Derren Brown is a remarkable man. His book, Tricks of the Mind, which I bought recently, arrived today. Although I have a substantial amount of work to be doing for my exams over the next week, I decided to start to read his book. I shall reserve judgement somewhat, but so far it is very interesting. Obviously, he’s not going to tell us everything – he’d be out of a job, after all – but what he does say is far from disappointing.
I have watched pretty much all of Derren’s shows – Trick of the Mind, Trick or Treat, The Messiah, and the specials – and he’s captivating. He’s honest – he’s either using magic, suggestion, psychology and other trickery – and he’s not claiming to have any sort of supernatural ability. What he does, however, is to show to the gullibility, the predictability, and the suggestibility of the human mind. And our minds are crazy things.
It really is fascinating to watch him work.
