Hypnotic virus

[fishtits]

I don't know whether I can believe any of these Derren Brown but considering there are hypnotic induction methods are constantly being improved, refined and innovated, what happens in this video isn't beyond the realms of possibility
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 878343763#
a virus that hypnotises the computer user sounds like science fiction but I can't really see any good reason why this wouldn't work. It wouldn't hypnotise everyone of course but out of the thousands of people with the virus, theres bound to be at least 1 person that was susceptible to that particular induction method. This would virus would consist of both a virtual counterpart and a mental counterpart.

[Goatboy]

Funny, but completely staged.

At first I was like "Okay, I can follow this. A videogame meant to fool the senses." It's certainly been done before. I thought maybe with another human controlling the enemies it may feel more real. But when the flashes came up, I was like "Oh fucking really?"

Nobody would react this way. His two friends, upon seeing a man dressed in black come up and start carrying him away, would not have been so calm about it. They looked like they were totally okay with what happened. Then he is being wheeled out and across a busy street, and nobody notices. Further, the whole "Iamderrenbrowngotosleep" hand-to-the-forehead knockout was just ridiculous.

That said, I am not sure how well this would work out. There have certainly been results shown for subliminal messaging. I suppose they could write a virus that keyloags, as well as flashing a message across the screen for a twentieth of a second, every 5 seconds, saying "Buy stuff online" that might compel them to enter a CCN to an e-commerce site or something.

[OnlyHuman]

Agreed with Goatboy. David Blaine wrote in his book The Mysterious Stranger, that "magic is for the audience". Which, in the context, was used to illustrate how sometimes the only person who isn't "in" on the trick is the only person the trick is for. When I first loaded this video up, and the man claimed that he was a mentalist, I knew that I should take in everything I saw with a grain of salt.

All that aside, this is a pretty interesting area of study. And I wouldn't doubt if there are people who have been developing technology to do something similar. Which, is admittedly, at the current point in time, akin to a paranoid delusion. But ten years from now, it could be its own branch of science. There are after all, psychologists that have been working hand in hand with video game developers for years. Some for the purpose of creating engrossing story lines, and some for the sake of curing video game addiction. Nobody really knows how far this merge of disciplines could, or will, eventually be taken. Good find BTW.

[fabianhjr]

Something you must not confuse is the degree of control someone has over an hypnotized person. The person being hypnotized will NEVER do something against his will. You can make suggestions. You should lookup the real hypnosis.

[fishtits]

There have certainly been results shown for subliminal messaging. I suppose they could write a virus that keyloags, as well as flashing a message across the screen for a twentieth of a second, every 5 seconds, saying "Buy stuff online" that might compel them to enter a CCN to an e-commerce site or something.

http://www.wired.com/politics/security/ ... nd_reading

Something you must not confuse is the degree of control someone has over an hypnotized person. The person being hypnotized will NEVER do something against his will. You can make suggestions. You should lookup the real hypnosis.

In a direct sense, you're right. Someones will can be influenced so that they are all up for something they would ordinarily be opposed to. I've been researching hypnosis for a long time now and its clear that hypnosis is highly underestimated. It reveals the true degree of control we have over our own CNS and PNS. For example its been proven to be just as effective an analgesic as any anaesthetic during surgery and has been proven to be capable of altering physiological processes such as blood pressure. The effects it has on our perception is even more interesting. Synesthesia has been induced in the lab with hypnotic suggestion:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/126745.php
I've tried hypnotising friends but the only thing I can get to work on them is the finger lifting trick which I don't think is even hypnosis at all. I wanna go to a professional hypnotist for at least 1 session before starting to practice self hypnosis.

[jgreen45]

No doubt Derren Brown is hiding a trick up his sleeve in the video, i remember watching this show on t.v a few years ago and being very impressed. Despite this he claims

Wikipedia

Brown's usual claim that no actors or stooges were used in the filming of the shows

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Derren_Brown (i prefer SSL )

I too went down the hypnotise anyone schemes, all i can say is DON'T EVEN TRY to google anything about hypnosis before reading Derren Brown's book (Tricks of the mind). In my opinion it takes a much better stance on hypnosis in general and is very fun to read.

On the computer side of things, i find that the notion of people across the world being controlled by a hypnotising virus quite funny , but based on the trend of 'hacker' movies i can see this as a movie . Die hard 5.0 Anyone?

[sanddbox]

Lollollollollollollololollollol

*flash flash flash* *man/boy falls asleep instantly"

Do people actually believe this shit?

[fabianhjr]

Yes they do, I don't know who to feel more sorry about.
Either way @fishtits: Search for freddiew in Youtube. 2 of his friends got hypnotized.(Not what you think, long process for just some amazing show)

He also has a behind the scenes at hypnosis.

[Skiddie Killer]

All the stuff from the video is actually possible. I know a lot about hypnosis, and you can make someone do things they don't want to, but as previously said, in a subtle, indirect way. The "Iamderrenbrowngotosleep" thing is a shock induction.
When you shock someone, by pulling their arm, putting your hand on their eyes, or by any other means, they become very suggestible and will most likely respond to the command "SLEEP!". Not to mention that this guy was already in a suggestible state, because of the fear.
Here is an example of a shock induction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JjheobqRRI

[OnlyHuman]

I think that regardless of what the video makes appear possible and impossible, that there's a strong area of study at work here. These guys came up with a really good idea. It's both a bit awe inspiring, and frightening, when you look below the surface. I recently read an article, I can't remember where exactly, that talked about the effect certain color patterns had on the neural chemistry of different individuals. I believe it was focused more on epileptic seizures, and progress that's been made in preventing them. But, it talked about color 'feelings' (for lack of a better term), how warm colors can induce certain emotions, and cooler colors can induce others, and how, when these colors were switched at specific time intervals, certain stronger emotions could develop in some people. If somebody with the knowledge, and desire, took that information in this direction, then who knows what they could do with it?