Real Mentalist Reacting to TV Mentalist | Part 3: How We Manipulate thoughts!

Summary

In this intriguing video, mentalist Spidey dissects scenes from the hit series 'The Mentalist,' revealing the psychological truths behind them. He explains the art of mentalism, highlighting its theatrical nature and the simplicity behind seemingly complex tricks. Spidey explores concepts like inattentional blindness through a gorilla experiment adaptation and delves into Freudian psychology with a unique personality test. He also addresses the portrayal of hypnosis in the show, commending its realistic twist. Additionally, he challenges viewers to spot a logical flaw in a scene involving a 'flap' switch, a technique used by magicians. The video is a fascinating blend of entertainment and education, offering insights into the mind's workings and the tricks of the mentalist's trade.

Takeaways

• 😎 The video discusses scenes from 'The Mentalist' TV series, analyzing which are based on real psychology.
• 💤 Patrick Jane's character claims to be able to retain information while asleep, which is revealed to be a playful trick.
• 🎭 Mentalists use theatrical presentations to make their tricks seem like real psychological mastery.
• 🔍 The video highlights the concept of inattentional blindness, where people miss obvious things when focused on a specific task.
• 🐻 A clip from the 90s demonstrates inattentional blindness, where viewers miss a dancing bear while counting passes.
• 🧠 Freudian psychology is mentioned, where psychologists use symbolism to understand subconscious thoughts and emotions.
• 🏜️ A personality test called 'The Cube Experiment' is introduced, which is believed to reveal aspects of one's subconscious mind.
• 🃏 The script explains that memory palaces, while real, are not useful for card counting in blackjack.
• 🔮 Hypnosis scenes in 'The Mentalist' are discussed, with the show later revealing these to be a ruse rather than real hypnosis.
• 🖼️ A 'flap' technique used by mentalists to switch objects is explained, showcasing a plan to steal a painting.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video by Spidey?

The video by Spidey focuses on breaking down scenes from the hit series 'The Mentalist' and explaining which ones are based on real psychology.

What is the significance of Patrick Jane's ability to retain information while sleeping?

Patrick Jane's ability to retain information while sleeping is a playful exaggeration to demonstrate the tricks mentalists use to create the illusion of mastering psychology.

How does Spidey describe the role of mentalists?

Spidey describes mentalists as magicians who perform tricks and have compelling presentations that make it seem like they are masters of psychology, despite the simple explanations behind their acts.

What is the concept of inattentional blindness, as demonstrated in the video?

Inattentional blindness, or perceptual blindness, is the phenomenon where a person focuses on one thing and misses something obvious happening elsewhere, as illustrated by the 'dancing bear' experiment.

What is the connection between the 'dancing bear' experiment and the scene from 'The Mentalist'?

The connection is that both the experiment and the scene demonstrate how easily people can miss something obvious when their attention is focused elsewhere.

What is the Freudian psychology concept used in the scene where Patrick Jane asks about colors and animals?

The scene uses Freudian psychology, specifically the idea of over-simplifying complex thoughts and emotions to make them easier to express, often through symbolism.

What is the 'cube experiment' mentioned in the script?

The 'cube experiment' is a psychological exercise where individuals imagine a cube in a desert and a ladder, which is believed to reveal insights about their subconscious mind.

How does the script describe hypnosis as portrayed in 'The Mentalist'?

The script initially criticizes the portrayal of hypnosis in 'The Mentalist' as exaggerated, but later praises the show for revealing that the hypnosis was a ruse to frame a character.

What is the memory palace technique mentioned in the script?

The memory palace technique is a real method of memorization where one associates items with specific locations in a familiar environment to enhance recall.

Why does Spidey argue that the memory palace technique would not work at a blackjack table?

Spidey argues that the memory palace technique would not work at a blackjack table because it is not useful for card counting, which is necessary to gain an advantage in the game.

What is the 'flap' technique described in the script?

The 'flap' technique is a method used by magicians and mentalists to switch objects by covering one with a deceptive layer that can be quickly transferred to the real object.

