concerning DB's excusing the cashier I think you've
suggested one of its functions (there may, of course, be
more).
Unfortunately I don't know any more about the trick than anyone
else who saw it; I saw it once, but was able to watch
carefully.
Perhaps its worth mentioning that DB's effects won't work
every time eg when he predicted correctly the colour of
the single ball/peg that Bill Hartston selected at
the beginning of the Mastermind game sequence, DB
(assuming his explanation is truthful) said that 85% of
individuals selected yellow. 15% of the time DB will be
wrong, unless he's using a participant selection
technique (which itself would be subject to error). He
selected his participant from a group for the 'which hand
is the coin in' trick. How many groups did he go to?
