One of the more interesting tricks mentalist Derren Brown supposedly uses is known as the "embedded command". One of Derren Brown's more famous sequences involves him convincing actor Simon Pegg that he really, really wanted a BMX bike for his birthday.
You may not be able to view the above video due to Youtube geographical restrictions in which case a cursory explanation of what occured may happen. Brown asks Pegg to write down what he'd really like for his birthday. Brown gives him a BMX bike. Pegg is delighted. Brown asks Pegg to read out what he'd written down and it is not a BMX bike.
Brown subsequently explains that he has loaded his preliminary conversation with Pegg with "embedded commands", sentences within sentences that encourage Pegg to think about BMX bikes and how great they are.
If you can't watch the video and just read my text above you probably think the trick is rubbish. Whereas if you can see the video you are probably marvelling at Brown's prowess as a mentalist. This is not accidental.
The truth is that this trick has almost nothing to do with embedded commands. The trick depends on the fact that the actor (it is not accidental Brown very often uses celebrities) knows he is expected to play along with Brown who is subtly indicating what Pegg should do. Pegg is under and enormous amount of pressure to play along: if he doesn't then he is good to have a really awkward and embarassing few moments with Brown where Brown acknowledes it isn't working and the footage is junked. Playing along is what Pegg does, he's an actor.
This is, in fact, how a great many of Brown's tricks are accomplished, and is often a component of tricks where other techniques are used.
Does this mean embedded commands are nonsense? A concept Brown simply made up? Interestingly, no. Used in the right way they can be very effective. But, they have limited utility for a performer because they are percentage moves that don't always work. We'll examine the concept in more detail in subsequent posts.
You mention embedded command can be very effective... I was wondering if you have personal experience of their effectiveness (eventhough you might not use them as a mentalist), whether that effectiveness is supported by (psychological research), or whether your statement was somewhat speculative.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing a bit of research on them, but cannot find anything to support their use other than NLP propaganda.
You are dead right, there is little or possibly no academic support for embedded commands as a concept. My belief, however, is not entirely speculative. I've experienced too many practical demonstrations of embedded commands which exerted a direct effect on me. I'm not talking about magic tricks here, or NLP. But as for rigourous academic studies, no, their aren't any.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis is wrong. The trick looks a LOT simpler than all that to me. He wrote down BMX Bike a week before but the production team swapped that sealed card for another one with Leather Jacket written in his handwriting (or as close as they could get given the examples they could very easily obtain). He signed the swapped-in card without realising. They then took that away and read it, came up with a bullshit presentation and bought the bike. He does the presentation with all the pretend NLP shit and bob's your proverbial. Pegg doesn't have to be pressured into going along really. There is no danger of having to junk the footage.
ReplyDeleteEmbedded commands are no more than a bit of hinting which might work and may or may not go unnoticed. I've tried them and they can work. You couldn't base a big trick on them mind.
The process as I described it is as pretty much as simple as it gets: someone just plays along instinctively. No need for props at all, or external agents such as the production team, or indeed any set-up whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteYour method may be correct of course, the trick can be performed in a number of ways.