Derren Brown correctly predicted the UK national lottery numbers on Wednesday. He later explained that he did this either by using “the wisdom of crowds” or by fixing the draw. Do you think he really used one of these methods or was this more misdirection?
Jon Rhodes
As I currently live in Morocco, I didn’t see Derren Brown predicting the lottery numbers, so it’s difficult for me to comment too much. What I do know is that Derren Brown is a showman and an illusionist, and an absolute master of misdirection, so he could have used one or more of a number of techniques to achieve this effect.
From ‘wisdom of crowds’, I think he is referring to the very real phenomenon of when a large amount of people attempt to predict something, and the results are averaged out. For example if you asked 1000 fairly informed people how many goals they thought a certain team would score in a season, then averaged the answers, they would often give an accurate prediction.
However this only works with predictions that can benefit from human judgment, and not pure luck. A well informed person can make a good educated guess at predicting a score in a sporting event, but not from a random event like a lottery draw. This would just be complete random guess work, and not draw on any crowd ‘wisdom’. So I don’t think this can be how he did it.
Fixing the draw would be absolutely criminal, and this cannot be how he did it. All those people who bought a ticket could claim they had been ripped off if they bought their ticket in a fixed draw. This would ruin the integrity of the lottery, and seriously damage its image, probably bringing it into disrepute. So this is not really an option.
Derren could have used a number of techniques to achieve this effect. He could have used camera trickery, or had some sleight of hand method to copy the numbers when they had been drawn. Not only is Derren a master magician, he is also a master of self publicity, and has succeeded in getting most of the internet talking about him ready for his latest series. Perhaps most of fun is in trying to guess how he did it, which is perhaps why he didn’t reveal his methods in his follow up show.
What are your opinions on past life regression and the use of hypnosis in this field?
I have been both a subject and a therapist in past life regressions. Whilst the experience seems quite real when a subject, this does not necessarily mean that we really do have past lives. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility, but I do know how creative the human mind can be when in a trance.
Past life regressions can be fun, and usually therapeutic in some way. When we distance ourselves from our past life self, we can bypass our critical conscious mind and do some good self learning. We can observe how our past selves behave, and can see from a different perspective clues to our behaviour. We can gain valuable insight into ourselves from this
So I would say that past life regressions can be interesting and fun, and can also provide therapeutic benefits, whether you believe in them or not.
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Do you offer any free samples of your work that I can try before I buy?
There are short free samples of every single session we have on this site. However if you want a longer session, then you can visit our HypnoBusters YouTube channel for a better taste of our work. These are only short sessions, about half the length of our normal sessions, but they do give you a fair taste of what to expect.
How can I test if I can be hypnotized or not?
Almost everyone can be hypnotized, and even if you have some initial difficulties, with a little bit of perseverance, you should soon get there. If you ever daydream or get lost in a film or book, then you are definitely hypnotizable. Here is an article where you can test your hypnotizability.
In my experience the type of people that struggle to go into a trance are those who have difficulty relaxing. However a good therapist should be able to adapt and help these people quickly and effectively. One good way to combat difficulties going into trance is to try hypnosis sessions later on in the evening when you are winding down and feeling a little tired.
On your bio it mentions you’re a musician. What instruments do you play and who are some of your musical influences?
In my early days as a live musician I played electric and acoustic guitar. I soon branched out and did some singing, and learned how to play the keyboard in order to help fill the sound out in some of the songs. I later joined a different band and played the bass guitar. I had a spell learning to play the harmonica, but it began to hurt my lips, so I gave up. I can also play the recorder badly!
For the electric guitar my biggest influences are Jimi Hendrix and Peter Green (from Fleetwood Mac). I love the bass guitar playing of Norman Watt-Roy from the Blockheads, and have had the pleasure of watching him play in my home town in Darwen England. I also like Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd, and everybody in Queen.
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