Derren Brown predicts the lottery numbers..

[Guest]

It's impossible to believe if you know the 1st thing about how random number generators actually work and realise that Brown's excuses for why he couldn't show his 'predicted' numbers before the draw a complete bull ****...

Oxbridge professors in 'Derren Brown talks bullpoo' non-shocker:

...Roger Heath-Brown, Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Oxford, has dismissed Brown's explanation.

 

"Mathematically it is complete rubbish. It is a bluff on his part," he said.

 

And David Spielgelhalter, professor of public understanding of risk at the University of Cambridge added: "There is a difference between guessing between the weight of an ox and guessing lottery balls, which is un-guessable.

 

"That is just a clear wind-up and complete nonsense. There is absolutely no way he did that."

From here.

[Fudbeer 12]

What explanation did he give? There were three of them. The idea is that this is an entertainment show designed to make us speculate and keep us guessing, not a 'how to...' guide to put the lottery out of business.

 

No doubt you'll be interested in watching next week as well. Did anyone seriously expect him to reveal how to predict the numbers, if he even did manage it?

 

It's hardly an 'insult to the viewers', I found it great entertainment, enjoyed the show and still won't be playing the lottery.

 

I expected him to give an explanation that at least made me think,"ahh thats clever" or stimulates my imagination not an explanation that was frankly so far fetched I lost intrest half way through.

 

And no I wont be watching next week.

[LibertyBell 10]

Here's my prediction for tonight's lottery.

 

Tomorrow, there will be loads of people claiming they got 3 or 4, even 5 numbers right using Derren's "technique" of "wisdom of crowds"

[Dick 10]

I expected him to give an explanation that at least made me think,"ahh thats clever" or stimulates my imagination not an explanation that was frankly so far fetched I lost intrest half way through.

 

And no I wont be watching next week.

 

I agree 100%

[plekhanov 10]

None of these things directly support the split screen theory specifically though, just that there was some sort of trickery going. I'd have thought the fact that the ball moved as they were announcing the numbers was an argument against the split screen theory it if anything. Had it moved after the announcement was complete then maybe, but not in the middle of it, why would they switch the feed then?

The ball moved when Brown was stalling to give his assistant time to finish and get out the shot by writing down the numbers in numerical order on his wholly unnecessary but distracting bit of card.

 

Check out

to see exactly when the ball rose.

 

a digitally stabilised close up of the balls clearly shows the ball on the far left rising as the overlay is removed.

 

gives a step by step breakdown of how the trick was done.

[plekhanov 10]

I wouldn't say it's the simplest solution at all.

The simplest would be that Derren Brown has exploited a possible time lag between the actual draw and the broadcast.

 

Sure it's supposed to be "Live" but it's not beyond the BBC to broadcast it as if it was live, after all they have done it before.

Take Saturday kitchen.......It was broacast as a "live" show and even the host cook James Martin got people to phone in and vote for one dish over the other.

It was soon discovered that the program wasn't broacast live and people that had phone into vote had wasted their money as their vote meant nada!

The BBC were forced to apologies for the deception.

 

Then there was all the Blue Peter.....phone vote scandal.

 

I myself was invited to be a caller on a BBC tv programme by the BBC producer of the program after she had read one of my comments on a BBC forum board.

I was contacted by the producer a week before the program was aired live on tv.

The BBC phone you up about an hour before the program starts just to make sure you are in, and test the sound quality and volume of your line.

Once they have done the test they tell you to stay by the phone during when the program is on and wait for their call.

Then about 10 minutes before your slot the BBC phone you up and ask you to stay on line until the presenter mentions your name on the program.

 

The presenter was Brigitte Kendal who is a fairly familiar face as a political correspondent on the BBC news.

 

I was among about 7 or 8 "callers" on the programme.

Throughout the programme Briggette was inviting people to call in with their views, even when there was only about 10 minutes left Brigette was still saying, there's still time to get your call in if you want to join in.

Well that was obviously a lie because it took 10 minutes for the BBC test on your line, remember I was preselected a week before the programme, with correspondance back and forth between the show's producer!

Were the BBC hoping to exploit any phone revenues as a result?....quite possibly

 

So the point being, the Lottery may not be truely live, just because the BBC say it is live.

 

With Derren being in the tv business he probably knows how the BBC operates via people he knows that work for the BBC, to know if in fact the lottery program has any wiggle room before it is broadcast or not.

If that was the case then it would have taken much for Derren to exploit any time delay, by getting perhaps a technician or member of the production team to text the ball numbers to him.

Now that is definitely simpler than any live trick screen camera trickery.

No that solution is much more complex than split screen as it relies upon the collusion of silence of many people at the BBC and Camelot. If BBC Camelot representatives are questioned upon this your 'secret time delay' explanation even calls upon them to lie.

 

Every time you enter another person who must remain silent in an explanation it complicates it significantly.

 

In contrast split screen only requires the small number of people directly working with and for Brown to be in on the trick it is much simpler.

 

 

Also your examples of nonlive live programs and so forth obviously don't have anything like the attention being paid to them or the additional legal issues that go along with a lottery distributing millions of pounds being drawn, least of all a lottery draw with Derren Brown 'predicting' it. Surely you can see how lying about the broadcast of the lottery is a rather bigger deal than some cookery phone in?

[LibertyBell 10]

Having watched Derren many times, I have noticed that he often gives the assurance that no trick camera work is involved. There was no such statement this time.

[Cynic 10]

Just when you thought that it was over!!

 

Apparently there is a video showing Derren on an open top bus in London with Christmas Lights in the background while a group of children hold up the winning lottery numbers from the other night. It didn't get used in the programs as there wasn't time apparently. That would have probably been more impressive! Don't think the video is available anywhere but it would be interesting to see if it was a single shot or lots cut together.

[*Ryan* 11]

Ah it was a camera trick the cheeky scamp.