0:00:02 > 0:00:03I feel a bit shocked, surprised.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05It's just mind-boggling, amazing that he can do that.
0:00:05 > 0:00:10Quite weird. I'm guessing he can read my mind a wee bit now.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35Welcome, brothers and sisters once again to a meeting of The David Meade Project.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40- And here is the high priest himself, David Meade.- Are you Taurus?- Yes.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- Is that right? Oh, my gosh, that's amazing!- How did you do that one?
0:00:44 > 0:00:47David's mission is to play with what people believe and help them have faith
0:00:47 > 0:00:49in the seemingly impossible.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52- It's crazy. That's insane. - That was mental.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55I haven't a clue how he done it, he was absolutely brilliant.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00Right now, David is spellbound by the world of superstition.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03It's fascinating what weird and wonderful things people believe in.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07I myself have never been superstitious and never will be, touch wood.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17If you go down to the woods today...
0:01:17 > 0:01:19you might bump into David Meade.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22No, he's not meeting bears for a picnic,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26he's chosen a group of people to play around with their superstitious nature,
0:01:26 > 0:01:27using a few cards.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32But remember, not everything is what it seems with our David.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Using these cards, I'm going to exploit the superstitions of my participants
0:01:36 > 0:01:39and their need to believe.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I am going to carry out a pretty standard psychic reading
0:01:41 > 0:01:44using the same techniques that psychics use,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47to see how much information that I can tell about my participants.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Then I'm going to ramp it up a gear because I am not a psychic, I'm a mentalist,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and using my skills as a mentalist, I want to see exactly how many facts
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and details and secrets I can tell the participants.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03I need you now to cut this deck into two piles with your left hand, please.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06The reason for that is the blood flows directly from the heart
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and it's very closely associated with your aura.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13I will ask you to complete that cut, please, by placing these on top of that pile.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14Excellent.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18I think we're just about ready for your reading to begin.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23- Nervous?- Yes.- 0K. Well, let's see what I can tell about you. Test me.
0:02:23 > 0:02:30- Dream job?- Dream job?- It's embarrassing.- It's embarrassing? OK. - You won't get it.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Start from here. 0K.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36So, this suggests some sort of performance.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Is it something to do with TV? It's something to do with TV, isn't it?
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Is it. Oh, and this is a really playful one, this is a carnival card.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The picture suggests dealing with young people. Is it some sort of kids' telly presenter?
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- It's not Blue Peter, is it? Is that what it is?- Yeah.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Really, that's your dream job?! Oh, my gosh, that's amazing!
0:02:53 > 0:02:56What stock do you place in these and their ability to tell something about you?
0:02:56 > 0:03:00- Nothing.- None at all?- No.- Why is that?- I just don't believe in them.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03You know what, you're absolutely right because they have no stock at all.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06They're not hundreds of years old. In fact, we printed them out last week
0:03:06 > 0:03:09and there's absolutely nothing on any of them.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Because these things can't tell you anything about yourself,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14but it's your belief, it's your superstition
0:03:14 > 0:03:17that makes you find meaning in the meaningless.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20As well as tarot cards, David reads all sorts of stuff.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Books on crazy superstition, weird beliefs,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and even techniques from psychics and their cult.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28As always, he adds his own brand of mentalism.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30The art of mind manipulation.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37It's really important for me to challenge myself by using a wide range of people.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41So, I've got a range of hardcore sceptics and I've also got a few believers.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43This is a really interesting one,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45this suggests to me that when you make a decision,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49you're the type of person who almost instantaneously sort of regrets it.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51- Does that kind of reflect you?- No. - Oh, it doesn't at all?
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Uh-oh, this one's going to be a toughie.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We'll try... That one hasn't hit with you.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00OK, this suggests to me that you're the type of person who outwardly
0:04:00 > 0:04:03works really hard on building a veneer of confidence.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- Does that describe you? - I think everyone's like that. - I think so, too.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Told you, I could read that he'd be trouble.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Because all of those statements were just a standard cold reading.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15But that's how a fake psychic does it.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18But I'm not a fake psychic, I'm a mentalist.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20So, I'm going to try and see...
