If I've learned anything from Office Space or the similar hypnotism entertainment show at my University 2 years ago it's this: Hypnotists are both ridiculous and dangerous. It's all just a bunch of heavily slathered crap on toast. However, when weak minded college students want to act like the combined absurdities of Animal House, American Idol, and every MTV show, they will believe that this overpaid, overrated clown can really make pink elephants appear.
Sorry if I spoiled your fantasies.
Hey, have you tried that necklace at all? It's got Hebrish on it! It was blessed by a Czech Rabbi. It's gotta work.
Wayne, I went into that show with the same mindset.
Try this. Stand perfectly still and don't move your eyes. For twenty minutes. While this is happening, have thirty people try their best to distract you all once.
Twenty people, Wayne. And I'm guessing none of them had ever gone to mime school. At most, two of them were practiced mimes.
No, I will NOT eat the toast.ramzourAugust 25 2005, 15:15:33 UTC
I dont need to try your experiment because I've SEEN several hypnocrites do their wonky acts. I was not impressed. They are on my list along with Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, SpongeBob, and Reality TV shows.
Come on, think this through. Even *IF* some guy dangling a pocket watch could convince someone they were really Conan O'Brian, it doesn't give them magical powers or supreme miming/joke telling abilities. The things these "hypnotized" people did were things they were ALREADY capable of doing. Perhaps the illusion of hypnotism granted them the courage to act silly in front of 5 thousand people, but you can't possibly believe that they were granted special powers of any kind.
Were you entertained? I hope so. Was it real? Just about as much as the WWF.
Re: No, I will NOT eat the toast.matthewstrykerAugust 25 2005, 20:39:25 UTC
If anything, I was even more skeptical then you are when I walked into that auditorium. I've seen guys make the jack of spades pop out of their shoes, for crissakes.
The truth is, of course there was no magic. It was just straightforward suggestions. Some people, apparently, are just susceptible to suggestion. They were willing participants--so willing, in fact, that the hypnosis actually worked.
It's something I had to see to believe. As it is, I don't have my mind made up one way or the other. But I do know that the people I THOUGHT were obviously faking were very, VERY convincing.
Especially when they stood frozen for twenty minutes with their eyes fixed, unmoving, despite my yelling right in their faces.
Comments 4
If I've learned anything from Office Space or the similar hypnotism entertainment show at my University 2 years ago it's this: Hypnotists are both ridiculous and dangerous. It's all just a bunch of heavily slathered crap on toast. However, when weak minded college students want to act like the combined absurdities of Animal House, American Idol, and every MTV show, they will believe that this overpaid, overrated clown can really make pink elephants appear.
Sorry if I spoiled your fantasies.
Hey, have you tried that necklace at all? It's got Hebrish on it! It was blessed by a Czech Rabbi. It's gotta work.
Reply
Try this. Stand perfectly still and don't move your eyes. For twenty minutes. While this is happening, have thirty people try their best to distract you all once.
Twenty people, Wayne. And I'm guessing none of them had ever gone to mime school. At most, two of them were practiced mimes.
So, go eat your toast.
Reply
Come on, think this through. Even *IF* some guy dangling a pocket watch could convince someone they were really Conan O'Brian, it doesn't give them magical powers or supreme miming/joke telling abilities. The things these "hypnotized" people did were things they were ALREADY capable of doing. Perhaps the illusion of hypnotism granted them the courage to act silly in front of 5 thousand people, but you can't possibly believe that they were granted special powers of any kind.
Were you entertained? I hope so. Was it real? Just about as much as the WWF.
Reply
The truth is, of course there was no magic. It was just straightforward suggestions. Some people, apparently, are just susceptible to suggestion. They were willing participants--so willing, in fact, that the hypnosis actually worked.
It's something I had to see to believe. As it is, I don't have my mind made up one way or the other. But I do know that the people I THOUGHT were obviously faking were very, VERY convincing.
Especially when they stood frozen for twenty minutes with their eyes fixed, unmoving, despite my yelling right in their faces.
Reply
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