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Derren Brown has done several interations of a similar trick where he throws a bunch of smarties on a table and counts them in a couple of seconds and tells you how many of each colour there are.

Any pointers on where to get background material on how to do a similar effect? I can't see anything in any of the major mentalism books and dvds.

Thanks,

Roland

If you change Smarties to buttons, you can get some hints from the previous threads which are http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic6460.p ... wn+buttons and http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic5748.p ... rren+brown but, as per the Forum rules, we can’t say how it’s done. Not that we admit to knowing anyway !

Thanks, I wasn't expecting a reveal, just a pointer as to where to get info.

Roland

Google "skip counting " + skittles M&Ms or smarties
http://kids-learn.org/chocolate/isenberg/isenberg.htm
http://math.about.com/b/2008/11/08/skip ... arners.htm

see also http://www.leroux.ca/research/smarties- ... tribution/

So..has anyone worked it out yet or not..??

I have a few ideas... but dont we all

If I was doing it my solution would be purely mechanical. I won't say more. But there are probably several ways of doing it. It makes great television, but would be less strong on a stage in front of a live audience. And that is why it hasn't been written about extensively.
If we conceive of an effect we will be able to come up with a method - and someone else will come up with a better one. That's part of the fun.

This always struck me as a pretty poor effect... if it's a "trick", than how is it impressive in anyway? And if it's a real ability, it's got to rank as the most boring display of mental powers of all time

Yeah. You'd need to add some other element to it in order to make it entertaining. Slap in the face, anyone?

If somebody pours a pack of smarties on the table, give me 7 seconds and I'll tell you how many are there. 9/10 I'll be on the money and the other 1/10 I'm out by one.

It's not so much a trick, but there is trick to it.

Look up the word 'subitizing'

Tomo wrote:Look up the word 'subitizing'

Subitising can be improved by practice. After many years of counting the lengths of the blanks in crossword grids, I can subitise them up to about nine, and be no more than one away up to about twelve or thirteen. A minor skill which is not very useful in everyday life, unless you do have to count grid lengths a lot.

Robbie wrote:

Tomo wrote:Look up the word 'subitizing'

Subitising can be improved by practice. After many years of counting the lengths of the blanks in crossword grids, I can subitise them up to about nine, and be no more than one away up to about twelve or thirteen. A minor skill which is not very useful in everyday life, unless you do have to count grid lengths a lot.

Think deeper young Robbie. Think deeper...

You're not supposed to subitize the whole thing in one go.

Tomo wrote:Look up the word 'subitizing'

I believe it's also known as the flash count amongst the magic fraternity.

Lenoir wrote: If somebody pours a pack of smarties on the table, give me 7 seconds and I'll tell you how many are there.

If someone pours a pack of smarties on the table, give me 7 seconds and I'll have them all eaten. Make it pork pies and it won't take me that long.

I bet you couldn't count them though