ORSON WELLES ON COLD READING
The splendid Welles discusses Cold Reading with a young David Frost. It’s a gem of a clip… and years later of course, if we wish to, we can cut to Frost enthusiastically endorsing Uri Geller on Beyond Belief.
Splendid stuff.
Dx
I knew Orson Welles as the guy who had half of America scared of water towers when he did the War of the Worlds audioplay (my dad has a recording of it, it’s really good). I didn’t know he was also a magician! He explains the concept rather perfectly, though.
wow!
I didn’t know, hes damned interesting aint he 😉
Thanks 4 the info xXx
Good clip indeedy….guess it takes extreme sensitive “computers” to process info to come to a “premonition”’ then…ah, the fine line between seemingly two different worlds hm…:-)
Interesting clip……thanks.
I never knew anything about cold reading until I saw your first tour Derren. Prior to that I’d been a real ‘sucker’ for all that kind of stuff. I absolutely lapped it up and believed it all. I guess there are various extremes but all in all it’s still a widely used con trick masquerading as a ‘special gift’
Happy Christmas to you and those you love………eat drink and be scary Mr B
I love this clip, though I never heard the term he used ‘becoming a shut eye’ though I can see what its perhaps referring to. I always referred to it as believing/buying into your own propaganda. I wonder if I should try that someday just for a week or so do cold reading as a supposed psychic… might be interesting.
He is one of my Dream Dinner companions. So effortlessly charming.
Great stuff. There are some people who’s voices you could listen to all day. Reciting the telephone book even. He’s one, Christopher Hitchens sounds like an English version of him almost. Stephen Fry of course. Richard Burton.
Anyway, Merry Christmas all for tomorrow 🙂
The words he uses say it all – fake, fraudulent, sucker. Excellent. Such a beautiful voice too.
Wow that was fascinating. Thanks.
They book look so young.
Don’t think there’s any danger of you becoming a ‘shut-eye’ Derren is there…
!!!MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! or rather happy non religious festivities…
Have fun whatever you do. x
‘He is one of my Dream Dinner companions’
You’d want to make sure you got served first though. Orson Welles did like his pies.
Merry Christmas one and all. I must defrost the chicken. x
Nice clip, he seems like a jolly fellow that you could easily have long enjoyable conversations with.
I can’t recommend the book “This Is Orson Welles” by OW/Peter Bogdanovich (HarperCollins) highly enough. A series of conversations mainly about his radio, theatre and cinema work, it’s a fascinating read, particularly if you’re a Citizen Kane buff.
This clip is brilliant because when it’s coming from the mouth of someone so “great” and authoritative, a celebrated brilliant mind, people will actually give weight to his opinion.
I’ve tried fake cold readings based on your own explanations and succeeded every time and then cited your explanations to prove to them that it’s not psychic but sorry to say, they haven’t heard of you down in Australia and they just think you’re one guy with a theory. I was actually recommended for a position at a hippie/new-age market but despite my insistence they don’t believe that I’m full of shit!
This video has to be passed around to these people with very susceptible minds.
I wonder how many people here would be willing to take a course in developing their intuition and such ….
It ofcourse will take up more energy and such then reading a book on cold reading … you’d have to invest something more from yourself into it.
Debunking stuff without having personal experience ..
is a bit simple when you ask me. Take the real tour .. check them out for yourself .. open up and see how you feel about it .. cold reading from your side towards them that is ..
Don’t we all have our own preferences. Communication wise.
I wonder .. who believes in love here … between people .. falling in love … has been debunked by science as well …
Hehehe ….
Anyhow, Merry X-Mas … love and peace … and don’t fall in love .. dangerous .. might cloud your brain …
Now I’m gonna watch brokeback mountain …wont be able to ID myself with the main characters ofcourse .. but maybe I will .. huh .. from another perspective .. (a bit more difficult but hey .. I’ll give it a try .. )
Falling in love has not been debunked in any way, as far as I know. The biochemical causes of those feelings are well-known (endorphins, adrenalin, oxytocin). I’d consider that a confirmation of the existence of love (as an instinctive feeling), rather than a debunking of the concept.
Oh, and I used to cold-read without knowing I was doing so, back when I was into the whole psychic thing. The more I read and heard about it, though, the less likely it seemed that I was doing anything extrasensory — no matter how much I wanted to believe, I couldn’t continue fooling myself.
So yeah. Not all skeptics have a one-sided view. 😉
Thanks. I assume you would’ve mentioned this during your interview with RIchard Dawkins if you had seen this video earlier. 🙂
Although I’m not yet finished watching the uncut interview I don’t think you used the phrase “shut eye” in it.