0:00:02 > 0:00:05Do you like being part of the crowd? I really like crowds.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07This is the shockwave. Ooh!
0:00:07 > 0:00:08'Some people love it.'
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Do you need a hug, is that what this is?
0:00:12 > 0:00:13'Some people hate it.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:15All right, all right.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16'But one thing is for sure,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19'our lives are defined by the crowds we belong to.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Oh, my God. 'I'm going to take on the crowd.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I don't want to have to lift any of yous, now!
0:00:25 > 0:00:28'I want to learn to be the ultimate crowd controller.'
0:00:34 > 0:00:38That's the funny thing about crowds, you can never really control the way they behave.
0:00:38 > 0:00:38Or can you?
0:00:58 > 0:01:02This audience of 8,000 people has gathered to watch a national
0:01:02 > 0:01:06institution, the Proms.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09But I'm going on first, about to entertain this crowd
0:01:09 > 0:01:13by convincing them that something dreadful's about to happen.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15No, I haven't taken up the cello.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18But what I'm about to do will probably cause just as much
0:01:18 > 0:01:20shock and amazement.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I'm going to perform with one of my favourite instruments.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26This is what I do, I make audiences believe
0:01:26 > 0:01:31they are watching the impossible, by twisting their tiny minds.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Tonight, my instrument of mentalism
0:01:33 > 0:01:36is this six-inch surgical steel spike.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:01:41 > 0:01:43MUSIC CUTS OUT ABRUPTLY
0:01:43 > 0:01:45All right. Wish me luck!
0:01:45 > 0:01:49David Meade, everybody! Good evening, everyone! Good evening.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Everyone excited about this evening's Proms?
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Well, you'll be delighted to hear I'm only going to
0:01:55 > 0:01:57be on stage for about four or five hours...
0:01:57 > 0:02:00'I'm David Meade and I'm a mentalist.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04'No, that doesn't mean I'm a crazy fool, I'm a performer who
0:02:04 > 0:02:07'entertains people with tricks that mess with their minds.'
0:02:08 > 0:02:12..And one solid steel spike, Noel. Whoa!
0:02:12 > 0:02:16I want you to check that and make sure that is absolutely solid.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Looks pretty spiky to me!
0:02:18 > 0:02:19It isn't telescopic, it doesn't unscrew
0:02:19 > 0:02:21and it won't fall out of the bottom.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24OK. Happy, Noel? I wouldn't say I was happy, but...
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'The steel spike ensures that I have the undivided
0:02:27 > 0:02:30'attention from this evening's host, Noel Thompson,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32'who thinks he might get his hand skewered!'
0:02:32 > 0:02:34All right, Noel.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Noel, if I had to ask you, based even on odds alone,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40do you think this is more likely to be safe, or dangerous?
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Bearing in mind, it's only one in four. But what are you going to do?
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Well, if... LAUGHTER
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Now, Noel, if you had to guess...
0:02:49 > 0:02:52On the basis of one in four, I'd say it's going to be safe.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54So, statistically, it feels like it should be safe.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56All right, Noel, lean forward for me.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59So, folks, I need you to count from five to one, and then very slowly,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01we will press down, all right? Start with me. Five...
0:03:01 > 0:03:06AUDIENCE: Five, four, three, two, one!
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Oh, jeez!
0:03:09 > 0:03:10Good decision,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Noel, good decision.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'But I can't forget that while I'm on stage,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18'I have to keep the crowd completely engaged in what is going on.'
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Now, one in three, if you had to guess,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22more likely to be safe or dangerous?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Well, it's still more likely to be safe.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26All right, Noel, face away for me.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Now, Noel... When can I say, "No, thanks"?
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Folks, five... Again for me...
0:03:33 > 0:03:35AUDIENCE: Five, four, three...
0:03:37 > 0:03:39That was just for theatre, Noel, sorry about that one!
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Let's hear it for Noel, everyone. Good decision. CHEERING
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Now, folks, we're down to two cups.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48When we're down to two cups, the adrenaline really starts to flow!
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Folks, can you sense the adrenaline on stage?
0:03:52 > 0:03:54It's called fear, not adrenaline!
0:03:54 > 0:03:57'I have to manipulate what the crowd see...'
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Now, Noel, in a moment, I'm going to have you raise one hand,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01any hand you like, high into the air.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Don't think about it, don't say a word,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05raise one hand high up into the air.
0:04:05 > 0:04:06That one? Are you certain?
0:04:06 > 0:04:08'..what they think they see...'
0:04:11 > 0:04:12Oh, you poor wee chicken!
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'..and most importantly, when they think back,
0:04:16 > 0:04:17'what they thought they saw.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:21There all the time, ladies and gentlemen!
0:04:21 > 0:04:22'Ouch!'
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Let's hear it for Noel, thank you very much!
0:04:24 > 0:04:26CHEERING AND APPLAUSE David Meade, thank you very much indeed.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Standing in front of the Proms audience has started me thinking.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38I've worked with audiences large and small all through my career,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42but I've never really thought enough about what makes a crowd tick.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47I think I need to look outside the world of mentalism to see
0:04:47 > 0:04:51if crowds can be manipulated in the everyday world.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53I want to see if there are scientific techniques to
0:04:53 > 0:04:55controlling large groups.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59I want to find out if anyone out there is using these techniques.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02More importantly, would they be any use to me as a mentalist?
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Can you really control crowds, or is it just a trick of the mind?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'Where better to start my journey than in a place
0:05:17 > 0:05:21'I know crowds gather regularly, and most of us join in at least
0:05:21 > 0:05:25'once a week for a bit of what we think is innocent retail therapy?'
0:05:27 > 0:05:30I don't think that when I enter a retail space like this,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32I don't feel like I'm being manipulated,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35but is the word "manipulate" unfair, is it too strong a word?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Or is that really happening?
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Well, some of the literature around the whole retail store
0:05:40 > 0:05:44patronage actually talks about manipulation, in two ways.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Manipulation by projecting a certain image,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51but the other way, probably the more contentious way,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54is actually manipulating how consumers move around a store.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58NEWSREEL: 'A new era of prosperity and better living...'
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Like most things in our culture related to shopping
0:06:00 > 0:06:04and retail, the concept of the shopping centre came from America.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07But the man credited with inventing the shopping centre was
0:06:07 > 0:06:10born in Austria, architect Victor Gruen.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14During the '50s and '60s, Victor Gruen's work transformed
0:06:14 > 0:06:17city centres all over America, creating the shopping mall.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20But experts and academics have always suspected there is
0:06:20 > 0:06:23more going on here than meets the eye.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26If you look at the store environment,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28the store environment is essentially a tool,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31so they have a number of different strategies. For example,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34within this store layout, if we look at different floor plans,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38looking at the way the aisles are constructed,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41the flow of traffic, there are ways of manipulating consumers.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45'What was an ordinary main street is now an extraordinary place,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47'designed for the enjoyment of people.'
