Mentalism

This article is about the performing

performing art. For other uses, acles can be found in works by the ancient Greeks and
see Mentalism
see Mentalism (disambiguation).
(disambiguation). in the Old Testament of the  Bible Bible.. Among
Among magici
magicians,
ans,
“Mentali
“Mentalist”
st” redirec
redirects
ts here. For the TV show, see The the mentalism performance generally cited as one of the
Mentalist.. For
Mentalist For other
other uses,
uses, see
see  Mentalist (disambigua- earli
earlies
estt on rec
recor
ordd was
was by diplo
diploma
matt and pion
pionee
eerin
ringg sleight-
tion)..
tion) of-hand magician
of-hand  magician Girolamo
 Girolamo Scotto in
Scotto  in 1572. The perfor-
Mentalism   is a performing art in which its practi- mance of mentalism may utilize these principles along
with sleig
sleights,
hts, feints
feints,, misdire
misdirecti
ction
on and other
other skills
skills of street
street
or stage magic.[2]
or stage magic.

2 Perf
Perform
ormance
ance approa
approache
chess

Styles
Styles of presentation
presentation can vary greatly. Traditional
Traditional per-
forme
formersrs such
such as   Dunninger and   Annemann   attributed
their results to supernatural or psychic
psychic skills.
Some contemporary
contemporary performers,
performers, including
including Banachek and
Derren
Derr en Bro
Brownwn,, attri
attribut
butee thei
theirr resu
result
ltss to natur
natural
al skill
skills,
s, such
such
as the ability to read  body language or
language  or to manipulate the
subject subliminally through psychological suggestion.
Others, including Chan Canas
Canasta
ta and David Bergla
Berglass would
make no specific claims but leave it up to the audience to
decide.
Contemporary mentalists often take their shows onto the
streets and perform tricks to a live, unsuspecting audi-
ence. They do this by approaching random members members of
the public and ask to demonstrate their supernatural pow-
ers. Performers
Performers such such as Derren
as  Derren Brown who
Brown  who often adopt
this method of performance tell their audience before the
Theatrical poster for a mind-reading performance, 1900 trick starts that everything they
they see is an illusion
illusion and that
they
they are not
not reall
reallyy “hav
“having
ing thei
theirr mind
mind read.”
read.” This
This has been
been
tioners
tioners,, known
known as   mentalists, appear
appear to demons
demonstrat
tratee the cause of a lot of controversy in the sphere of magic as
highly
highly develo
developed
ped mental
mental or intuitiv
intuitivee abilit
abilities
ies.. Per-
Per- some mentalists want their audience to believe that this
formances may appear to include   hypnosis,
hypnosis,   telepathy,
telepathy, type of magic is 'real' whilst others think that it is morally
clairvoyance,,   divination,
clairvoyance divination,   precognition,
precognition,   psychokinesis,
psychokinesis, wrong to lie to a spectator. [3]
mediumship,,   mind con
mediumship contro
troll, memo
memory ry feats
eats and rapid
rapid
mathematics.
mathematics. Mentalists
Mentalists are sometimes
sometimes categorised
categorised as
psychic entertainers,
psychic  entertainers, although that category also contains 3 Mental
Mentalis
istt or magi
magici
cian
an
non-mentalist
non-mentalist performers
performers such as psychic
psychic readers and
bizarrists.
Mentalists generally do not mix “standard” magic tricks
with their mental
mental feats. Doing so associates
associates mentalism
too closely with the theatrical trickery employed by stage
1 BackBackgr grououndnd magicians.
magicians. Many mentalists
mentalists claim not to be magicians
magicians
at all, arguing that it is a different art form altogether.
Much
Much of what
what mode
modernrn menta
mentalis
lists
ts perf
perfor
orm
m in their
their acts
acts can The argument is that mentalism invokes belief and when
be traced back directly to “tests” of supernatural power presented properly, is offered as being “real” be it a claim
that were carried out by mediums, spiritualists and psy- of psychi
psychicc ability,
ability, or proof
proof thatsup
that support
portss other
other claims
claims such
such
[1]
chics in the 19th century. However, the history of men- as a photographic memory, being a “human calculator”,
talism goes back even
even further. Accounts
Accounts of seers and or- the power of suggestio
suggestion,n, NLP, etc. Mentalism
Mentalism plays on

1
2 6 MENTALISM IN TELEVISION 

the senses and a spectator’s perception of tricks. •  Guy Bavli

Magicians ask the audience to suspend their belief and al- •  Marc Salem
low their imagination to play with the various tricks they
present. They admit that they are tricksters and entertain- •  Frances Willard
ers, and know theaudience understands it’s an illusion and
the magician cannot really achieve the impossible feats •  The Zancigs
shown, such as sawing a person in half and putting them
back together without injury.
However, many magicians mix mentally-themed perfor- 5 Historical figures
mance with magic illusions. For example, a mind-reading
stunt might also involve the magical transposition of two Mentalism techniques have, on occasion, been allegedly
different objects. Such hybrid feats of   magic   are of- used outside the entertainment industry to influence the
ten called  mental magic   by performers. Magicians who actions of prominent people for personal and/or political
routinely mix magic with mental magic include  David gain. Famous examples of accused practitioners include:
Copperfield,  David Blaine,  The Amazing Kreskin, and
Dynamo.
• Erik Jan Hanussen, alleged to have influenced Adolf
Hitler[4]