What mistake does Spidey claim is present in the execution of the 'flap' technique in the video?

Spidey claims there is a subtle mistake in the execution of the 'flap' technique in the video, but does not reveal it directly, encouraging viewers to identify it themselves.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 The Art of Mentalism

In this segment, Spidey, an award-winning mentalist with a degree in social psychology, discusses scenes from the series 'The Mentalist'. He explains how mentalists use simple tricks and theatrical presentations to create the illusion of mastering psychology. Spidey highlights Patrick Jane's ability to retain information while asleep as a playful demonstration of mentalist techniques. He emphasizes that what mentalists do is akin to magic tricks, designed to entertain and amaze, rather than being based on real psychological manipulation. Spidey also touches on social psychology experiments, such as the gorilla experiment, which demonstrates inattentional blindness, a phenomenon where people miss obvious things when they're focused on a specific task. He uses this to explain how mentalists can distract their audience.

05:02

🔮 Freudian Psychology and Hypnosis

This paragraph delves into Freudian psychology, with Spidey explaining how psychologists simplify complex thoughts and emotions. He conducts a personality test using the 'cube experiment', which involves imagining a desert, a box, and a ladder to reveal潜意识 thoughts about life, self-perception, and social circles. Spidey also discusses a hypnosis scene from 'The Mentalist', critiquing its portrayal of hypnosis as overly simplistic and exaggerated. However, he praises the show for later revealing that the hypnosis was a ruse, demonstrating a deeper understanding of psychological manipulation. Spidey invites viewers to comment on the accuracy of hypnosis portrayals in the series.

10:02

🃏 The Memory Palace and Card Counting

Spidey addresses the concept of the memory palace as depicted in 'The Mentalist', explaining that while it's a real technique, it's not applicable to card games like blackjack as portrayed in the show. He clarifies that card counting, which involves tracking the ratio of high to low value cards, is a more practical strategy for blackjack, not the memorization of specific cards. Spidey also discusses a scene where Patrick Jane uses a 'flap' technique to switch a painting, a common trick used by magicians and mentalists. Despite the scene's clever concept, Spidey points out a subtle mistake in its execution, encouraging viewers to identify the error in the comments.

15:02

🖼️ The Flap Switch Explained

In this final paragraph, Spidey describes a scene from 'The Mentalist' where Patrick Jane uses a 'flap' to switch a painting, a technique that magicians and mentalists use to deceive their audience. He explains the mechanics of the switch, where a sketch covering a duplicate painting is transferred to the real painting during a distraction. Spidey commends the scene's concept but criticizes its execution, suggesting there's a noticeable flaw that becomes apparent upon multiple viewings. He challenges viewers to spot the mistake and promises to reveal it in his next video.

Keywords

💡Mentalist

A mentalist is an entertainer who appears to read minds, predict thoughts, and perform other feats of mental agility. In the context of the video, the mentalist uses tricks and psychological tactics to create the illusion of mind-reading. The video discusses how mentalists often use simple explanations and misdirection to create their effects, as seen in the scene where Patrick Jane pretends to have absorbed information while asleep.

💡Social Psychology

Social psychology is the study of how people's thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. The video references social psychology when discussing how mentalists use understanding of social cues and behaviors to perform their tricks, such as the scene where Patrick Jane switches an MP3 player with another item, relying on the observer's tendency to accept what appears to be the correct object.

💡Inattentional Blindness

Inattentional blindness refers to the phenomenon where people fail to notice something in their visual field because they are preoccupied with another task or stimulus. The video illustrates this concept with a clip of people counting passes in a game, while missing a dancing bear that walks through the scene. This is used to explain how mentalists can distract their audience to perform tricks.

💡Freudian Psychology

Freudian psychology is a set of theories developed by Sigmund Freud that explores the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. The video mentions Freudian psychology when discussing how mentalists might ask questions about colors or animals to probe into a person's subconscious, similar to how Freud believed that dreams and symbols could reveal hidden thoughts and desires.