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Victor Gruen was accused of a bit of mind manipulation himself.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53It has been claimed that his shopping mall layouts were
0:06:53 > 0:06:56deliberately confusing and distracting,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59so customers would lose track of the original reason they came
0:06:59 > 0:07:02into the shopping mall and end up buying everything in sight.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Of course, Victor Gruen himself denied such manipulative
0:07:05 > 0:07:08techniques, but there is no doubt that modern-day shopping
0:07:08 > 0:07:10centres are designed to sell.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13This massive piece of architecture in the middle,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16it looks beautiful, but it also stops us
0:07:16 > 0:07:20bypassing all these shops, it forces us to go out and around them.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24It's called the racecourse effect. And that is forcing us as consumers,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26you can't just go straight down the middle,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30you have to go right round, to even move out of the shopping centre.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33And some of the environmental psychology theory
0:07:33 > 0:07:35refers to the PAD paradigm, essentially, it is
0:07:35 > 0:07:39about pleasure, arousal and dominance and how those
0:07:39 > 0:07:43emotional responses persuade consumers to buy in a certain way.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47'It is pretty obvious how shopping centres stimulate our pleasure
0:07:47 > 0:07:51'and arouse us with pretty lights, the latest tunes
0:07:51 > 0:07:56'and even nice smells, like fresh bread. But dominance?
0:07:56 > 0:07:59'That sounds like the kind of tactic I might use in mentalism.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03'I never realised that shops could be using it on me!'
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I mean, there is one particular big furniture shop, that I spend
0:08:06 > 0:08:10a fair bit of time in, and also trying to get out of, at times.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Because there is one path that is moderated
0:08:13 > 0:08:15and mediated by even big arrows on the floor.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18And that is manipulation by dominance.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Dominating the flow of traffic by the consumer,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24where they actually have to go a certain way,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26and in many ways can't get out of the store
0:08:26 > 0:08:30unless they have actually bypassed every single display on the way.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38One well-known large furniture store uses dominance in a very clever way.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42It forces people to follow the path around the store.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43On the one hand, some shoppers
0:08:43 > 0:08:46accept this dominance and follow the path.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49But on the other hand, some clever clogs reject the dominance
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and start looking for shortcuts.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Academics believe the store uses this dominance to deliberately
0:08:56 > 0:08:58frustrate both character types.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01At the end of the pathway is a marketplace where dominance
0:09:01 > 0:09:04no longer applies. Released from control,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08both types unleash their natural instinct to make free choices,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and they shop like wild things, filling their baskets,
0:09:11 > 0:09:12just as the store planned.
0:09:15 > 0:09:16It must work with me,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19because I never manage to leave that shop without
0:09:19 > 0:09:21something in my trolley, even if I'm just in for a wander around.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25That's because it would be soul destroying, after several hours!
0:09:31 > 0:09:35'It turns out I use a bit of dominance in my own act.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38'And in this environment, frankly, I just can't help myself,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42'and I've found the perfect participants in Katie and Ciara.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Katie and Ciara, thanks for helping me.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46I like crowds, they make me feel excited.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I hate crowds, sorry, it's not for me.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55'I'm going to ask Ciara to take an imaginary walk around the city, in her head.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01'The question is, can I know in advance where she might end up?'
0:10:01 > 0:10:05I'm fascinated by the way that people behave, especially when they are in groups and crowds.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09When I look around this place, it's amazing, I see pockets
0:10:09 > 0:10:13of people, sort of conforming together, like groups, like crowds.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16And every time that an architect designs a place like this,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18they design it with certain things in mind.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21For instance the blue tiles on the floor,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23they are not there just to look good,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25but to guide people through all of the stores.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28And if you notice, it takes them past all of the special offers.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31So, what's going to happen is, I'm going to show you this map...
0:10:31 > 0:10:35'Now, look closely, folks, I've already made my prediction!'
0:10:35 > 0:10:36..Genuinely think of anywhere.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39So, stare at it, think about where we are now, firstly.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41We are clearly in Victoria Square, you can see it,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44kind of down there, Victoria Square. I want you to have a look,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48you could go genuinely anywhere in this city, anywhere you like.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Can I have your hand? Yeah. All you need to do...
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Actually, Katie, if you could hold down that edge for me.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58I'll hold down this edge. Now, tell me, do you like crowds? Yeah.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01OK, so, you like busy places. So, you will have chosen...
0:11:01 > 0:11:04You've gone from Victoria Square, I would say you've probably
0:11:04 > 0:11:07gone up Victoria Street, that's a really busy street,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11lots of shops, bars and restaurants, so I would guess, don't give me
0:11:11 > 0:11:13any clues, but I'd guess you've probably gone a busy route.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16You probably like partying, so, you want to spend a bit of time,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18in your head, in the Cathedral Quarter,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20you've probably spent quite a lot of money there,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23had quite a lot of sore heads in that part of the town!
0:11:23 > 0:11:26And I would say, if I had to guess...
0:11:30 > 0:11:31There.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36I think you will have stopped, in your head, at St Anne's Square.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Yeah! Where did you go? St Anne's Square. Really?
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Genuinely, in your head, that's where you wanted to go?
0:11:43 > 0:11:45I swear to God. You're joking!
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Now, why did you do that? I actually don't know. No idea?
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Like, you actually know me better than myself. I'm not joking,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I don't know why I picked that. Oh, my goodness! Is it freaky?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56A wee bit, yeah.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58What's weird is that it's not actually that weird,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00it's actually fairly simple.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Because when these spaces are designed,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05they are designed to try and make people behave in certain ways.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08So, a designer, someone who designs these sort of spaces,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10who wants to manage the crowd and manage individuals,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14could have designed this city to make one person go in any
0:12:14 > 0:12:16direction they like. Looking at this map, there is
0:12:16 > 0:12:19only one place that you could have ever ended up.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21That is why, from the very beginning,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24on the back of this, I had, "I'm going to St Anne's Square."
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Oh, my God!
0:12:28 > 0:12:30You could have gone anywhere!
0:12:34 > 0:12:37But how did... Thank you very much indeed, you were brilliant,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40thank you very much indeed. Thank you very much. No worries.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42You know, it's weird, I didn't think he was going to get it,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45because I changed my mind three times, so how did he know...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Especially the way he wrote it on the back of the map.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Oh, my gosh, it was mad! Wow. Oh, my gosh! I'm a wee bit freaked out.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56So am I! How the hell did he do that?
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Now, the worst nightmare for any performer is
0:13:04 > 0:13:07when you lose control and the crowd turns into a mob.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12I want to learn how to deal with a mob, so I've come to London.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15London is the most densely populated city in Europe
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and the fourth most densely populated in the world.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22It has 4,700 people per square kilometre,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25that's almost 5 people in every single square metre.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Not only is London home to the mother of all parliaments,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34the modern history of crowd control began right here.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37So, I'm meeting crowd expert Chris Cocking for an insight
0:13:37 > 0:13:39into the politics of the crowd.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45So, what is a crowd?
0:13:45 > 0:13:49A crowd in its simplest term is two or more people who have come
0:13:49 > 0:13:51together without any formal decision-making processes.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Now, clearly, the vast majority
0:13:53 > 0:13:55of crowds will be much more than two people.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59But the point is, the way the crowds decide how they behave is
0:13:59 > 0:14:03very spontaneous, they don't have committees or elections.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Crowd control in history first appeared with this book,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11No, not Simon Le Bon, that's Duran Duran!
