[notintokyo]

Am I the only one really skeptical about that Derren Brown video? I think the real deal with that video is that it is just completely made up entertainment for the viewers, not an actual documentary of something that happened. That, or there is something not shown in it.

It seems rather unlikely to me that a few cues placed would make someone's behavior that predictable. What about the lifetime of other cues they have to draw from, or even just simple random whims that can influence the outcome?

[baddox]

I think it's pretty clear that either the video is staged, or they had to try tons of times to get some marketers to produce those results. Derren Brown generally admits that he uses sleight of hand to fake astonishing results, so even that is a possibility with this video.

[pbhjpbhj]

I can't cite an example but I'm pretty sure he claims that he never "fakes" anything. But saying that he does use regular magic mixed with mentalism to great effect.