#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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