0:14:11 > 0:14:16Gustave Le Bon. He saw the crowd as a mob that needed controlling.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19He was writing about the crowd in the French Revolution, which,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21let's face it, is when the powers that be
0:14:21 > 0:14:27lost control of the crowd and the King lost his head.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29CHEERING
0:14:29 > 0:14:33The political history of mobs in London is less revolutionary.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34But one incident in particular
0:14:34 > 0:14:37changed the history of crowd control for ever.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42It happened here in Cable Street in the East End of London in 1936.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46In 1936, this was a predominantly Jewish area,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts, a fascist organisation that
0:14:49 > 0:14:54emulated Hitler and Mussolini, wanted to march 5,000
0:14:54 > 0:14:57fascists down this street into a predominantly Jewish area.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02And the working-class population of the East End said, "No way."
0:15:03 > 0:15:05On Cable Street, the Government
0:15:05 > 0:15:07saw two faces of the mob that scared them.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10On one side, the Blackshirts were organised and violent,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12just like the Nazis in Germany.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15On the other side was a crowd, equally uncontrollable,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17basically taking the law into their own hands.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Just like Gustave Le Bon, the Government believed the crowd
0:15:20 > 0:15:24needed to be controlled, and imposed the Public Order Act.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26It informed the way crowds are controlled in the UK
0:15:26 > 0:15:28for nearly 50 years.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31But experts like Chris think the Public Order Act got
0:15:31 > 0:15:32the crowd all wrong.
0:15:34 > 0:15:34You've said that you
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and your colleagues want to reclaim the notion of what a crowd is.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Why does it need to be reclaimed, and what's great about crowds?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I suppose the good thing about crowds,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47and we find this in our research, is that people who actually
0:15:47 > 0:15:51experience the crowds often describe them as very positive experiences.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53They use words like "empowering", "exhilarating",
0:15:53 > 0:15:57sometimes people use the words "festival atmosphere" to
0:15:57 > 0:15:59describe their experiences of crowds.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01So, what we are trying to say is there is often a real
0:16:01 > 0:16:04mismatch between how people experience crowds and how
0:16:04 > 0:16:08they are perceived afterwards by the press and authorities.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Chris's view is that in history,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14dictators used techniques to APPEAR to control the crowd.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The classic footage of Hitler at the Nuremberg Rallies,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19the kind of people that would go to them would be
0:16:19 > 0:16:21already ideologically committed Nazis,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23who would listen to Hitler favourably,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27and some of Hitler's speeches, it's just pure repetition,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29where the crowd and him repeat the same slogan.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33So there is no kind of detailed content of what he is saying,
0:16:33 > 0:16:34it just becomes a ritual.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36HE SPEAKS IN GERMAN
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Hitler was using a classic technique of call and response.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43It was a case of, "I say Germany, you say heil!"
0:16:43 > 0:16:46CROWD SHOUTING
0:16:46 > 0:16:47We're all going to go to heaven!
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Call and response is popular in African-American churches,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54where it is used to bring the congregation together.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57THEY SING JOYFULLY
0:16:57 > 0:17:00And other people use it, too.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Nice to see you, to see you... AUDIENCE: Nice!
0:17:14 > 0:17:17The more that I learn about crowds and audiences,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19the more I realise that it's not actually guesswork, there is
0:17:19 > 0:17:23a huge amount of science behind the way that groups,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27large and small, but groups, of people behave.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28'And I want to find out
0:17:28 > 0:17:31'if some of that science can help to manipulate a crowd.'
0:17:31 > 0:17:34How are you? Thanks for coming. I really appreciate you coming...
0:17:34 > 0:17:37'And I think I've found the perfect accomplice.'
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I've done a huge amount of research over the last few months
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and your name keeps coming up, again and again.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45You have literally written the book on crowd management, is that right?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Yeah, in fact, a book is about to be written, we've got
0:17:48 > 0:17:50both the Introduction to Crowd Science
0:17:50 > 0:17:55and Applied Crowd Science with publication contracts, so, yeah.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57He is being a little bit modest.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Keith Still really is the go-to guy for crowds.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Most recently, he was consulted on the Royal Wedding and the
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Olympics, as well as internationally -
0:18:06 > 0:18:08in the Hajj and festivals in Europe.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10What are you going to show me today?
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Quite a lot of the techniques, particularly about risk in crowds...
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Should I be worried, should I be nervous? Not at all.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19We don't do anything that doesn't fulfil the necessary
0:18:19 > 0:18:21requirements of a risk assessment. Excellent.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Keith's science is a relatively new one.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31The Hillsborough tragedy of 1989 was the watershed moment.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35After Hillsborough, there was a massive rethink.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Crowds didn't just need to be controlled,
0:18:37 > 0:18:38they needed to be managed.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Out of that emerged the science of crowd management.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Crowd density and crowd control...
0:18:44 > 0:18:47'Keith is going to show me a hugely important experiment in that
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'science, with a little bit of string.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56'This class is a true representative sample of the subject.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00'80% of all students of crowd management are female.'
0:19:02 > 0:19:05You put the string around you. Around me?
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Yeah, it constrains density, you see.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10So, just pull that, this is one square metre.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13And all you need to do is walk up and down, like that,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15as if you are chatting to each other.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17One of the things to observe is just how people stand,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19what positions they take up. Guys, for instance,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22are quite comfortable shoulder to shoulder, but when you get into
0:19:22 > 0:19:26that kind of zone, all of a sudden, personal space becomes invaded.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29So let's just put three in, and again, same sort of thing,
0:19:29 > 0:19:30walking up and down.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35You often find that when the density starts to become constrained,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38you see how they are walking shoulder to shoulder.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42If we can get seven in there, they all look about the right size...
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Keith, I'd love to see a few more people in. Do you want to join in?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Don't be shy. They won't bite.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Not until they get to know you better.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01I think the big thing for me is that when we look at this crowd,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and it is only a small crowd, although it could also just be one part of 10,000,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07one of these individuals doesn't really have control
0:20:07 > 0:20:10over their own movement, because the crowd is all behaving in one way,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and they must as an individual too. Absolutely.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16They haven't lost their individuality. They've just lost the degree of freedom.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22If you don't mind me asking, for the fellas,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25what's the impact of being two lads amongst all the girls?
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Does it make you feel uncomfortable?
0:20:26 > 0:20:31A little bit, yeah. Why? You need to know where your hands are.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35LAUGHTER All right, OK.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37We're like twins, anyway.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Just for the fun of it now, if I was just to say, "Stop there,"
0:20:46 > 0:20:48what does that do to everybody?
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Everyone stops.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Yeah, but how does that affect you all the way at the back?
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Yeah, it's not nice. All right, OK.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58I didn't mean it like that. All right, OK.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It's really interesting to do it with you students here,
0:21:04 > 0:21:05because you're studying events.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09What do you think about the science of crowd management?
