#776: Derren Brown — A Master Mentalist on Magic, Mind Reading, Ambition, Stoicism, Religion, and More

Derren Brown is a psychological illusionist who
can predict, suggest, and even control human behavior.


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Timestamps:


[00:00] Start


[06:45] Sacrifice, The Push, and Apocalypse.


[12:21] Derren's transition from student to magician.


[14:43] How Martin Taylor inspired Derren to pursue hypnosis.


[16:42] Strange audience reactions to hypnosis.


[20:00] Hypnosis, mentalism, and cold reading.


[24:34] How a TV medium uses hot reading techniques.


[26:22] How can someone learn to be a healthy skeptic?


[34:24] How learning magic influenced Derren's skepticism and
faith.


[40:57] Why did Derren wait until his 30s to come out?


[43:18] Finding meaning.


[47:06] High status struggles.


[48:20] Making sense of the human experience.


[56:59] Ambition and productivity.


[01:02:25] The counterintuitive assembly of Derren's creative
projects.


[01:09:17] Ensuring ethics and safety in TV social experiments.


[01:15:50] Suggestion as self-defense.


[01:20:27] Why Derren takes care not to abuse his superpowers in
real life.


[01:24:01] Recommended reading.


[01:28:02] TED Talks in treacherous terrain.


[01:29:53] A new belief or habit that has improved Derren's life.


[01:33:27] Derren's billboard and parting thoughts.


*


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