💡Memory Palace

A memory palace is a mnemonic technique that involves associating items to be remembered with specific locations in a familiar environment. The video references the memory palace when Patrick Jane explains how he visualizes cards as characters in a deck to remember their order. However, the video also points out that a memory palace would not be effective for card counting in blackjack.

💡Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a therapeutic technique involving guided relaxation, intense concentration, and focused attention, which can lead to a heightened state of suggestibility. The video discusses hypnosis in the context of a scene from 'The Mentalist' where hypnosis is used to elicit information. The video corrects misconceptions about hypnosis, explaining that it is not as simple or instantaneous as often portrayed.

💡Cube Experiment

The cube experiment, as mentioned in the video, is a psychological exercise where individuals are asked to imagine a cube in a desert and a ladder. This exercise is claimed to reveal aspects of a person's subconscious mind, such as their perception of life (desert), self-image (cube), and social circle (ladder). The video uses this experiment to demonstrate how mentalists might interpret personal symbolism.

💡The Mentalist (TV Series)

The Mentalist is a TV series that follows Patrick Jane, a former psychic medium turned consultant to the California Bureau of Investigation. The video script is a breakdown of scenes from the series, analyzing which elements are based on real psychological principles and which are purely for entertainment. The series is used as a case study to illustrate the techniques and tricks of mentalists.

💡Microexpressions

Microexpressions are brief, involuntary facial expressions that are thought to reveal a person's true emotions. The video mentions microexpressions as one of the many 'crazy' things that mentalists claim to be able to read, though it is implied that such abilities are often exaggerated for theatrical effect.

💡Magic Trick

A magic trick is an illusion or deceptive act performed for entertainment purposes. The video compares the performances of mentalists to magic tricks, emphasizing that while mentalists may use psychological principles, much of what they do is about creating a compelling presentation that can be easily explained once the method is known.

💡Flap Switch

A flap switch is a technique used by magicians and mentalists to swap two similar-looking objects. In the video, Patrick Jane uses a flap switch to replace a painting with a duplicate. The technique involves a cover that can be quickly transferred from one painting to the other, making the switch appear seamless.

Highlights

Spidey, an award-winning mentalist, discusses the intersection of mentalism and real psychology in the TV series 'The Mentalist'.

Patrick Jane's ability to retain information while asleep is revealed to be a playful trick rather than a real skill.

Mentalists use compelling presentations to make simple tricks seem like psychological mastery.

Patrick Jane demonstrates an understanding of social psychology by switching an MP3 player with another object, leveraging inattentional blindness.

The concept of inattentional blindness is explained through a 90s advertisement experiment involving a dancing bear.

The clip experiment shows that when focusing on one thing, people can miss obvious events happening elsewhere.

Freudian psychology is referenced in a scene where Patrick Jane uses color and animal associations to profile a person.

A personality test involving imagining a desert, a box, and a ladder is conducted to explore潜意识.

The desert in the test represents an individual's perception of life and the challenges they've faced.

The box in the test symbolizes how a person views themselves and their personality.

The ladder in the test is indicative of an individual's social circle and relationships.

A hypnosis scene in 'The Mentalist' is critiqued for its unrealistic portrayal, but later revealed to be a ruse.

The series 'The Mentalist' is praised for its clever twist on the hypnosis scene, showing a deeper understanding of the technique.

Patrick Jane's use of a memory palace for card playing is discussed, highlighting its real-world application in memory enhancement.

The memory palace technique is revealed to be ineffective for card counting in blackjack, contrary to its depiction.

A clever switch of a painting using a 'flap' technique is detailed, showcasing a common trick used by magicians and mentalists.

The execution of the painting switch scene contains a subtle mistake that goes unnoticed until pointed out.