4 Notable mentalists •  Grigori Rasputin, alleged to have influenced Tsarina

Alexandra[5]
•   Alexander
•   Wolf Messing, alleged to have influenced   Joseph
•   Theodore Annemann Stalin[6]

•   Banachek •   Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, accused of influ-

encing members of the French aristocracy in the
•  Keith Barry
Affair of the Diamond Necklace
•  David Berglas
"The Amazing Kreskin" has audience members hide his
•  Paul Brook
cheques before the show; if Kreskin cannot find the
•   Derren Brown cheque at the end of his performance, he does not get
paid.
•  Chan Canasta

•  Bob Cassidy
6 Mentalism in television
•   Corinda

•   Davenport brothers •   Wayne Hoffman appeared on NBC’s television show

Phenomenon  on October 31, 2007. [7] He also ap-
•  Joseph Dunninger peared on   The Howard Stern Show   on April 30,
2008. He was a co-host of   The A-List   on Dis-
•  Glenn Falkenstein
covery’s   Animal Planet. He was also a guest
•  Uri Geller on CNN’s television talk show   Glenn Beck [8] on
March 25, 2008. He appeared as a guest on The
•  Burling Hull Ellen Degeneres Show [9][10] on April 13, 2009. On
May 4, 2012 he appeared in a short movie, “Epic
•  Luke Jermay
School Battle”, with Steven Tyler and KISS.[11] He
•  Al Koran also appeared on CBS’s   Excused   on October 30,
2012.[12][13] He appear on  Oddities   on the Science
•  The Amazing Kreskin Channel on June 12, 2013.[14] On December 22,
•  Max Maven 2013 he appeared on TV Asahi’s show  Unbeliavable
with Takeshi Kitano.[15] Hoffman also appeared on
•  Drew McAdam Wednesday Downtown  on Tokyo Broadcasting Sta-
tion in Japan.[16] On March 31, 2014 Wayne ap-
•   Richard Osterlind peared on  The Numbers Game  on The National Ge-
•   Marc Paul ographic Channel.[17] He appeared at the end of the
official America’s Got Talent  Season 10 trailer, hold-
•   The Piddingtons ing dynamite in his mouth.[18]
 3

• Eric Dittelman, a mind reader, performed on Season [3]   http://www.sorcerers-apprentice.co.uk/karma.htm

7 of the NBC talent competition  America’s Got Tal-
ent. He made it to the semifinals, and was the first 
mentalist to be featured on the show.
•   Cristian Gog, a mentalist, won the big prize on
Romania’s Got Talent .
•   The Mentalist : an American crime procedural tele-
vision series in which the main character,  Patrick
Jane, worked as an independent consultant for the
California Bureau of Investigation and later the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation, solving serious crimes
by using hisskills of observation andhis frequent use
of his abilities as a former professional mentalist.
•   Psych: an American criminal comedy television se-
ries in which the main character, Shawn Spencer,
works as a consultant to the  Santa Barbara Police
Department   as a “psychic detective.” Though he
purports to be a psychic, the truth is that his excep-
tional observational skills, amazing vision, and near-
photographic memory allow him to portray himself
as such.
[4] Gordon, Mel: “Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant”.
Feral House, 2001
[5] George King, The Last Empress: The Life and Times of 
Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia. Replica Books,
2001. ISBN 978-0-7351-0104-3
[6] Hamilton-Parker, Craig (December 1, 1996). “Medium
with a message”.  Scotland on Sunday. p. 5.
[7]   http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=65133
[8]   http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/25/gb.
01.html
[9]   http://ellen.warnerbros.com
[10]   http://www.ellentv.com/videos/1-xvqsystd/
[11]   http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt2177636
[12]   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2492230/
[13]   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFogK0q-yhs
[14]   https://pro-labs.imdb.com/title/tt3727424/

•   Tricks of the Mind : a British TV show starring [15]   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnPjQb39ESI

Derren Brown
[16]   http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=
•   Pasąmonės Kontrolė: Kobra TV Channel by http://halohalo-online.blog.jp/archives/1012628947.
Nicholas Kin html&prev=search

•   Now You See Me : Merritt McKinney, played by [17]   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3219366/?ref_=nm_flmg_

Woody Harrelson, performs as a mentalist. slf_1

[18]  America’s Got Talent  Season 10 trailer at YouTube

7 See also
9 External links
•   Cold reading
•  James Randi •   Media relatedto Mentalists at Wikimedia Commons

•   Telepathy •  PSYCRETS British Society of Mystery Entertainers

•  Memory sport •  Psychic Entertainers Association.