0:21:09 > 0:21:11To be honest, until this experiment,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13it was just something that I talked about in class
0:21:13 > 0:21:16and I worried about after I got a job, planning an event or something.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20You know, when you go to concerts, it's really just an annoyance,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23it's not something that you really think about, but it is definitely now.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35The 2010 Love Parade in Germany -
0:21:35 > 0:21:38the original expectation was around 800,000.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41But closer to 1.4 million turned up.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46The big mistake occurred when two crowds were directed into one area.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49No-one noticed just how quickly this area was filling up with people,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51until it was too late.
0:21:51 > 0:21:5521 people lost their lives, and more than 500 were injured.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03We have a database now going back about 100 years
0:22:03 > 0:22:06of all the major accidents and incidents.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10The analysis of that has given us the DNA of a crowd accident.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14What are the fundamental elements that give rise to risk
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and, subsequently, injury, fatalities and incidents?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And the courts don't really understand this as yet.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24You know, the impression is the crowd stampede or panic,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26therefore the crowd was at fault.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29But there are underlying causes to most of these things.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34How big of a role does panic play in these crowd emergencies?
0:22:34 > 0:22:35It's actually very rare.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Panic is generally one of the last things a crowd does
0:22:38 > 0:22:43when all options are expired. We tend to use the phrase...the crowd...
0:22:43 > 0:22:47didn't die because they panicked -
0:22:47 > 0:22:49people are panicking because they're dying.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51So it's one of the final sets of actions,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54but it really depends on how you would define panic.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57For instance, running away from a fire is a perfectly natural reaction.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00If you are suddenly transfixed by the situation, like a rabbit
0:23:00 > 0:23:03caught in the headlights, that's more of a panic response,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05where your central nervous system shuts down.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Irrationally locked. You become irrationally locked.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09In this section, we have one square metre...
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'Back again with his trusty bit a string,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14'Keith marks out just 1m square.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18'He's going to show me the most important technique he teaches -
0:23:18 > 0:23:20'recognising crowd density.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23'Keith trains all students in this critical skill.'
0:23:23 > 0:23:26If we could have a third, please?
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Again, take the position as if you're at a concert,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30you want to watch the event...
0:23:30 > 0:23:32'The secret is to spot in an instant if the crowd
0:23:32 > 0:23:35'are reaching critical density.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39'Crowd managers must be able to spot this in amongst a crowd
0:23:39 > 0:23:41'or, more likely, when using CCTV cameras.'
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Just by how easily an individual can walk through a group,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46they can work out what the density is.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50In fact, you can do this from even very crowded environments,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52just being able to watch how crowds move.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Well, I think they look fairly comfortable in there, Keith, so let's ramp this up a bit.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01So this is about your upper limit now for a spectators' area.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Now, I'm just going to illustrate this, I'm going to give a slight push on the corner,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09so if you don't mind, I'm just going to give you a slight push.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13OK, plenty of space to adjust your position.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16'Well, five seems a controllable number, but what difference
0:24:16 > 0:24:22'will one or two or even three more bodies make to this tiny space?'
0:24:22 > 0:24:24How does it feel, guys? Comfortable?
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Again, I'm not going to push you any harder or softer than I did before.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30There's the shockwave, OK?
0:24:31 > 0:24:36Now, this is the point where we have significant risk to the crowd.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39For those of you who have been on the London Underground, I mean,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43is this much far off what some of you have experienced? No. No.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45You know, it's pretty close, you've been like this before.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Is this a common occurrence on the underground? Absolutely. Crush loading on the underground
0:24:50 > 0:24:54is about eight people per square metre, but what is interesting is you're not actually legally allowed
0:24:54 > 0:24:57to transport cattle to this level of density.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59You would be prosecuted for it.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02But we can move people through the London Underground at this level.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05If you don't mind, I'm going to try and walk through,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07so if you need to step out of the square, that's all right.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11But know that you've let me down, you let yourselves down...
0:25:11 > 0:25:15And I'm going to try and do it in a bit of a hurry.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20I've had audiences of eight people and 8,000 people.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25And truthfully, from my point of view, the crowd, I always thought, were in control.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30If they wanted to stampede or run or invade the stage, that is
0:25:30 > 0:25:34their want, but this experiment - more than any other - has shown me
0:25:34 > 0:25:39that one person can create a serious disaster.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46'What's great about Keith's approach is that his experiments
0:25:46 > 0:25:49'are so simple to perform and easy to understand.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53'But there's something else about Keith that has blown me away.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56'It's not just an interest in crowd science we have in common.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58'Like me, Keith's a mentalist!'
0:26:02 > 0:26:04You've got to understand that, 100 years ago,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07when a magician could focus your attention
0:26:07 > 0:26:09on a tiny point in space and time,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12while he pulled a rabbit out of the hat,
0:26:12 > 0:26:18how they did that was to be able to understand the crowd's perception.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22So where we use it is to understand where signage is most appropriate,
0:26:22 > 0:26:23what type of signage works.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26How do we inform the crowd, how do we understand
0:26:26 > 0:26:30if the crowd are responding to that information? Those are exactly
0:26:30 > 0:26:33the same techniques a mentalist would use but in a slightly different way.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35We're using it very much focused on crowd safety.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Take, for instance, if I just...
0:26:38 > 0:26:40If I can take it off...
0:26:43 > 0:26:47The wedding ring, I mean, this was made from Orkney gold.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49My wife had it made for me.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Now we've been married 17 years.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54And it's a phenomenal design,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56but of course, the band represents,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58you know, the sanctity of marriage etc,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00but of course it's not the same
0:27:00 > 0:27:02unless you have...
0:27:02 > 0:27:04just a piece of magic. Wow!
0:27:04 > 0:27:07So... So...
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Just to be clear... You had it... So how...?
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Now, I'm sitting right here, but you had it right there,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18and in an instant, it was...
0:27:18 > 0:27:22I've just got to... You can try and take it off!
0:27:25 > 0:27:26How did you do that?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36I suppose my job is knowing and understanding audiences
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and making sure that... I suppose I try to control their attention
0:27:40 > 0:27:42and control what they think and what they feel.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46It's incredible to me to think that the authority in the country,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50the man who's quite literally written the book on this,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53uses mentalism to control and manage crowds, to keep them safe,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and the way that they think and do things.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01And, I don't know, I suppose I feel like a bit of an amateur,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04you know, I'm just using it to guess PIN numbers.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16'Back home, and I want to put what I learned about crowd management to the test.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19'Let's face it, Northern Ireland has a bit of a reputation
0:28:19 > 0:28:21'for crowds not behaving themselves.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24'I'm about to face probably the biggest crowd of the year
0:28:24 > 0:28:26'that Belfast has to offer.'
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I am not a big boy, you know,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32so I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to tell anyone what to do, you know.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35I mean, if someone bumps into me, I'd be like, "I'm so sorry.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37"Would you Like some tea?"
0:28:39 > 0:28:42'Tonight, I'm out on the streets in Belfast.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45'Ladies and gentlemen, it's Culture Night!'