0:04:22 > 0:04:24There are four kids in your house?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- Yeah.- Really, including you, four kids? All right.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Think about how many brothers you have. There's a very male influence here.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36And this one seems to be a little bit more of a female influence card.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39- Probably have two brothers?- I have two.- Oh, you have two brothers, really?
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- Describe what you're feeling, by the way.- Still, I'm slightly sceptical.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44I don't want you to say "probably".
0:04:44 > 0:04:48I want you to tell me what I have and I don't have.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Let's try for a little bit more detail. I like this. You're a challenger.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53So, we're seeing a very strong male influence here.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57I'm going to suggest this is probably a bit of a father figure.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- Who is Paul, by the way?- My father. - Oh, Paul's your dad's name.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- These, actually, both kind of gave me that one.- Very good.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08- You like that one?- I like that one. - Impressed?- Yeah.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11I've come across people in the past,
0:05:11 > 0:05:16in different kind of churches, who use people's, maybe, emotions
0:05:16 > 0:05:23just to draw some money or cheap entertainment from them.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27But yeah, I liked his showmanship, it's a great skill to have.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30First thing is, that's a very activity card.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34So, it's something to do with a lot of movement. And this one is about a team, it's probably soccer.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Something to do with soccer.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Did you want to be a professional footballer?- I did, yeah.- Really? - Yes.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I'm a Christian, so I would have experience of going to church and things like that
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and people being prophetic and some weird stuff.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52When it comes to psychics and things like that, I think they have wee tricks and things that they use
0:05:52 > 0:05:56as opposed to anything kind of supernatural.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58What sort of stock do you place in these cards?
0:05:58 > 0:06:01- I don't really think you're using the cards.- Good, you're right.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04I wasn't, because all of these cards are blank.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09They didn't tell me anything about you. There are absolutely no images on them whatsoever.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Because it was nothing to do with the cards really, because all of these readers, all they do is
0:06:14 > 0:06:17they just play on your superstition.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22It's kind of liberating that he's so honest and says he has done that without psychic powers,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25that he's just been doing it by kind of mental deductions.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's just mind-boggling, amazing that he can do that.
0:06:28 > 0:06:35- I will be thinking about it all day. - Playing with the cards has whetted David's appetite
0:06:35 > 0:06:36for the notion of superstition.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Apparently, he's got an idea.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Harness the power of superstition?
0:06:43 > 0:06:45That sounds a bit freaky to me.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Some people really believe in all that superstitious stuff.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52David thinks he can figure out what's behind the belief
0:06:52 > 0:06:54in all things supernatural.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59It would be easy to assume that people who believe in psychic readings are naive.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03The fact is that's just not the case. As human beings, we are naturally conditioned to believe
0:07:03 > 0:07:06that there might be something else out there that we can't explain.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10It's been said that a belief that leaves no place for doubt
0:07:10 > 0:07:12is not a belief, it's a superstition.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And that's a really fascinating truism.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18It's always been my opinion, and it is just my opinion,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21that coincidence is the mother of superstition.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Something happens, for instance you accidentally break a mirror,
0:07:23 > 0:07:28then something unfortunate happens in your life and you seem to place those two things together.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32They were actually just a coincidence, but that breeds superstition.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38There is one superstition that is more popular than any other, surrounding one number.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46David has gone all classy. He has invited 12 people to join him.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49They think they've been invited to a posh dinner,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52but to David, they are going to be pawns in his game.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57A game that plays on the superstition surrounding the number 13.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00One of the origins of 13 diners seems to date all the way back to biblical times
0:08:00 > 0:08:05when, at the Last Supper, Judas Iscariot was the last person to arrive.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07He was the 13th diner.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13And David has invited his usual mix of believers and sceptics.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I wouldn't say I'm superstitious, no.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20I would be Christian, but I definitely wouldn't say I'm superstitious.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I would be more sceptical of those things, actually.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27At the back of my mind, I still
0:08:27 > 0:08:31abide by superstitions, even though I don't believe in them. I can't help it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Triskaidekaphobia, that's the fear of the number 13.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40But will this seemingly irrational fear affect where these 12 people
0:08:40 > 0:08:42will choose to sit down?
