The TED Talk I chose to analyze was called “The Art of Misdirection” presented by Apollo Robbins who is renowned as the world best pickpocket. While the title of “worlds best pickpocket” does not sound like something you’d want to be known for, Robbins is a very intelligent scientist that is able to manipulate the minds of people by using misdirection in order to act right under their nose without them even knowing. The main thesis that Robbins talks about is the simplistic mechanism of the mind can be easily manipulated. While we sit in awe of how incredible the human mind is and how it controls all of our bodily functions and that we cannot live without it, Robbins can easily manipulate the sensory perception of individuals and be able to toy with the “body guard” of the brain (named Frank).
This is a concept that has always peaked my interest as I was very interested in performing magic tricks a few years back and magic is all about misdirection. Being able to perform actions right in front of the face of another individual but simply controlling their attention to allow for the development of the trick. This TED Talk opened up some of the cognitive concepts of how people pay attention and how Frank in the forefront of our minds can easily be distracted from his sensory duties.
The speaker is obviously very knowledgable on this subject which makes his presentation very simple and natural for him. He performs his “tricks” and simply embarrasses an audience member by taking his watch and money from his pocket on stage without him or anyone else noticing. His presentation is very interactive and actually keeps his audience on the edge of their seats by opening up with his title “worlds best pickpocket” then doing things like asking the audience to close their eyes and walking amongst the audience. This forces the audience to completely dedicate their attention to him and he loves it because that is how he is able to manipulate them. Robbins performance is very much a presentation as it is very interactive with the audience and very engaging to the people watching. He simply seems as though he could stand up on stage and talk endlessly about this topic that he is very passionate about but rather illustrates the capabilities of his research in a way that is engaging for they audience and hold their attention the whole time.
I watched this TED Talk myself a while back, and I completely agree with your analysis of Robbins. It’s interesting to think about the extent to which the human attention span can be controlled, and somewhat frightening just how easy it is to command the mind. I like how you point out how Robbins’ knowledge of the topic allows him to be a more effective presenter; oftentimes, speakers fail to effectively convey their ideas not because of their speaking techniques, but because they do not fully understand the topic they wish to present. Overall, great analysis!
This is so cool! Also, you shouldn’t have said that you do magic because now I’m going to harass you all year to show me some tricks! It always blows my mind how magicians and pickpockets can trick you right under your nose!