Read the drunkards walk... then realise that the crowds have no wisdom in this case

The solution?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqAt2akPHJ8

I watched it last night, and he didn’t really tell me how he really did it. Just more smoke screens.

Let’s face it, if he broadcast on TV a concrete, repeatable way to win the lottery (or indeed any lottery), he would be in effect further devaluing it. Your winnings would be less than your stake, and in the long run it would collapse.

Interesting that the cup with the mouse under it was number 13. I would say that that was pretty predictable, especially after he called the unstamped cups “lucky”. That was almost a clumsy way to say: “this is how simple it can actually be”.

You must also remember that everyone he did a trick with could very well be stooges in on the act. Even the 24 choosing the numbers at random could be actors.

Unless there is a big reveal at the end of the series, I am doubtful we will ever know how he really did it. The thing that bugs me is that it could be a really, really simple parlour trick that he’s dressed up so well that it is unrecognisable. As I’ve said before, I like the trickery, but I am more interested in HOW it’s done rather than the outcome.

For me I just love the fact that everyone has a theory and no-one knows how it is done.

If, and I think it is by no means a given, he does tell us in the last episode, I will almost be disapointed, almost.

Of sourse there is a "trick" to it and as with all these things it will be simple, as well as being horrendously complicated at the same time. If it wasn't a trick it wouldn't be interesting. The question you have to ask is why did he pull the 24th person from the original crowd to do the maths. IIRC the initial crowd got 2 out of 6 and then 3, building through 4 and 5 as he introduced the automatic writing. The gentleman who couldn't do the automatic writing was probably the only stooge in the whole show because no-one else needed to be.

Most of the proffered solutions are far too complicated to actually be real from the Wisdom of Crowds to the switching of the lottery balls. There has to be a simple, easy solution to any trick this big. The fact that it was done live is the biggest piece of misdirection of all.

It's interesting?

I’m still going with the split screen. The pull back to the wide angle shot from another camera gave them time to clip the first on a tripod, and start the fake picture wobble.

He said at the end that it was a trick. It is, and I think the simplest explanation is the solution. It was very, very well executed. The hour’s programme was total misdirection.

So did anyone watch it tonight?

DB tries to get you to stick to your chair, so you can't get up.

Failed for me. But then again, I was lying in bed.

Definitely saw at least two images of a man on a chair (black and white drawing). Will try and catch it on 4+1.

Anyone else affected?

Yeah, I saw the images of the guy on a chair.

I also noticed a couple of words spoken out of turn - visibility and another one beginning with p but I can't remember it. Something like popcorn but not. He said them when he was standing on the stage I think just before the music thing where the guy put his hand up.

Didn't affect me though I really wanted it to (which is probably why it didn't).

Out of the three people I know who tried the sofa thing (myself included), no-one got stuck.

Didn't see any of the images that got flashed up (too quick for me!).

Didn’t get stuck either.

However, the interesting part was that the part where he was pretending to be homeless was filmed in Charter Place, Watford, where I used to live.

YEah completely forgot about that bit. It was far more entertaining than th rest of the show.

Re The Lottery results... this page has an interesting take on things. Did he rig it?

I wonder if his next "trick" will be to get the entire audience to simultaneously lose the will to live...

:etc:

The next one's on now!

How to become a psychic spy!

I drew three interlocking circles, similar to the Audi logo, which wasn't dissimilar to the revealed drawing!

I have checked The Telegraph from today and there was a text box on P30 with the words "Draw concentric circles". I never saw this when reading the paper, so it never influenced me.

Peter.