0:08:43 > 0:08:48David's guests have the opportunity to choose their own seat.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53David has a hunch as to which will be perceived to be the 13th chair.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56It seems that we try to avoid the number 13.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58So, with that in mind,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00I'd like to see if I can work out
0:09:00 > 0:09:02exactly where all of my guests
0:09:02 > 0:09:07will sit, and see which seat they consider to be seat number 13.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Thank you all very much for coming, I really appreciate it.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16It's unusual, 0K, you've left this seat empty.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Lucky you, that's what I should say.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20I want to ask you about superstition.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25Are you quite superstitious people? Any of you have really weird superstitions?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27- Just the whole magpie thing. - 0K, tell me about it.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31- One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl...- Right.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Every time I was pregnant, it was like, oh, three, it must be a girl.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36What about anybody else, any good ones?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- Just splitting the post, if you come to a lamp post.- Oh, aye.- Have to stay on the same side.- Really?
0:09:40 > 0:09:44That's one. When you're walking with your friends and you grab somebody over beside you
0:09:44 > 0:09:46so you don't split up.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50What do we think, do you believe in these things, do you think that they really mean something?
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- No.- No.- 0K, that is really interesting.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Could you do me a favour and lift that cloche for me?
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- So, it's the moment of truth. - I have a table plan.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Have all the guests avoided the 13th chair and sat where David said they would?
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Stand up, stand up, check your chair for me. Stand up.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Now, there we have... Up there, we have Kelly, Kelly, that's you there.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15Then next we have Bronagh, then we have Sian, then we have Niall,
0:10:15 > 0:10:20then we have Garry, then we've got David, that's my seat, lots of 13s round that one.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Then we have Deirdre, Patricia, Brendan, Nuala, Jonathan, Colin and Robert.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- Everyone in the right place? - ALL: Yes.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27- Everyone made free choices? - ALL: Yes.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Give yourselves a round of applause.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38- By the way, was there anyone who, for a moment, thought about sitting in this chair?- I did.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41So, you wanted to sit at this chair
0:10:41 > 0:10:46- but, at the last minute, changed your mind and went to that one? - Yeah.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Robert, sort of explain how you chose where you wanted to sit.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- Originally, I wanted to sit there, but...- OK.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Who ended up sitting in the seat that you have sat in?- Niall.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Niall, when it came to you choosing that seat,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01what was it that made that seat attractive?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04It was the fact that the other seats I was going to choose were gone.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07- So this was literally, you had almost no choice?- Yes.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12- Does the number 13, does that bother anyone here?- No.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16You know the sort of thing, Friday the 13th, what's going to happen?
0:11:16 > 0:11:18The notion of superstition was really important to me today,
0:11:18 > 0:11:23but specifically, for you 12 people, because there are 12 of you
0:11:23 > 0:11:27and I'm number 13.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29There was a 13th chair that was left vacant
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and I was wondering who would sit in this chair.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33No-one did.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37But there is a reason why no-one chose this chair, even though
0:11:37 > 0:11:40any one of you could have.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46It's because I have the number 13.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49And any one of you could have sat here.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Do you want to open up your napkins for me?
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Anyone have a number 13?
0:11:54 > 0:12:00- No.- No, no, because every choice that we make is predicated on our preconceptions.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03And our preconceptions are heavily led by our superstitions.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Whether you believe in superstition or not, the moment you let a superstition go,
0:12:07 > 0:12:11then you're able to make free choices that aren't actually predestined.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15That was mental. That was really mental, yes.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I don't know how that happened.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24I'm in awe of his talent, to be honest with you.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It's kind of the opposite to logical, isn't it?
0:12:26 > 0:12:30So I would consider myself a very logical person, you know.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33So, it's pretty scary stuff.
0:12:33 > 0:12:39The seat that I chose, I had two seats in preference to the one I ended up choosing.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44The cloche went up, I could see that he got MY position right.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Then, immediately, I could see that he got all the positions right.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49And it was, wow.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I was always going to sit where I was sitting.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58That was the seat I wanted, but how, do you know what I mean, did he know?
