Ideas change everything

Mentalism, mind reading and the art of getting inside your head

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Derren Brown |

TED2019

• April 2019

"Magic is a great analogy for how we edit reality and form a story -- and then mistake that story for the truth," says psychological illusionist Derren Brown. In a clever talk wrapped around a dazzling mind-reading performance, Brown explores the seductive appeal of finding simple answers to life's complex and subtle questions.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

"Magic is a great analogy for how we edit reality and form a story -- and then mistake that story for the truth," says psychological illusionist Derren Brown. In a clever talk wrapped around a dazzling mind-reading performance, Brown explores the seductive appeal of finding simple answers to life's complex and subtle questions.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Check out Derren Brown: Secret on Broadway, beginning September 6.

About the speaker

Psychological illusionist, author

See speaker profile

With beguiling feats of mind reading and suggestion, Derren Brown explores psychological manipulation and its implications for the human experience.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Check out Derren Brown: Secret on Broadway, beginning September 6.