Episode 64 - Scam your way into anything panel (part 2), plus bonus Q&A! [Discussion]

[travislopes]

The second half of Brian's "Scam your way into anything" panel record from SXSW Interactive!

Watch and download here.

[splive]

Brian, I gotta know.

Is the self-deprecating humor that you often use just a product of your social instincts, or is there actually a social engineering aspect there?

I guess my thought is that by stating an obviously false negative statement about yourself, you make your audience assert a positive sentiment. You: “Everything has gone horribly wrong at some point, I’m a horrible magician” Audience (mentally): “That’s funny, but he’s actually pretty good at what he does”. Perhaps it also plays in with the “make em laugh” trick. You get your audience to both laugh and appreciate you, and at the same time affirm to themselves that you are not actually whatever negative thing you just joked about being.

I have no basis for any of this other than what I’ve picked up from Scam School and other social engineering shows and my own intuition, so I could be completely off base here.

[shwooddotcom]

Originally Posted by splive

Brian, I gotta know.

Is the self-deprecating humor that you often use just a product of your social instincts, or is there actually a social engineering aspect there?

I don't think it's a calculated move, but a reaction I've had for years against people who take themselves seriously. I think after watching enough people and thinking "Whoa, who does this jerk think he is?" enough times, it became important to me to always communicate that I don't think I'm better than anyone else.

But I love that your scam school question has you questioning everything!

[bsg]

You should've split it into three parts and called the Q&A "When Audiences Attack." I don't think I could've kept composure during that kind of a rude Q and A. Nerds really are vicious.

That said, as a midget in a wheelchair, I find self deprecating humor and quick wit can do 3 things.
- It acknowledges the "elephant in the room." The tendency is for people to avoid or ignore adversity instead of accepting it.
- It sets the bar low, and excuses their shallowest thoughts. If a person is thinking "What a strange looking kid?" and then they hear that, it comforts their conscience and allows them to stop worrying about it.
- It allows you to own your image and how you are received. From there on out, your true qualities will be represented, not their assumptions. They'll be receptive to suggestions about you and your character.

Honestly, without this technique, people often ignore me, or don't listen to the words I use and just hear "over" me. I've got a few other tricks I've had since I was really young, but I'm only now recognizing them. I think we know a lot more about social engineering than we give ourselves credit for. You have to pay attention to the cues and signals you're already throwing out, and how people react to them.

[chrissmith_156]

What!

I thought we would find out how to do the ESP tricks.

I've seen methods of the picking a word out of a book style trick before. But they all involve the magician forcing pages, and handling the book (at least a bit) themselves. Brian didn't even touch the book after the guy took it.

That's definitley the best version of this effect I've ever seen.

But here's how I think it's done: The books are probably gimmicks, specially printed versions so that each page of the book has the same handful of "$3 words" but starting with different letters.

So Brian just needs to know 3 things to get the word:

1. Which book they chose.
2. That they will pick a big long word.
3. The first letter of that word.

The thing with the animal picture smells like a funny way of finding out the first letter.

That's how I'd do it anyway.

Great trick though.

As for the telepathic picture trick... I'm still scratching my head, but the first guy defnitely got a card forced on him

[shwooddotcom]

Originally Posted by chrissmith_156

But here's how I think it's done:

...<snip>...

That's how I'd do it anyway.

Here's the full explanation:
http://revision3.com/scamschool/anyt...seek=1767:1790

[bsg]

zing!

[maximatwitch]

hey Brian just wanted to comment on your fake all stage passes.
when you stated that your posture and hesitation will decide if it works or not i completely agree. at the last concert i went to i attempted to get into the beer gardens which i am underage but hey worth a shot. instead of grabbing someone elses id i used my own which stated that i am 17 and i showed no hesitation at all. the bouncer confirmed that it was indeed my id and let me go through. the actions you present will make anyone believe. just thought id share one of my experiances. btw best show on the net

[will_stutler]

@shwooddotcom

your EPIC dude,
i have to give you credit, i tuned into the second half of it (todays show) for the fist "trick" you did to be answered......not giving us a answer, how dare you
just messing with you, everyone's gotta make a living

any way, i just wanted to let you know that i enjoyed the show and to tell you to keep up the good work

[chrissmith_156]

Originally Posted by shwooddotcom

Here's the full explanation:
http://revision3.com/scamschool/anyt...seek=1767:1790

LOL. I'm sorry, delete my post if you want to.

It's just weird because every other scam school I've seen you do the trick and then tell us how it's done.

But when you don't tell us one, you gotta expect us to wonder and try to figure it out for ourselves. Right?

Anyway knowing the secret wouldn't stop me going to one of your shows, the art is in the performance, not the mechanics of how the trick works.