0:13:00 > 0:13:01Gosh, that went really, really well.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04I expected to get some of them right,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06but not every single one of them.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08I think the reason that I enjoyed it so much
0:13:08 > 0:13:13is I had such a good mix of both superstitious and sceptical people.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16I personally have always thought that our superstitions have some say
0:13:16 > 0:13:19in leading the way that we make our decisions.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Blimey, it's all getting a bit heavy.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29David's taking his look into superstition back on the street.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32He's testing whether there is something supernatural at work,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34or just a bunch of coincidences.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Don't step on the cracks now.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Even if you don't believe in it, everyone knows what their star sign is,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41and I think that's really incredible.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46I'm fascinated to see, particularly, if a stranger can tell you, with no other information about you,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48just meeting you in the street,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51if they can work out what your star sign is. It seems impossible, but perhaps not.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00- Excuse me, are you quite superstitious?- Yes, I am.- You are? - Yeah.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- Do you know your star signs?- Yeah. - Yeah.- Can I try and guess them?
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- Of course.- Yeah.- Virgo?- Yeah. - Is it Virgo?
0:14:07 > 0:14:11- It is, yeah.- You're definitely Scorpio.- Yeah.- Is it, yeah?
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- How did he do that?- OK, cheers, thanks.- How did he do that one?
0:14:17 > 0:14:22- Excuse me, sorry to bother you. Are you superstitious?- A wee bit.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- Are you a Scorpio?- Yeah. - You are a Scorpio?- Yeah.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- Brilliant. Thanks a lot.- And another one.- Cheers.- He's getting good at this.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Excuse me, are you...Pisces?
0:14:32 > 0:14:37- Yeah.- Are you?- Yeah.- Are you Taurus? - Yeah!- Is that right?
0:14:37 > 0:14:40And another one. He's starting to scare me now.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43He just walked past us and knew our star signs,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47without asking us any questions or anything.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Come on, that was absolutely incredible.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54I'm getting them all right again and again and again. I can read their horoscopes.
0:14:54 > 0:15:00This has got to be more than guesswork. Could it be that David has found a new calling?
0:15:00 > 0:15:05- Excuse me, I'm sorry, are you a Libra?- No.- Libra?- Whoops.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Excuse me, I'm sorry, are you a Libra?
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- What?- Are you a Libra?- What's that? - No, don't worry about it. Cheers.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Oh, dear, that's embarrassing.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, are you an Aquarius?- Pardon?
0:15:18 > 0:15:22- Are you an Aquarius?- No. I thought you said, "Have you got a query?"
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Oh, no, not again.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27It seems, perhaps,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29like I'm not quite as good at this as I had thought.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Maybe the first few guesses were just coincidences.
0:15:31 > 0:15:37David wants to keep going, to see if a few more coincidences can make him look good.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Whatever makes you happy, David!
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- Excuse me, sorry, Are you a Sagittarius?- What?
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- Are you a Sagittarius?- No, I am. - Oh, you are?
0:15:45 > 0:15:46I was close enough, close enough.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49No, no, David, that one doesn't count.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Excuse me, are you a Capricorn?
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- I am a Capricorn.- You are, yeah?
0:15:54 > 0:15:57- I'm sorry, I could just tell. - Whoopee-doo,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59but we all know it's chance and coincidence now.
