The art of misdirection | Apollo Robbins | TED

Summary

In this intriguing presentation, a pickpocket-turned-performer explores the concept of controlling and predicting human attention and behavior. Through a series of interactive demonstrations and misdirections, the speaker illustrates how our focus can be manipulated, often without our awareness. The audience is engaged in games and tricks that highlight the limitations of our perception, even when we believe we are paying close attention. The talk concludes with a thought-provoking question about the power of attention and its potential uses, leaving the audience to ponder the implications of such control.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The speaker discusses the intriguing concepts of controlling and predicting human attention and behavior, suggesting it would be an ideal 'superpower'.
• 🎩 With a unique perspective, the speaker shares their expertise in studying human behavior through the unconventional practice of pickpocketing.
• 👀 The script highlights the power of misdirection, illustrating how the most obvious things can be the hardest to see, using the example of cell phones and their icons.
• 🕒 An interactive exercise is conducted where attendees are challenged to recall the time on their phones without looking, showcasing the limits of attention.
• 👕 A game of trust is introduced, where attendees are asked to guess the speaker's attire with their eyes closed, emphasizing the unreliability of memory and perception.
• 🧠 The Posner's trinity model of attention is mentioned, but the speaker simplifies the concept to a 'surveillance system' with a security guard named Frank inside our brains.
• 🚪 The script explains that attention acts as a gateway to the mind, controlling what we perceive and making us unaware of unattended stimuli.
• 🍸 The 'cocktail effect' is used as an example of how we can attend to something (like our name) without being fully aware of the surrounding conversation.
• 🛍️ The speaker's profession involves manipulating attention to perform feats of pickpocketing, using distraction to control how the audience spends their attention.
• 🤹‍♂️ Live demonstrations are conducted to show how the speaker can manipulate the audience's focus, performing tricks that involve stealing items and even making them appear in unexpected places.
• 👏 The performance concludes with a reflection on the power of attention, prompting the audience to consider what they would do if they could control someone's attention.

Q & A

What is the speaker's profession that allows him to study human behavior?

The speaker is a pickpocket, which has allowed him to study human behavior in an unorthodox way.

How does the speaker use the concept of misdirection in his work?

The speaker uses misdirection by focusing on the things right in front of people, which are often the hardest to see, to distract and control attention.

What experiment does the speaker conduct with the audience's cell phones?

The speaker asks the audience to recall the icon in the bottom right corner of their cell phones without looking, demonstrating how easily people can be misdirected.

What is the 'cocktail effect' mentioned by the speaker?

The 'cocktail effect' is the phenomenon where one can recognize their name in a noisy environment without consciously listening to the conversation.

How does the speaker describe the model of attention he uses?

The speaker describes the model of attention as a surveillance system with a security guard named Frank inside the brain, who controls what we perceive.

What does the speaker do to demonstrate the limitations of human attention?

The speaker plays a game of trust where he asks the audience to close their eyes and guess what he is wearing, then performs a trick to show how attention can be manipulated.

What trick does the speaker perform with a poker chip and a volunteer named Joe?

The speaker performs a trick where he appears to make a poker chip disappear from Joe's hand and reappear on his shoulder, demonstrating the power of distraction.

How does the speaker use the concept of internal focus to manipulate attention?

The speaker asks questions that require the audience to access memories or focus internally, which prevents them from processing new external data simultaneously.

What unexpected item does the speaker find in a volunteer's pocket during the demonstration?

The speaker finds a shrimp in a volunteer's pocket, which was unexpected and added humor to the demonstration.

What gift does the speaker give to the volunteer Joe at the end of the demonstration?

The speaker gives Joe a watch as a gift, along with some cash and other items found during the demonstration.

What final question does the speaker pose to the audience regarding attention?

The speaker asks the audience to consider what they would do if they could control someone's attention.