Transcripts

[Music]

hey everyone my name is spidey and i'm

an award-winning mentalist with an

obsession and a degree in social

psychology

and in this video i'm going to break

down scenes from the hit series the

mentalist and tell you which ones are

based on real psychology

and i'm going to show you a couple of

really cool things about the way your

mind works

shall i recap the case sleepyhead

kristen marley lady senator's aide

rumored romance with the senator's

husband very good

oh i trained myself to hear and take in

information

while asleep the others told you yes

they did

i love that scene so much so basically

in this scene patrick jane the mentalist

fell asleep during the briefing but he

knows all the facts and he tells his

superior

that it's because he's developed the

ability to retain

information while he sleeps and she just

calls him out on it and says the others

gave you the facts didn't they

and he chuckles and he admits that yes

they did

and i really like the way they do this

playfully and in a funny way but it's a

great lesson

on how mentalists operate when a

mentalist tells you

that we can read your body language or

influence you with our gestures or we

could sense the micro expressionist

movements of your iris i don't know all

the crazy stuff that we tend to say

it's all just theater guys you have to

remember that

mentalists are magicians we do tricks

but we have really compelling

presentations

that make it seem like we're masters of

psychology

but there's almost always a really

really simple explanation behind it

just like a magic trick hey is that

cara's mp3 play yeah what are you doing

with it

uh listening to music it's pretty good

that's evidence you can't play with that

i don't realize it was

a sacred thing i'll put it right back

there it is

wow another great scene and once again

this one demonstrates that

his knowledge goes far and beyond most

mentalists and it's not just tricks that

he does

but he has an understanding of social

psychology so in this scene uh he's

asked to put an ipod or an mp3 player

back in the evidence box and he walks

over there he

actually puts it in his pocket and he

grabs this other bag with this random

thing in there i don't even know what it

is

but it doesn't look anything like the

mp3 player it's not even slightly the

same color

and he shows that puts that in the box

and they sort of accept that as

okay he put it back in although it looks

nothing like it

this relates to one of my favorite

studies in social psychology but before

i tell you

what that is and what it means i want to

play this game so i'm going to show you

a clip this is an ad from the 90s

i want you to watch this clip and you're

going to see two teams

those who are dressed in black clothes

and the ones who are dressed in white

clothes

i want you to count exactly how many

times the team in white clothes

pass the ball between them those of you

who get it right

will have won so count the number of

passes only between the players

in white

so how many passes did you count between

the white players

if you said 13 passes you are 100

correct but that's not the point how

many of you noticed

the dancing bear that's right right in

the middle of that video

a guy dressed in a bear outfit walked

from the right side

stopped in the middle of the screen

danced a little and then moonwalked out

of the frame

let me know in the comments if you

noticed the dancing bear or if you

completely missed it and don't feel bad

if you missed it because almost everyone

does it's totally normal but the point

is this

the clip we just saw and the one from

the mentalist demonstrate

inattentional blindness or perceptual

blindness

the term was created in the 90's by

researchers aryan mack and irvin rock

and the clip we just saw was an ad for a

safe cycling like to notice everything

while you're cycling and notice the

animals

but is based on something called the

gorilla experiment originally it wasn't

a bear outfit

it was a gorilla outfit but they

demonstrate one very simple thing

when we're focusing on one thing we

could

totally miss something obvious like in

the case of the mentalist

all she wanted was for him to put the

thing back in the box

so she was totally blind to what was

specifically in the bag

magicians and mentalists use this all

the time we distract you with one thing

while something's happening somewhere

else we know exactly how to turn your

attention

where we don't need it so watch out for

that the next time you watch

a mentalist perform we need you to write

down your names and the numbers to reach

you at

win yeah chris was a color what color

would she be

uh orange or pink no

orange is right if you're an animal what

kind of animal would she be

i don't know a rabbit

how's this relevant

everything's relevant how is that

relevant

if you're looking for someone who

doesn't like orange rabbits exactly

okay so this is another nod to an entire

field of psychology

which is freudian psychology sigmund

freud obviously being

the father of psychoanalysis our brains

are really good at oversimplifying

the complexity of our thoughts and