•   Mnemonist
•  Psychomagic
•  Scientific skepticism
•   Theatrical seances
•  Thirteen Steps To Mentalism  (book)

8 References
[1] Cassidy, Bob: “Fundamentals of Professional Mental-
ism”. Lybrary, 2007. pp. 7-9.

[2] Randi, James (1995). “An Encyclopedia of Claims,

Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural”. St.
Martin’s Press. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
4 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text
•   Mentalism   Source:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentalism?oldid=697607148   Contributors:  The Anome, William Avery, Maury
Markowitz, Ellywa, Ciphergoth, Chuunen Baka, F lauto Dolce, Rursus, Smjg, Wiki Wikardo, R. fiend, Slivester, Gscshoyru, Monk Bretton,
Mike Rosoft, Smyth, Aranel, Uroshnor, Rajah, (aeropagitica), Mpeisenbr, Nsaa, Martin S Taylor, Alansohn, Neitram, Free Bear, SidP,
KingTT, Meertn, Kenyon, Angr, Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ), OwenX, RHaworth, Asav, Kelisi, Dmol, Andrea.gf, Waldir, Jonnabuz,
TheSock, Ashmoo, FreplySpang, Mastermindreader, Seidenstud, Nightscream, Missmarple, Sdornan, Vegaswikian, Krash, Mr Twain,
Ground Zero, Trivial, TeaDrinker, Chobot, Kazuba, Citizen Premier, YurikBot, Stephenb, Irishguy, THB, J imtron, Eclipsed, Light current,
Zzuuzz, Anclation~enwiki, Samuel Blanning, Jeff Silvers, SmackBot, McGeddon, C.Fred, Arny, Yamaguchi, Gilliam, Tyciol, Bluebot,
PrimeHunter, Deli nk, ACupOfCoffee, Sdrury, Whpq, TheMentalist~enwiki, T-borg, Dreadstar, Kismetmagic, Cokerwr, NickPenguin,
Jmak1949, Catherine breillat, Mentalism, Scientizzle, TStone, NYCmentalist, RichardF, Enricolorenzo, StephenBuxton, DreamsReign,
Dlohcierekim, JJE, Olaf Davis, Smiloid, Reywas92, IcanCU, Wikipediarules2221, DavidRF, Clovis Sangrail, Doug Weller, Mich@ł, An-
tiVandalBot, Osubuckeyeguy, Mackan79, JAnDbot, Tbaxter, Leuko, MER-C, Wise dude321, BevvyB, Magioladitis, Roadshow, Mag-
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miyapuram, McSly, Mrceleb2007, Rjobrien, Jamiermm, Zach18, Cometstyles, Scott Xavier, Pchackal, Marcpaul29, Idioma-bot, The illu-
sionist mz, Mrh30, Jean-Louis Lascoux, Epson291, Wolfnix, Kristina 198, Pat Quinn, Billywhizz, UnitedStatesian, Turbogame, Eubulides,
Enigmaman, Craig Browning, Proscript, Alex Middleton, Andy Ternan, Andrew Ternan, Permacultura, Abelan, Fratrep, S2000magician,
Dale Fletcher, Buddhiman, ClueBot, Kosmoshiva, Blanchardb, Trivialist, Somno, Djlooch, SpikeToronto, Dumpmeister, Magicusb, Ap-
parition11, DumZiBoT, Heironymous Rowe, XLinkBot, Chantmayer, Rgmatthewsjr, SarahLow, Paper45tee, Addbot, BP102, Roxy312,
Indianmagicians, Lightbot, Guyonthesubway, Luckas-bot, Ptbotgourou, Fraggle81, Biselada, Arick neo, Synergydomains, AnomieBOT,
Hecklerno1, Jim1138, Stuartpalm, Materialscientist, Maxis ftw, Transity, GMaiella, Srich32977, GrouchoBot, RibotBOT, Doulos Chris-
tos, FrescoBot, Thor0407, Alexdubr, Diegoguru, Pinethicket, Steveslammin, RedBot, Klowndave, Dega180, Zblaaat, MR.HJH, Sweet xx,
Vrenator, TruthLocating, Derild4921, Mentalhacker, Onel5969, EmausBot, Miriam goldenberg, GoingBatty, Sgerbic, 1Veertje, Wayne
Slam, Wingman4l7, The Magic of Larry Soffer, LibertyOrDeath, N1of2, ClueBot NG, Bendamaster10, Justlettersandnumbers, Dream
of Nyx, Helpful Pixie Bot, Zoinchenerpth, Bernard74, BG19bot, 16db, Allecher, Sherrise s, Gurmeet0108, Chadarackster, BattyBot,
Pratyya Ghosh, Comatmebro, Frosty, Maniner, DJB3.14, ScottEuclid, JenniferLynn2012, Ekips39, Suicym, Mentalist.Kin, Epicgenius,
Chen.Skeptic, Voidz, Johnnash10, Nefesch, Ianleeestrella, Ugog Nizdast, Joshml82, Sai kashyap, JimandGym, Scrapper75, Scarlet Penn,
Wisefriend, Kasutajaaa, Cam1900, Oliverwelsby, Greedo8, Paulgmagic, Chrisantzers, Xneomaster, Clayton raven davis, Bobuleose, Home-
lyhomer, DonatelliMIND, Mentalist Chandan, Tzudro, Bangladeshi Memory Man, Chimpa2, Mentalismpro and Anonymous: 448

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