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Tonight is Culture Night in Belfast -
0:28:48 > 0:28:50it's one of the biggest event nights in the calendar.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53There's nearly 50,000 people coming into Belfast tonight.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55And I'm going to be part of the security for this,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57just to see how the crowd behave.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10'This is the night that Belfast really comes alive.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14'42,000 people will descend on the city towards street performers,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18'dancers and a massive parade and a carnival atmosphere.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21'Events like this have made Belfast one of the top ten tourist
0:29:21 > 0:29:23'destinations in the world.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27'And one million miles from Belfast's troubled past.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31'But before that, I'm getting the 5:15 briefing where every detail
0:29:31 > 0:29:36'of tonight's activity is discussed, and nothing is left to chance.'
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Is this your first time? No, the second one... OK.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43You don't have one of our T-shirts on yet? No.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46You need to have one of our T-shirts on, so put that on for me.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51Right, will do. Roll your hood up and put it away for us as well, please. Will do, yeah.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59What's his problem?
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Culture Night has been running since 2009.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07It started off with around 15,000 and then has got bigger every year.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Andrew McQuillan is the main man running crowd management tonight.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13His team will use any tools at their disposal,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15including monitoring social media.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19We're watching the Twitter feeds and everyone's going mad about this,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21so there's going to be a big crowd tonight.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24'They do this to get a handle on where the crowd is
0:30:24 > 0:30:25'moving before it even gets there.'
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Less and less space between the people...
0:30:27 > 0:30:30'And look at this. Brushing up on their crowd density.
0:30:30 > 0:30:31'Keith Still would be proud.'
0:30:31 > 0:30:36When you get to four and five, you can really only see their heads
0:30:36 > 0:30:39and three per square metres, people are touching you around you.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Four, you're being touched on all sides,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and five, you can't move through the crowd easily at all.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47That's it, OK, we're going to give you out your sheets now.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49So, everyone understand that OK?
0:30:49 > 0:30:53These are the most important things here, you know, this crowd density.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56And my job is to spot when it's getting to a really dangerous,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58unmanageable level, you know?
0:31:02 > 0:31:06'No more chat and rehearsal. This is it. My first time out on the street.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09'There's still only a few people out and about at the moment, but
0:31:09 > 0:31:13'believe me, there's already millions of butterflies in my stomach.'
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Do you get scared? Does it scare you? I wouldn't say it scares me.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22The thing is, I know from experience, the more you plan, the easier it is.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24Yeah. If we didn't, we've done two and a half months planning.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28The crowd management planning for this event was over 100 hours' work
0:31:28 > 0:31:31and we measured every street round here. Every street, we measured.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Length and breadth, and all the pinch points.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35So, my job is to keep people away from the wheel?
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Your job, as all our stewards do,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42you're putting yourself on the line, if you like.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47And where would I get a taxi? Where's the nearest taxi?
0:31:47 > 0:31:49ANDREW LAUGHS
0:31:49 > 0:31:51'But, as the crowd builds,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53'I have to remember they're all here to have fun.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58'But, from my perspective, even the smallest thing could end in tears.'
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Excuse me, do you want to come down there?
0:32:00 > 0:32:03We don't want you falling there. Come on ahead. Do you want a hand?
0:32:03 > 0:32:05I like falling! I'll give you a wee hand.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Good man. High-five, Angry Birds!
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Or not. Whatever. One or two.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Big hit with the kids!
0:32:14 > 0:32:17CARNIVAL-STYLE DRUMBEAT
0:32:24 > 0:32:27'The centrepiece of Culture Night, the carnival parade, has just
0:32:27 > 0:32:33'begun, and this is where crowd management comes into sharp focus.'
0:32:33 > 0:32:35So, Andy, we have a street here. How wide is this?
0:32:35 > 0:32:36Approximately 18m.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Now, that entire parade needs to squeeze into this street. Yeah.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41And what width would that be?
0:32:41 > 0:32:469.8, I think we measured it at. Half the size. About that, yes.
0:32:46 > 0:32:47What's the impact of that?
0:32:47 > 0:32:51Well, as the Professor says at University,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54it's like putting an egg back in the chicken.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57This crowd has tens of thousands of people in it.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01Where do we need to be right now? Over there. Right, right let's go.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05Basically, we have a straight there that is roughly 20m wide.
0:33:05 > 0:33:0820m wide. In the space of about 4m,
0:33:08 > 0:33:13that has to compress down to less than 10m.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16What that means is, the amount of people that are this width
0:33:16 > 0:33:18need to compress down to roughly half the size.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21More importantly, they need to do that safely.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22And it's my job to do it.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30'One thing I've got to remember - despite hundreds of people
0:33:30 > 0:33:32'blocking the road, this parade cannot stop.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36'This is the only part of Culture Night that must run to time.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40'The procession has to be over by precisely 9:15pm,
0:33:40 > 0:33:43'or risk ruining the grand finale.'
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Coming to my bit.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50So, if you just want to ask them to move round the cars.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55All right, folks, you want to keep in there?
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Thousands and thousands of people.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05I just don't want you to get trampled down, that's all.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Excellent. Up onto the pavement there, if you can, folks? Sorry.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12I just don't want you to get trampled. Thanks very much.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Just have you onto the pavement there, folks, thank you.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18I think the weirdest thing for me is that, I thought
0:34:18 > 0:34:21the crowd was there when, in actual fact, that crowd is about to meet
0:34:21 > 0:34:24a brand-new, impromptu unplanned for crowd that they
0:34:24 > 0:34:28need to merge into, and I think that's the funny thing about crowds.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30You can never really control the way that they behave.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Well, or can you?
0:34:39 > 0:34:42'The parade culminates outside the cathedral.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45'Not only is this is where the crowd density is at its highest,
0:34:45 > 0:34:47'but there are all manner of participants.'
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Through there, sorry. There's flames coming through there, folks,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53if I could just get you a bit wider for the flames.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55'There are carnival dinosaurs and this chap,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59'who's taking the saying, "keep her lit" maybe a wee bit too literally.'
0:34:59 > 0:35:03The parade has almost completed its course now and at every single
0:35:03 > 0:35:06twist and turn, the crowd has behaved in a different way.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08What's most amazing is,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11when we try to control or change their behaviour,
0:35:11 > 0:35:15they come right back at you with a new way of changing it themselves.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18The only difference is, here, crowd control is so important
0:35:18 > 0:35:21in this scenario because, if it doesn't work,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24everyone could get their fingers burned, or worse.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46OK, girls, stay out of trouble, girls, now.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Girls, stay out of trouble!
0:35:48 > 0:35:52I don't want to have to lift any of yous now! If I need to, I will!
0:35:58 > 0:35:59Excuse me!
0:35:59 > 0:36:04'Of course, being Belfast, the craic is going on in pubs and bars well
0:36:04 > 0:36:08'into the night, and this is where a new phase of crowd safety kicks in.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12'But Andrew is still always watching the crowd density.'
