Last night the psychological illusionist Derren Brown on his TV show, 'Trick of the Mind', shocked his audience with a video game stunt. He took an apparently unsuspecting member of the public and subjected him to what appeared to be a gruelling psychological experience, without gaining his permission in advance.
Derren Brown's shows have certainly courted significant controversy. He played Russian Roulette live on TV (above), although reputedly with blank ammunition. This was gripping TV but many claimed the stunt was irresponsible. More recently he held a live seance in which he scared a number of willing volunteers half to death but all in the name of debunking supernatural beliefs.
What sets the trick from last night's show apart was that no attempt was made to get the permission of the participant beforehand. While Derren Brown often uses unsuspecting members of the public, he doesn't normally subject them to a difficult psychological experience.
How Derren Brown does some of his tricks (Channel 4)
How to Be Creative
If we can all be creative, why is it so hard to come up with truly original ideas?
It's because creativity is mysterious. Just ask any scientist, artist, writer or other highly creative person to explain how they come up with brilliant ideas and, if they're honest, they don't really know.
But over the decades psychologists have given ordinary participants countless tests, forms and tasks and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews. From these emerge the psychological conditions of creativity.
Not what you should do, but how you should be...
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