Illusionist Derren Brown revealed he was able to predict last week's lottery numbers just by combining the random guesses of a panel of members of the public.
Over 2.7 million viewers tuned in to Britain's Channel 4 to watch Brown perform his latest trick in which he appeared to have correctly guessed the numbers.
He gathered a panel ofTV experts have ridiculed Brown's theory as 'complete rubbish' and believe he used TV wizardry to fool the public.
But Brown claims that the predictions were correct because of the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ theory which suggests that a large group of people making average guesses will come up with the correct figure as an average of all their attempts.Broadcasting from a secret studio location, Brown told viewers he had written his predictions on a line of balls, which he then revealed after watching the draw live on BBC 1.
He said: "That's a year of my life right there. I can't believe it", as he turned over the balls to reveal they were an exact match for the winning numbers: 2, 11, 23, 28, 35, 39.He told viewers that he used: "A powerful beautiful secret that can only be achieved when we all put our heads together."
Critics believe the Channel 4 screen was split in two - with the left side being a still image of the studio, containing a stand bearing Derren's "lottery balls," and the right side a live feed of the illusionist with a TV showing the Lotto draw.Other theories suggest an assistant could stick the numbers on the balls through a gap in the wall. But Brown insists he did not, and would never, fix the lottery machine.
Another idea floated was the use of a laser to write the numbers on the blank Lotto balls from a distance while some believe he actually hypnotised an entire audience into believing they could see the correct numbers on blank balls.Some even thought Derren recorded every possible combination of lotto numbers but there are more than 14 million combinations and it would take him more time than the years he has been alive.
The most common theory is that it was filmed using overlay to cover an assistant placing the correct numbers in the right places, however many fans on Brown's website andBrown, whose trick was the culmination of a year's work, snubs his critics.
He said: "It's quite possible that many of you simply won't believe it. So you may choose not to believe any of what I've told you. Maybe you'll still believe that it was some sort of 'super technology', What you choose to believe is up to you."His previous TV specials have included live
How do you think he did it? Tell us below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-5qebwflA" target="_blank">Watch the lotto draw here.Search for Derren Brown videos here.
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