0:36:14 > 0:36:17See how rammed this street is? Ah, my gosh.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20And that, that's four per square metre. It's going to be a disaster.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22And if one person trips over, everyone trips over.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25A trampling episode. And then, somebody might die. Yeah.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27That's why you have to be very careful with crowds.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29We have staff just over here, and here,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33and if that gets too dangerous, we will stop people going in.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36We don't want to stop people going in, but we will if we have to.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37Yeah, yeah, if you need to.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52I think this evening is brilliant for Belfast.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Culture Night happens once a year,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57and we can see that when Belfast shines at its best,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59the crowd come together to show what they do best,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02and that's get together, have a good party, have a good time
0:37:02 > 0:37:05and do it safely, without any hassle or nonsense.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08I think that's the image Belfast needs across the world.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11And it's here, it's not contrived, you know?
0:37:11 > 0:37:14And, you know, the crowd did that themselves, really.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22'I suppose what I got from Culture Night was that
0:37:22 > 0:37:25'I was in the midst of the crowd that thought for themselves.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29'This was a free-thinking crowd. So, what about the mental manipulation?
0:37:29 > 0:37:31'I am a mentalist, after all.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38'I've always read about cults,
0:37:38 > 0:37:42'where large groups of people adopt the thoughts of just one person.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44'Like this crowd, the Moonies,
0:37:44 > 0:37:47'or followers of Reverend Sun Myung Moon in South Korea.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50'He started his own religion
0:37:50 > 0:37:55'and held mass wedding ceremonies for those who followed his doctrines.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57'What makes a crowd of individuals
0:37:57 > 0:38:00'subject themselves to the will of just one leader?
0:38:02 > 0:38:06'Back in London, I'm meeting a leading authority on cults.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09'For everyone's protection, his work is shrouded in secrecy,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12'so, we're meeting in an undisclosed location.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14'He has good reason to be careful,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17'because of his first-hand experience of being controlled by a cult.'
0:38:24 > 0:38:26When I was recruited into a cult,
0:38:26 > 0:38:30I was living in Toronto, Canada, at the time.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32That's where the group was based.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36And my involvement in the group was, fortunately, very brief.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Even though still it took me 11 months to fully recover.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Cults use various techniques to recruit people.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44Techniques of mind control.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46And we've listed 26 of them.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51One of them is hypnosis. Usually it would be disguised as something else.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55It might be disguised as some new form of meditation or relaxation,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58anything you want to hear, other than the real thing.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59There's often a change of diet.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02They deprive the nervous system of necessary nutrients,
0:39:02 > 0:39:06to help the person to function abnormally and help break them down.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Sleep deprivation is very similar,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11because it helps to break people down physically as well.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14There's tremendous peer group pressure,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17to conform to the wishes of the group at all times.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20So, peer group pressure is a technique.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28'I'm going to do my own experiment into peer group pressure.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30'These four people are in on it.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33'Unknown to the victim, they're members of the David Meade cult,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36'otherwise known as my production team.'
0:39:36 > 0:39:39I'm going to pick a random person off the street who will
0:39:39 > 0:39:43believe that you're all random people off the street as well,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46and I'm going to have you all answer a really simple question.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Which one of these lines, one, two or three, matches X?
0:39:49 > 0:39:51And you will all answer honestly.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53And in this case, you would say three.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Three. Three. Three.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58And that would be a correct answer, gold star for all four of you.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02But at one point, the point at which when I take my glasses off,
0:40:02 > 0:40:05you will deliberately lie, and then you will agree with that lie,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09you will agree with that lie, you will agree with that lie, and the hope is that our mark will
0:40:09 > 0:40:14also agree, even though they know that what they're saying is untrue.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Hiya, hello, I'm David, how are you? Fine, thank you.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Lovely, grab a wee seat.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Hiya, I'm David. Hi. Grab a wee seat there...
0:40:23 > 0:40:26'I want to see if the victim will ignore the evidence
0:40:26 > 0:40:28'in front of their own eyes and go with the group,
0:40:28 > 0:40:30'who are deliberately telling a lie.'
0:40:30 > 0:40:35Thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it. What are you out doing, shopping or? Shopping.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39OK, brilliant. Buy anything nice? Not yet, anyway.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43OK, good. Well, all that is going to happen is, I'm going to show you a series of cards.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46And what you're all going to have to do is decide which one,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50one, two or three, do you think matches X?
0:40:50 > 0:40:53And in this case you would say... Two.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Two. Two. Two.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57Er, two.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Hard for me to see from up here.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07Three. Three.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08Three.
0:41:12 > 0:41:13One. One.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16One. One. One.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18We'll just go through these one last time.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21Three.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Three. Three.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Three. Three.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Two. Two.
0:41:29 > 0:41:30Two.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Lovely.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36What you might not have realised is, they were all my friends
0:41:36 > 0:41:40and you were the only one that was in the experiment.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42But you did absolutely brilliantly.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45I don't know if you know it or not, but four times in a row,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49you said the answer that you knew wasn't the right answer.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Because, I think we can probably quite clearly see,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56in this one here, X is equal to two, in that one.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59But, two times in a row, you said it was equal to three.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03And in this one, um, X is equal to two,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06and that one, two times in a row, you said was equal to one,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08and you did that with quite a few of them, actually,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12but we did do it four times. So, was it... Did it feel awkward?
0:42:12 > 0:42:15A wee bit, but just because I was the one on the end, and everyone
0:42:15 > 0:42:19else was saying it, and I thought, I don't know, it made me doubt myself.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Yeah. Because everyone else was so certain. Yeah.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24But I just sort of followed the crowd.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30'Of course, following the crowd can get serious.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34'The infamous Charles Manson used peer group pressure to turn
0:42:34 > 0:42:36'these cult followers into murderers.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42'In a cult, it's harder to stick up for
0:42:42 > 0:42:43'your own views against the group.'
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Theoretically, all the cult leader needs to do is to sit down
0:42:48 > 0:42:51and talk to this person and manipulate them
0:42:51 > 0:42:53and then send them out to recruit two more people.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58And they come in, and he manipulates them, and then the three of them
0:42:58 > 0:43:01go out, and they bring in more people and so on.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03And it grows exponentially.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06So, they could control a room of maybe 100, 200 people.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Controlling them in concert, I suppose,
0:43:08 > 0:43:13much like a conductor, but instead of instruments, they have people.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16And the thing is, when you're told that you can't ask questions
0:43:16 > 0:43:20because there's too much material to go through and not enough time,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22so please keep your questions to yourself.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24If you think about it, who are the questioners in life?
0:43:24 > 0:43:28That person we all remember at school that always had his hand up, the one with the ego problems.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Do you want to be seen to be the person with the ego problems? I don't think so.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33So, everybody that's new,
0:43:33 > 0:43:37and isn't yet a member of the group is actually working against you,
0:43:37 > 0:43:41because you don't want to stand up and make a fool of yourself.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Hiya. How are you? What's your name? Clare. Have a wee seat there.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47Hiya, what's your name? Sinead. Sinead, I'm David. Grab a seat.
0:43:47 > 0:43:48Neil. Neil, grab a seat.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52'I'm on a roll. I want to carry on and recruit another new cult member.'
0:43:55 > 0:43:58Quick as you can. Three.
0:43:58 > 0:43:59Three. Three. Three. Three.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04Just do a couple more again.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Er, two. Two.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11Two. Two. One.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13It's hard for me to see it from up here.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17One. One.
