Join the super memory club
You have to by over the age of 90 though.
The 90+ Study
For all that scientists have studied it, the brain remains the most complex and mysterious human organ — and, now, the focus of billions of dollars’ worth of research to penetrate its secrets.
This is the second article in a series that will look in depth at some of the insights these projects are producing
iTricks: Enigma post
After the Reading show I (Phillis) was promptly ejected by the security so I wouldn’t pester the iTricks possee. They took some lovely photo’s (thanks for not showing gang signs guys) whilst I stood outside in the shadows and talked at Suzi who had flown hundreds of miles on her own to see Derren – (bless).
iTricks have details of all the remaining last few tour tickets (Northampton & Newcastle), and of course the London run - click here.
There is talk of extending shows but solid details are not yet known – but I promise you will find out as soon as we do – I think it’s probably the most emailed request lately.
Any of you with photos – PLEASE upload the to the facebook page – (we love to see them) rather than emailing as they jam up the inbox.
now head to iTricks
Derren Brown Interview Archive
Every week we will be pulling an old interview from the archive and posting it on the blog.
This week a Nowt 2 Do interview from 2002
A truly remarkable man, very charming, very British, and very interesting, welcome to the world of Derren Brown. Derren is easily Britain’s most unique magical performer and ,hot on the heels of his Channel 4 Specials and making a new series of “Mind Control,” performs a one off run at Bristol’s Tobacco Factory. Nowt2Do.Com were lucky enough to secure an interview with Derren in his Clifton home to find out about Bristol, The show and all things magical!
They say a home can tell you a lot about a person, well Derren’s home can tell you almost everything about him. An extremely well lived in flat situated right slap bang in the heart of Clifton was where I met Derren and Figaro his parrot. His flat is stunning, walls plastered with books (Kafka, psychology, magic), stuffed animals, an assortment of magical memorabilia, and his astounding portraits. Anthony Hopkins, Franz Kafka, Uri Geller, himself, Teller (of Penn and Teller fame!) are amongst the most notable, all strikingly realistic yet marked with Derren’s unique style. “It’s how I like to relax, put some music on and just paint, it’s the opposite of performing I absolutely love it. They are not caricatures as such, just seem to turn out similar to their style! I have a great memory for faces, and its basically how I see people. I hope to organise them into an exhibition after the tour and series.” (more…)
Milgram Experiment
The Milgram experiment was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.
The experiments began in July 1961, three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Milgram devised the experiments to answer this question: “Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?”
Einstein the Parrot
All this parrot talk is addictive.
Musicians have better memory — not just for music, but words and pictures too
Last night, I too was allowed to mingle with Mr Brown and the shiningly beautiful stage crew, oh my! – they are all so pretty. However I found myself talking – well blushing at more like – to the gorgeous Joe Sparks (see DB’s previous post) about how a musicians mind works. After many a pun about timing he notified me on a recent study that found musicians do in fact have better memories than non-musical plebs like myself.
Cognitive Daily has a nice story about the report here:
“In both cases, the musicians’ strategies proved to be more effective, and they also seem to duplicate strategies experts use to remember large quantities of information: they chunk it into related groups so that it’s easier to recall later on. When they remember songs, musicians rely on the fact that the notes are related to each other (and in fact are no better than non-musicians at remembering random sequences of notes). They appear to apply a similar strategy to other memory tasks.”
Some musical listening-items for you.
Last night we had ourselves a little party after the show, courtesy of the M&S Party Food aisle here in Reading. (We didn’t actually hold the party in the aisle – is that ambiguous? I just bought the num-nums there). Stephen Long, our brilliant, erstwhile crew-member-turned-singer-songwriter was at the party, all grins and compliments on the show, as was the delightful Joe Sparks, who you may or may not know as an equally talented performer. Those of you with volumes to turn up, enjoy the musical brilliances of our good friends. Stephen has just released an EP, and Joe has been signed by Oli Claw records with an album called Black 26 that launches in July. Please listen and enjoy.