emotions for us to be able to

consciously express them and

psychologists use this they might ask

you something like

what color is that feeling or what's an

image that represents that emotion

in order for them to break it down and

try to see what's happening on a

subconscious level

so right now i'm going to give you guys

a personality test right to the screen

but before i do

hit that subscribe button turn those

notifications on for more amazing

psychology

mentalism and hypnosis content okay so

here we go in your mind

imagine a desert this could be any kind

of desert but be specific

see the desert you want to see is it

flat is there bumps is there mountains

what are you seeing be detailed in this

desert somewhere there's a box a cube

imagine every detail you can about it

how big is it what's it made of is it

old is it new is it strong

is it big is it on the ground give it as

much detail as you want

don't let my words influence you this is

your box

see the box that you want and finally

imagine a ladder that's right a ladder

where is it

how big is it what is it made of is it

leaning on the box is it far from the

box

what is the relationship between the box

and the ladder really build that image

in your mind again don't let my words

influence you this has to be the image

that you want what we just did is called

the cube experiment this is something

that a lot of psychologists use

and believe that it could tell you so

much more about your subconscious mind

than tarot cards or crystal balls which

don't make

any sense see the cube in the desert is

simplifying

your thoughts and i'll give you a quick

breakdown the desert represents the way

you perceive

life people who see a lot of mountains

and a lot of bumps and things like that

typically are people who have had a lot

of challenges in life and have overcome

those challenges

people who see flat typically have had a

pretty easy life

have a pretty chill vibe i don't know if

that makes sense for you

the cube represents the way you see

yourself

so people who have really big

personalities tend to make

big cubes mine was giant uh colors also

mean like kind of creativity and crazy

and people are a little bit shyer a

little bit more subtle tend to have

smaller

boxes also how old or how new it is um

can represent how experienced you think

you are in life

the latter represents your social circle

family

and friends usually really big ladders

symbolize a very big social circle

and smaller ones symbolize people of a

very small but close

social circle let me know in the

comments what did your desert look like

your box your ladder i've seen so many

interesting things

and i've been able to tell people so

many crazy things that i couldn't have

known

based on just these three questions all

you have to do

is go back back to that night

and be there

and there you are ah

what is it hope what do you see i see

danny's father

they're above the rocks no you don't

what is he doing

staring at us at chris

that's it staring what's wrong with him

come back home

what happened you're okay you did very

well thank you

okay so this scene is one of the reasons

i'm obsessed with this series

there are a lot of movies and tv shows

out there that include hypnosis scenes

and make hypnosis seem like the most

ridiculous over-the-top thing where

hypnotists are like

you sleep you sleep you sleep and

everyone's just like sleeping like

everyone is like

super easy to hypnotize and that's

always kind of bothered me now

in this show they do exaggerate hypnosis

in certain places

but this was brilliant because here's

what happened the first time i watched

this

there's one of the first times in the

series uses hypnosis and immediately i

was like

no once again here we have a show that's

completely exaggerated

for two reasons the first reason is he

took like a minute to hypnotize them and

she hallucinated

seeing someone on the mountain in front

of her that's called a positive

hallucination

when you look somewhere where there's

nothing and imagine something

and it's very difficult to do with

hypnosis typically

we get someone hypnotized we do other

things with them to build them up to

something like that

it's not something somebody can do

immediately you could see the other

three guys are barely even

you know in any relaxation she's already

hallucinating someone i was like oh come

on here we go

another giant exaggeration my second

problem with it was

when he tapped her on the shoulder and

he said come back like that that's not

how you wake someone

up hypnosis you have to take your time

with it and bring them up so

i looked at this and i said here we go

another series with bogus hypnosis

but the joke was on me because later in

the episode

they brilliantly showed this i never

really hypnotized you

you pretended to be in a trance to give

us a fake story and incriminate an

innocent man

how amazing is that so they do this

scene and me as a hypnotist

looks at it and goes no this is bogus

doesn't make any sense

and then later on they show that he

wasn't even trying to hypnotize her

it was just a way to frame her and i i

was like standing ovation

