False Messiah Syndrome

[aion]

This is an awesome display of the false-messiah syndome, in my opinion. In this video, a British magician sets on a quest in the USA. He seeks to fool the believing-types into believing that he has extraordinary gifts. If, at any time during the deception, the subjects ask him 'Is this a trick', he promises to reveal the deception.

http://www.aionblog.com/?postid=41

[jeff30997]

1. If he stays in the Bible belt...

He will never have to reveal the deception.

[aion]

3. Alas, he doesn't reveal his techniques

What makes the experiment most interesting, in my opinion, is that he doesn't reveal -- not even to us -- the secrets behind his 'abilities'.

Any theories?

[evermind]

7. He uses a mixture of stage magic and suggestion

and other psychology.

Have a look at

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/M/mindcontrol/subtle/index.html

There's lots of short clips there from an earler series

In particular the clip at

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/M/mindcontrol/streaming/suggestion.ram

is amazing. He makes a whole shopping mall full of people raise their arms simultaneously, for no apparent reason, after he's talked to them subliminally for half an hour over the tannoy system. Listen carefully to the soundtrack and you'll hear him slipping in the suggestion.

[aion]

8. Stage Magic and Suggestion

...not unlike the way we were driven to war in Iraq, I might add...

[evermind]

9. What an excellent point you make!

Seriously. That shopping mall video is scary! Makes you wonder how awake we really are..

[chalky]

2. Dammit! This got posted so late, and I have to get up tomorrow.

But I watched the first fifteen minutes and was hooked.
I'll bookmark this to watch the rest tomorrow, but thanks for this link. It's fascinating.

[aion]

4. Don't worry -- it will stay there for awhile

It will be up for awhile. Don't worry. And try to figure out how he does some of these things too... hehehe

[chalky]

5. Yeah! I've only gotten through the Psychic thing

and I wondered how in the HELL he did that.
I can't believe even the PSYCHICS didn't ask him that! I mean, COME ON....100% accuracy?!?!

[aion]

6. Supra-naturalistic explanations

Are you talking about the remote drawing, followed by his extremely accurate guesses as to what she drew? On that one, my only thought is that she may have gone to a room which was somehow being secretly observed by someone who then passed the information on to him.

It's aggrevating when you can't figure it out. But I think the point of the demonstration is that some people, when they cannot figure something out, are prone to supra-naturalistic explanations.