Talk:Mentalism

Section on Techniques?

I think it would be useful to include a section on techniques that mentalists use to practice their craft. I know it involves memory and cold reading but there must be more information out there on this subject. Since mentalists are open about the fact that they do not have psychic powers and there are techniques involved, I think it would be valuable to include some information on this. 63.143.219.45 (talk) 18:12, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Magicians and mentalists study and explore the art of deception always looking for new methods and updating older ones. We enjoy baffling and astonishing each other. We do not desire to FOOL people! Our goal is to entertain and instill wonder! Mentalists I have contacted possess little knowledge, or would rather not even know about, the unusual links that can occur in Folie a deux. Miistermagico (talk) 11:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

The lead

It's completely bs. Mentalism is a form of entertainment based on cold reading/suggestion. It has nothing to go with weird magical powers. 50.187.216.93 (talk) 06:47, 20 August 2015 (UTC) @SafetyMentalst on Twitter Alleged Mentalast ..

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Defence

'I've got a corrupt solution; and the remedy's hard.'.

Cost-benefit efficacy is improved by considering helping people with tinnitus.

This is related to the invention of medical magic via conundrum; with the question; 'Is a trick with the eyes white or black magic?'.

This could be a grand new endeavour for humanity.

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 1 September 2021 and 15 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Rmshaw.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 03:54, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Verification tag

In recent months, I've gone down a mentalism rabbit hole - reading and watching all about it. They really are incredible! Will do what I can here to improve the article and remove the tag here. MaskedSinger (talk) 06:54, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Techniques section ethics?

Hello Wikipedians,

Reading over this article after having previously read it in the past I am shocked by the number of techniques described and the level of detail in which they are described. The mentioning of specific techniques (center tears, acidus novus, nail writing, pre show, dual realities, gimmick and such), while describing true parts of mentalist performance, frankly give too much away. If any person with a casual interest in this genre of entertainment were to read through the article as it currently is, they would quite possibly spoil the vast majority of effects they watch in the future. This hardly seems fair to the reader, and it definitely does not seem fair to the performer. Many of the techniques mentioned are protected secrets created by people whose livelihoods currently rely on the sale of such secrets. I believe it is enough to say that sleight of hand, suggestion, misdirection, and cold reading are the principle techniques of mentalism, as those techniques principally envelope all the others written without an unethical and exposing level of detail. Xobr21037 (talk) 02:42, 1 April 2025 (UTC)

I strongly disagree. There is wide public misunderstanding about how mentalism works, deliberately created by performers falsely attributing their effects to use of psychology, hypnotism etc. It is in the public interest that an authoritative source like Wikipedia should correct this misattribution and give a true picture. However, I would support a spoiler alert. 95.246.75.144 (talk) 22:49, 19 April 2025 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not an authoritave source. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. And we don't alert for "spoilers", ever. (CC) Tbhotch^™ 04:22, 20 April 2025 (UTC)

If spoiler alerts are not permitted, so be it. An encyclopedia should be attempting to present a complete and accurate account of factual reality. It should not sidestep around factual reality on the ground that some people might be more entertained by not knowing. 95.246.75.144 (talk) 05:31, 20 April 2025 (UTC)

As far as I understand this is page is not meant to be the final word on mentalism, it is meant to be an introduction, an overview of something. If someone wants to do a deep dive that is up them, that is what references are for. Also, I don't think there is a big misunderstanding, I would be surprised if there were more than a small amount of people who seriously believe you can tell what someone is thinking based on micro expressions in eyebrows. It is all theater. If there was some grave large public crisis then I might be worried, but I have yet to see someone who, after a couple of hours to cool down after the show, did not sink back to reality and recognize it was all smoke and mirrors. Xobr21037 (talk) 22:41, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

When consider the descriptions of techniques we also have to take into account the ethics of trade secrets. If a painter had discovered a specific way of creating a specific type of painting, something they held close and developed for years on their own, it would be (at least in my worldview) rather unethical to expose said technique to the world without the permission of said creator. This page has at times described techniques that took years to develop by people who labored over them, specifically in ways to keep them secrets so that they may be used for the entertainment and enjoyment of others. I fully support the debunking of people like Uri Geller, but when you have a mentalist, who openly says they're just doing some fun tricks (maybe with a presentation that implies psychology for the sake of texture), I don't see the harm in letting them keep the specifics of their technique secret as long as we know there is a technique. Xobr21037 (talk) 22:48, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

considering* Xobr21037 (talk) 22:54, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

Also as a note, I do share some level of concern with the other thoughts on this page. Knowledge about the craft should be freely available and spoilers are just another form of information. Considering this, I think the page is fine as it is at the time of this writing. There is enough on the page to disprove any notions of pure psychology as the cause, while also providing links to the 13 steps and other sources if the reader would like to do a deep dive on technique. Anyone who reads this page would come away understanding it is all tricks, and they would have the resources to look further and develop their own craft or research technique if they wished. Please someone message me if this is not a reasonable compromise. Xobr21037 (talk) 22:58, 26 May 2025 (UTC)