Derren Brown - predicting lottery numbers

[sphenisc]

...Think about the tricks in Friday's show - the mouse trick and the knife trick. Whilst they were, essentially, fairly basic force-selection tricks...

The mouse trick, I'd assumed, was simple sleight-of-hand.

IANAM

[volatile]

The mouse trick, I'd assumed, was simple sleight-of-hand.

IANAM

Possibly. It doesn't matter. But what did it have to do with the lottery prediction? Nowt. The overt, explicit lesson was "Don't believe what I'm telling you"; he said as much himself.

It all makes sense - and I'm sure he'll pay it off on October 2nd.

[Asm]

(robots can move quickly :)).

Very quickly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KxjVlaLBmk

[JFrankA]

Oooooohh..

Here's how he really did it: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6188570/Did-Derren-Brown-use-sealions-to-pick-lottery-numbers.html

[Sherman Bay]

From a stage craft setup, I'd doubt you would ever do that for a show. Rather you'd line them up, so it'd be an easy walk from the TV to the balls. I get the feeling that that transition was intentional. I wonder if it makes it easier to hide a split screen in the way they blocked the set and that is why they arranged the props as they did.Exactly! You catch on fast!

For that matter, why put the balls anywhere but right in front of you so you can turn them around without moving? But that would have made the trick impossible to do in this manner.

It's a rule of magic that if something is hidden from view by a curtain, box or other coverup, it's most likely because the entire trick would be revealed if it wasn't. Seeing the back of the balls is the clue here. Their fronts are covered up because if they weren't, you'd see that they were blank.

[Ragnarok]

So, if the "wisdom of the crowds" thing is nonsense, why do the crowd in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire get the vast majority of their "Ask The Audience" questions correct? If research proved that to be the case?

[StanBearclaw]

Because the questions they ask on WWTBAM are factual in nature, not guessing RANDOM numbers!

[Kuko 4000]

So, if the "wisdom of the crowds" thing is nonsense, why do the crowd in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire get the vast majority of their "Ask The Audience" questions correct? If research proved that to be the case?


Wisdom of the Crowds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_the_crowds) is not nonsense, it just doesn't work the way it was implied here, standard Derren, "if that makes sense" ;)

[Southwind17]

Seeing the back of the balls is the clue here. Their fronts are covered up because if they weren't, you'd see that they were blank.
Er ... or you'd see the numbers (if you've deduced the trick wrong), contrary to DB's reasoning for not being allowed to show them before the BBC did. Self-defeating argument mate! ;)

[Ragnarok]

Oooooohh..

Here's how he really did it: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6188570/Did-Derren-Brown-use-sealions-to-pick-lottery-numbers.html

How are joke pieces like that getting on a newspaper's web site? I know it's only The Torygraph, but I though they still had some standards?

[Darat]

How are joke pieces like that getting on a newspaper's web site? I know it's only The Torygraph, but I though they still had some standards?

Sounds like the PR person from Knowsley Safari Park had a drink with a mate!

[edd]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2637434/Derren-Brown-predicted-Lotto-result-before-Xmas.html

[Ragnarok]

Ignore me, I'm just checking if I can still post.

[JFrankA]

Ignore me, I'm just checking if I can still post.

No you can't. I can't see your post.










:D

[StanBearclaw]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2637434/Derren-Brown-predicted-Lotto-result-before-Xmas.html

As an American, I need some clarification...

Turning information from an anonymous blog post into a real news story...this is par for the course for The Sun?

[edd]

The Sun is not a quality paper.

[Sherman Bay]

Er ... or you'd see the numbers (if you've deduced the trick wrong), contrary to DB's reasoning for not being allowed to show them before the BBC did. Only if you postulate that the entire lottery was held up just for Derren and nobody noticed, complained or blew the whistle.

[Southwind17]

The Sun is not a quality paper.

That's the understatement of the Year!

Only if you postulate that the entire lottery was held up just for Derren and nobody noticed, complained or blew the whistle.
Er ... or Derren really did predict the numbers! Do you see my point here?

[Darat]

As an American, I need some clarification...

Turning information from an anonymous blog post into a real news story...this is par for the course for The Sun?

No it isn't, they don't usually adopt such a rigorous approach to news gathering.