At the Parrot Zoo
While playing in Grimsby we spent an afternoon in the sensational National Parrot Zoo, in Lincolnshire, of which you’ll already know that your dedicated Blogger is Patron Saint. The Zoo is the largest of its kind in Europe, set to expand even more, and is uniquely dedicated to the welfare and rehabilitation of sick parrots. Alongside that, Steve Nicholls, the Zoo’s profoundly committed owner, is undeniably the country’s most knowlegeable expert on these animals, carrying out extensive research into the much misunderstood beauties. The place is a moving testament to his understanding and knowledge.
Jen and Iain had never been before, and were bowled over. Steve showed me where he’s planted 10,000 willow trees for the new extension across into adjoining fields. It really is a wonderful place and well worth a visit.
They are the most sensational creatures. Steve was telling me that quite a few of them had owners during the war, and have lived through the Blitz, the sounds of which they have stored away for decades. Occasionally, the right sort of noise will trigger one off, and a whole host of sounds will emerge: milkman, morning chatter, then the sound of a bomb dropping. The whistling arc of the descending bomb would then re-awaken the other older birds to their own recorded memories, and soon a whole aviary would be presenting the sounds of the 1940-41 arial attack. Astonishing, and oddly moving, to think of all that history locked away in those little feathered heads.
Here’s one bird who spent a little too long listening to the muffled sound of its owner on the phone in the next room:
And this is just wonderful. Steve was out amongst the aviaries at night and came across a group of Amazons huddled together, all asleep apart from one, who was singing ‘Go To Sleep My Baby’. Presumably this used to be sung to it by his owner. By the time Steve returned with a camera, the bird had moved onto a different song, which we’re having a hard time distinguishing. We’re guessing it’s nothing in particular, if you know it, please tell us, and we’ll send you a little prize as a thank you:
Make sure you visit the zoo and say Hello from me.
The last couple of days began with a lovely welcome by the terrific crew at Sheffield City Hall. It’s a tricky venue, for technical reasons, in which to set up the show, but the excellent and super-friendly staff more than make up for it, and both nights went well. Andy Nyman, who has been filming Black Death in Germany, managed to make it over for the first night to see the show up and running for the first time since previews. And to show us his handsome new filming-beard.
Sheffield did not, however, bring with it any useable wi-fi in the hotel (I’m NOT paying for it, that’s just plain wrong), hence you not hearing from me for a few days.
I meant to post a thank you for all the gifts I’ve been getting – thank you so much, it’s very kind indeed. And for the six of you at Sheffield last night standing at stage door in the driving rain for over half an hour when I’d been told no-one was bothering… apologies and thank you. Hope none of you caught colds.
Tonight we’re in Reading, with our grinning friend and handsome songsmith Stephen Long in the audience. And our very own Phillis will be there too, hiding at the back… see if you can spot her.
Much love,
Dx
Ten sports stars and their bizarre pre-game rituals
Many athletes feel obliged to perform bizarre rituals before competing. Experts say that sometimes these behaviours can stray into obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and can even force players out of competition.
A number of sports stars have confessed to the odd habits that help them stay focused. Here are 10 famous examples compiled by psychiatrist Thomas Newmark of Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, and New Scientist staff.
England soccer star David Beckham has admitted that he suffers from OCD, which may explain the obsessive practice that underpins his prowess with free kicks. He hates the asymmetry of odd numbers, and will throw away one can of Diet Pepsi if he has three in the fridge.
Stanford Prison Experiment
The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted in 1971 by a team of researchers led by Psychology Professor Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University. Twenty-four undergraduates were selected out of 70 to play the roles of both guards and prisoners and live in a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. Those selected were chosen for their lack of psychological issues, crime history, and medical disabilities, in order to obtain a representative sample. Roles were assigned based on a coin toss.
Prisoners and guards rapidly adapted to their roles, stepping beyond the boundaries of what had been predicted and leading to dangerous and psychologically damaging situations. One-third of the guards were judged to have exhibited “genuine” sadistic tendencies, while many prisoners were emotionally traumatized and two had to be removed from the experiment early.
The film Das Experiment is based upon these incidents and is highly recommended and inspired the BBC’s version “The Experiment” in 2001.