that is amazing now they go on in the

series to cover a lot more

hypnosis let me know in the comments are

you guys interested

in me breaking down some of the hypnosis

scenes and telling you what's possible

and what's not possible with hypnosis

i generally want to know if that is

something that interests you

now in the last video that i did about

this show i ended with a scene

and i asked you guys what you think

about it in the comments and a lot of

you

said some really great things so

basically patrick jane was

at a blackjack table at a casino and

they showed that he was winning very

consistently

and then later at a bar he explained

that the way he does this

is like this in my mind i have made

every card

in the deck into a vivid character jack

of hearts

a ballet dancer with devil's horns

two of diamonds duck smoking a cigar

like that

why doug doesn't matter every card is a

living thing every position in the deck

is a location in my memory palace

so i told you guys that the memory

palace is 100 a real thing i even gave

you some history on that

and that they explained it almost

perfectly in

the show but i did say that there was a

logic problem

with that sequence now a lot of you in

the comments said that the problem is

when he's got the deck in his hands he

keeps cutting like this and he knows

what card

he cut to i do admit that that looked a

little suspicious but it's possible that

when he's cutting like this

he could see the card above and because

he's memorized the order

he knows what the next one is so even if

that one is

looks a little too good to be true it's

not the main mistake the main mistake

is this memory palaces are absolutely a

real thing

but they can absolutely not help you

at a blackjack table in no way first of

all how can you memorize the deck that's

being shuffled that you haven't seen

now some of you might be saying well he

doesn't necessarily memorize

the cards that are in the deck but he

memorizes the cards that come out to

know what's left

but that's called card counting and you

don't need to memorize

the specific cards all you need to do is

remember how many high cards came out

how many low cards came out

to know how hot the deck is and you guys

could look up card counting

to know how that works but you don't

need to memorize

the sequence or order of the specific

cards it's

extra information it's useless it

doesn't help you you still have to count

even if you memorize you have a painting

you want to tell me

look at lotta moro yes

i don't believe you would you like to

take a look

sure

uh

are you mad no i'm just kidding

kidding it's just a prop to get me into

the room

i am aware that you have the real pain

there you go look at that let's say

an italian silk merchant's wife is 600

years old

it's it's alive it's it's immortal

please

now i understand why you went to such

lengths together

she is beautiful now

everybody out

[Music]

okay brilliant scene let me explain to

you guys what's happening for you guys

to get a bit more context so

he's at the house of a criminal who is a

big art collector

and patrick wants to steal a specific

painting from this guy

and to do that he comes up with a genius

plan and it's based on something that

magicians and mentalists use

all the time to switch things which is

called

a flap here's how it works i want you to

imagine that this over here is a

duplicate of the painting

it's been done by a professional artist

who made a painting that looks

exactly the same as the real one in this

case a queen of spades

over that he's put a flap which is a

silly doodle

drawing in this case on one side and

also

on the other side so on each side

there's this

kind of silly looking sketch that kind

of mildly looks

like the painting and that's over his

fake

now he asks to see the real painting so

imagine that this is the real painting

you'll notice it looks exactly the same

as the duplicate

now as he's holding this one he gives a

signal to his team

to start a fire alarm and while people

are looking away

he touches these two for a second now

notice what's going to happen

as he touches them he deposits that flap

over the real one like this

and that's it now the real one is over

here

and the duplicate has been exposed

so now they think this over here is the

silly sketch he came in with

but the flap has been transferred to the

real one he could leave with this

which is the real one leaving them with

the duplicate

absolutely brilliant here's the thing

there's a giant

mistake in the scene conceptually

they nailed it they wrote a perfect

switch

it's beautiful it's compelling but they

messed up

really bad in the execution of it now

i'm not going to say what it is

let me know in the comments what you

think the mistake is and i'm gonna tell

you this

it's subtle you do have to watch it a

couple of times but once you see it

you can't ignore it guys let me know in

the comments what you think the mistake

is

and i will start the next video right

here and tell you

why although it's brilliantly written

they messed it up in execution

thanks for watching guys i'll see you on

the next one