0:44:17 > 0:44:18Three.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23'Luckily, some people have control of their own minds.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27'So, thank goodness not everyone follows the crowd.'
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Some of the lines, from where I was sitting, looked like, say,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34it was number two, whereas they were all saying number three.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37I was just thinking, "No, it's not, it's two." SHE LAUGHS
0:44:37 > 0:44:39They were all saying things, and I was thinking,
0:44:39 > 0:44:42"Is it cos I'm sitting over here, is it looking different?"
0:44:42 > 0:44:45But I was doing it alone in my own head.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56'But, if Gustave Le Bon was writing about the crowds these days,
0:44:56 > 0:44:57'where would he find them?
0:44:57 > 0:45:00'I'm going to the new home of peer group pressure,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03'where your friends' likes and dislikes are used
0:45:03 > 0:45:05'to pressurise your every decision.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09'Here, the crowd numbers in their thousands, millions, billions even.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11'I'm going online.'
0:45:20 > 0:45:23So, Jill, I've found out an awful lot about how retailers
0:45:23 > 0:45:26and even psychologists use the physical world
0:45:26 > 0:45:29and the physical environment to control people's behaviour
0:45:29 > 0:45:32and manipulate the way that they interact with the world around them.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36Yeah. But, you're saying that quite a lot of those techniques cross over
0:45:36 > 0:45:37to the online world as well.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40They do cross over. So, let me give you some examples.
0:45:40 > 0:45:41Quite often, we are conditioned
0:45:41 > 0:45:43to have something like a walkway around the store.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45And what we have along the top,
0:45:45 > 0:45:48otherwise known as menu navigation, is a walkway.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53But, unlike a walkway in the physical world,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57every move online is tracked, and the store can adapt accordingly.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00Our online manipulators know exactly where we are
0:46:00 > 0:46:04and precisely how long it takes us to pass through the virtual space.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09In-store, we have line of sight.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11We have the same thing on websites.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14So, typically, people will always look up towards this side
0:46:14 > 0:46:17and then they will look across to the right-hand side
0:46:17 > 0:46:19and then down to the left.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22So, this is something that's called the "Golden Triangle".
0:46:22 > 0:46:25It's more prevalent and more obvious when we look at Google.
0:46:25 > 0:46:26Describe that triangle to me again.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29They know, when I arrive on a page, where my eyes will go. Correct.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32And again, we have something called eye-tracking software,
0:46:32 > 0:46:35that help us see all of this. So we can see that, you know,
0:46:35 > 0:46:37a lot of people will look up round this menu,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40they will look down here, and then they will look across here.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49But online stores can do something a real, physical store could never do.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52They can effectively rebuild the store electronically,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55according to the behaviour of the people shopping,
0:46:55 > 0:46:59allowing the store to assert their ever-increasing dominance on the consumer.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Without us having to necessarily mind-read individuals,
0:47:02 > 0:47:05we have systems to track all this that automatically rejig
0:47:05 > 0:47:09all of our menu navigation, i.e., our eyes.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12They merchandise automatically for us, based on the patterns...
0:47:12 > 0:47:13Of behaviour? Correct.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17So, we monitor patterns of searcher behaviour, so that we can make sure
0:47:17 > 0:47:21that you're meeting with whatever is the most appropriate for you.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36Slowly but surely, Jill, through time, me, as a consumer,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40I've moved virtually all of my shopping online.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43But are we losing something by moving all of our purchasing online?
0:47:43 > 0:47:47Absolutely. I think that crowds are still a good thing.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52We learn a lot from crowds. But, we're losing that community aspect.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54We're losing the physical interaction.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57There are some connotations whereby
0:47:57 > 0:48:00we can see human nature is changing a little bit.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14'So I've learned about dominance, complicity, peer group pressure,
0:48:14 > 0:48:18'and how all these tactics inform the science of crowd control.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21'But now I'm going to step out of my comfort zone
0:48:21 > 0:48:25'to work with this crowd of basketball players.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27'Or, as you might call them, a team.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31'If I'm really going to control these guys without using any
0:48:31 > 0:48:35'mentalist skills whatsoever, then I need to be on top of my game.'
0:48:35 > 0:48:38As a mentalist, I'm actually really interested
0:48:38 > 0:48:42in the real science of control and manipulation anyway,
0:48:42 > 0:48:44because I sort of pretend to do it on TV.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52So I suppose I'm fascinated to see if this works today.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54Can I, using nothing but words, control
0:48:54 > 0:48:58and manipulate ten players to change the way that they behave,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00and not just in a tiny way, in a fundamental way?
0:49:02 > 0:49:03Oh!
0:49:09 > 0:49:11I have ten players to play basketball today,
0:49:11 > 0:49:13and I'm going to divide them into two teams.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15One team will be the ones that I think are naturals at it,
0:49:15 > 0:49:17that are naturally brilliant.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19The other ones are the ones that just aren't quite there,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22aren't quite as good as, let's call them the A team.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25The truth is, that's nonsense. I'm going to divide them randomly.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28I'm going to tell one team that they're brilliant,
0:49:28 > 0:49:30the other team that they're just not quite up to muster,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33and I'm going to see if that comes out in the performance.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39'And there's no shortage of confidence among these young men.'
0:49:39 > 0:49:42I am the best on the team, so...
0:49:42 > 0:49:45It's tough, sometimes, like, carrying them on my back and stuff,
0:49:45 > 0:49:49but they realise, from the outset, I'm going to be the best.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52A good ten out of ten, I reckon. I would say that.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58I don't think I'm the best in the team but they all tell me
0:49:58 > 0:50:01I'm the best in the team, so they must think I'm pretty good.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06There is quite a lot of scientific research
0:50:06 > 0:50:08done on some of the most natural basketball
0:50:08 > 0:50:12players in the world. I don't want to tell you the exact details
0:50:12 > 0:50:14but it is to do with the relationship between two
0:50:14 > 0:50:18particular joints on the arm, and natural capacity for basketball.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21It has been recognised fairly recently over the last two to three years.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24My job is to spot it and divide you into teams.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Those who have that natural physiological thing that some human
0:50:27 > 0:50:32beings have which makes them better, those of you who don't have it.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34Just test and see which one performs best.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36A couple of you heard of this? I see some of you nodding.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39It had been on The One Show and Discovery.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I suppose the interesting thing is it has usually been done with
0:50:42 > 0:50:46people from their 20s onwards. What age are you? 17.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49OK, it may not be as easy to spot in your group,
0:50:49 > 0:50:53but there should be at least three of you have it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55You're going to play for a couple of minutes,
0:50:55 > 0:50:59I need to watch you and I will call you when we are done.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07Sorry, guys. Last guy that had the ball - this guy in the blue T-shirt -
0:51:07 > 0:51:09stand in the circle for me, please.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12You, sir, as well. In the white circle. Cheers.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17The chap in the black bib, circle. Excuse me, into the circle, please.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Green twin, is that all right? Lovely, into the circle.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28These five are pretty amazing, actually.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31I'm sure most of you have seen the one particular thing
0:51:31 > 0:51:32I was looking for.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34What's really interesting is I didn't expect to get an even
0:51:34 > 0:51:38split, but you five are absolutely perfect for this experiment.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39We will do something with you five,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42but you guys are absolutely brilliant for it.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44What I need you to do is take your left hand, hold it out,
0:51:44 > 0:51:46put on one of these.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50What is important is this little dot has got a small crystal
0:51:50 > 0:51:54compound in it that needs to go on that line just past the tendon,
0:51:54 > 0:51:56not on it but just past it.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Make sure that goes there.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01That's a wee pink one for you, you're welcome.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03Make sure it is just past the tendon,
0:52:03 > 0:52:07make sure the dimple side is on it, not the flat side,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10because the crystal compound is on the dimple side.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Go ahead and do that for me.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15If you flex the tendon, it should not be on the tendon
0:52:15 > 0:52:18but just past that. Good job.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23You five are my dream team and you get my lovely white jerseys.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28There you go, very good job.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31There you go. Good job. Excellent. Well done. Stick those on.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35Make sure the face is sticking out the front because I like myself.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37You five, it almost certainly isn't going to work with you,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40because you don't really have what I'm looking for,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43but we will still do something with you for the craic,
0:52:43 > 0:52:47just to give you a reason for being out of school, if nothing else.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Stick those on for me. I appreciate you turning up.
0:52:51 > 0:52:56For the time being we are only going to work with the A team.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58If you guys want to just go outside for a couple minutes
0:52:58 > 0:52:59and catch a breath.
0:53:00 > 0:53:01Well done.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07Thanks for coming. So you're going to have an allocated amount of time.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12I want you to see how many times you can score inside the net.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Can't wait to see it. Whenever you're ready, let's go.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24Brilliant.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27'The trick with positive affirmation for the A team is to subtly
0:53:27 > 0:53:28'drop it in.'
0:53:28 > 0:53:29Good shot!
0:53:29 > 0:53:33'Then I just stand back and watch the positivity take effect.'
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Yeah, you're hitting your flow now, keep going.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41Dramatically outperforming the average. This is amazing.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Guys, you've already smashed the record,
0:53:48 > 0:53:50see if you can get one more in.
0:53:50 > 0:53:51See if you can get one more in. And...
0:53:51 > 0:53:53Oh, that's time!
0:53:53 > 0:53:57I want to get the other team in, but you did absolutely amazing,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59well done, round of applause, well done.
0:53:59 > 0:54:05So if we can get the B team in, please. That's all right.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Those guys did... We've done this a few times
0:54:08 > 0:54:11and they've already smashed the record.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13We are going to let you have a play as well
0:54:13 > 0:54:15cos you were good enough to turn up.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18You're never going to touch that but do your best anyway.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Best of luck, you'll need it. Time starts now. Go!
0:54:31 > 0:54:34'The B team's determination to do well has got them
0:54:34 > 0:54:38'off to a good start. But it only takes one miss.'
0:54:38 > 0:54:41You've had more than half your time.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45'The drip-drip feed of my negativity really starts to bite.'
0:54:45 > 0:54:49Come on, lads. There's a lot of misses. You can do it.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56Just going to check time.
0:54:56 > 0:54:57We are five,
0:54:57 > 0:54:58four,
0:54:58 > 0:54:59three,
0:54:59 > 0:55:00two,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02one.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06Time is up. Could have shot better. Could have shot better?
0:55:06 > 0:55:09You had a few misses, what did that do to your confidence?
0:55:09 > 0:55:12We started well but it ended quite badly,
0:55:12 > 0:55:16so I think we started good cos we wanted to beat the record,
0:55:16 > 0:55:18then we were just rushing towards the end.
0:55:18 > 0:55:19Overall, lads,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22you guys did amazingly well, you smashed the previous record
0:55:22 > 0:55:26we had, and being polite, they wiped the floor with you.
0:55:27 > 0:55:32You guys got a solid 20 versus 9 in the same allocated period.
0:55:32 > 0:55:37Let's hear it for the winners.
0:55:37 > 0:55:42Let me tell you a little bit about this study, and the science of it.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44We talked you through the original study that was
0:55:44 > 0:55:47done about the relationship between the two joints.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50It is totally fictional and made-up, it doesn't exist.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52I don't know anything about basketball
0:55:52 > 0:55:54and I don't know anything about joints.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57These are little kids' bands we bought out of a chemist this morning.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00They are supposed to help kids with travel sickness.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04But you guys, in the same allocated time,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06dramatically outperformed you guys. Why?
0:56:06 > 0:56:08Just because I told you you would be better.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Because I told you guys you were somehow the B team,
0:56:12 > 0:56:14you needed to wait outside while we were testing the A team,
0:56:14 > 0:56:15it came out in your performance.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18You guys, because I made you feel like the most special
0:56:18 > 0:56:20people in the world, like you guys are the dream team,
0:56:20 > 0:56:22going to smash the record - there is no record.
0:56:22 > 0:56:27This is the first time we have done this. You dramatically outperformed.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29Doubly well in the same allocated time.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33So I can assure you it is nothing to do with the wristbands,
0:56:33 > 0:56:35nothing to do with your joints or your natural ability,
0:56:35 > 0:56:39you just believed you would do better and you did do better.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Before a game, you're trying to psych yourself up,
0:56:46 > 0:56:47and it just doesn't work.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52If someone else is psyching you up, it seems to work a lot better.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56He told us to put it beside our tendon, it would help the joint.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00I'm wearing it every match now. That's me. It works.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02I found something that works!
0:57:04 > 0:57:05Feel like weak-minded,
0:57:05 > 0:57:09that you can be convinced by something someone tells you.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11That is one way of looking at it, weak-minded,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14the other way of looking at it is you told yourself you're going
0:57:14 > 0:57:16to perform extraordinarily well and you did.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19So you're not actually weak-minded, you're strong-minded.
0:57:19 > 0:57:20Just by thinking you're better.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23It came out in your performance. Do you need a hug?
0:57:23 > 0:57:24Is that what this is?
0:57:37 > 0:57:40Everyone that can see and hear me, follow my instructions.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44'I found out loads about crowd control, and I even managed to
0:57:44 > 0:57:48'use some of it to create spectacular results, which is incredible for me.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53'I'll never be a cult leader, but what I really love doing is keeping
0:57:53 > 0:57:58'crowds happy, and here is something you can try it home right now.'
0:57:58 > 0:58:00I'd like you to place your right hand,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03it must be your right hand, on top of left, this is like the
0:58:03 > 0:58:07weirdest cult you've ever seen, then interlock your fingers, please.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I'm fascinated by the way crowds behave,
0:58:11 > 0:58:13and I'd like to try this experiment with all of you.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15While following the rules,
0:58:15 > 0:58:19don't unlock your fingers or bend your arms, I want everyone to
0:58:19 > 0:58:23try and turn their hands so their thumbs are pointing up.
0:58:25 > 0:58:29I'll give you a couple of minutes. Give yourself a round of applause.
0:58:29 > 0:58:31'Be honest, did you follow the crowd?'
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Thank you very much indeed.