0:15:59 > 0:16:05For me, personally, superstition and coincidence are intrinsically linked.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08The minute that something strange and seemingly improbable happens,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11that can begin to build a superstition.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16- He said I was a Virgo and I am. - And I'm a Scorpio, he was right.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21Quite weird. I'm guessing he can read my mind a wee bit now.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I believe in superstitions a lot more now.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29- It's like walking under a ladder, superstition, but that was just... - He just knew everything.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31For me, that was a really eye-opening experience.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35It seemed like I was doing incredibly well at guessing the star signs of total strangers when,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39in actual fact, a series of coincidences had made me, and them,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44believe that I had the ability to tell them secrets about themselves, when I probably didn't really.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46It was just guesswork. It was only a one in 12.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50But those same coincidences can be the basis of entire belief systems.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55David has found the superstition that has transformed
0:16:55 > 0:17:00what some people might call coincidences into, well, nothing less than a cult.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07People talk about black cats, broken mirrors, walking on cracks, walking under ladders,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11even the number 13 is one of those numbers that everyone knows.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15But the number 23 is far more mysterious.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20The myth of the number 23, referred to as the 23 enigma,
0:17:20 > 0:17:25is a belief that most world incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32David has brought together 23 people - believers and sceptics -
0:17:32 > 0:17:35to see if he can create an amazing occurrence.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Yeah, I'm very superstitious about the number 23.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I've been superstitious about it for years.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44As soon as I heard it was about 23, it really freaked me out.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49It's a bit of a weird one how it all links up to such dramatic events in the world,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51in history and that.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55I have researched it before and realised that my name, date of birth and street number
0:17:55 > 0:17:57are all out of the number 23.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02But David believes his best work so far on superstition
0:18:02 > 0:18:05is with nonbelievers and sceptics.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07So, he has chosen John Paul,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11someone who has no prior interest in a 23 enigma.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15I know that numbers make up the laws of science and nature and that kind of stuff,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20but I didn't know that much about 23 specifically.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25It seems John Paul doesn't take notions of superstition very seriously either.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28I thought I was coming to a room that was set up like a haunted house
0:18:28 > 0:18:30and I was going to be hypnotised
0:18:30 > 0:18:32and that there was going to be ghosts flying about me.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34That's what I thought I was coming to.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40First, David is going to show everyone a series of slides
0:18:40 > 0:18:42to get them all into the mind set of the 23 enigma.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49OK, folks, in a moment, I am going to play you a presentation.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53During this presentation, I want you to get numbers inside your head, get numbers in your head,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57let them wash over your head. There's lots of numbers in this presentation.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Try and not settle on numbers that you automatically hear or see.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05At one point or another, one number will feel right to you, OK?
0:19:07 > 0:19:11At the end of the slideshow, David is going to ask his 23 guests
0:19:11 > 0:19:14to come up with their own secret random number.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Not 23, but any number between one and ten digits long.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24Which gives them about 10 billion possibilities, and that's a lot of possibilities.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29All this mathematics is making my head spin. I'm glad I didn't have to come up with a number.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- That number is?- 23.- 23.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48- How many times, JP?- 23.- 23. How many people do we have here, JP?- 23.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- How long, everyone? - ALL: 23.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03- But if you add each of those digits together, JP?- 23.- 23.
0:20:03 > 0:20:09The Titanic sank, and this one's a bit closer to home, the Titanic sank on 15th April 1912.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- 23.- What is the total, everyone? - ALL: 23.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- Add up each of those digits. They equal?- 23.- 23.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30- He died in 1994, and when you add all of those up, what does it total?- 23.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35The World Trade Center was attacked on 11th September, 2001...
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Add those digits up. Everyone, what does that number equal?
0:20:38 > 0:20:43- ALL: 23. - 23. And, stranger than all...
0:20:48 > 0:20:500.666.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Does that number mean anything to you?- Beastly.- A bit beastly?
0:20:57 > 0:21:02- Yeah.- I'm sure you've been to a club like that at one stage or another!
0:21:02 > 0:21:05During the slideshow, the audience has been working on
0:21:05 > 0:21:09their own secret number between one and ten digits long.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10David is going ask John Paul
0:21:10 > 0:21:12to imagine a number
0:21:12 > 0:21:14that will match the secret number
0:21:14 > 0:21:17selected by at least one of the 23 guests.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21David will give John Paul four chances to match that number.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24If this works, by a staggering coincidence, John Paul's numbers
0:21:24 > 0:21:27should match at least one of the other 23 people in the room.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34True nutters, I mean, believers in the power of 23 will think it's a miracle.
0:21:34 > 0:21:41David is determined to create a perfect coincidence and make John Paul a true believer.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45I've always thought that coincidence is the mother of superstition.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Without coincidence, there is no superstition.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50For that reason, I'd like to see, when I get 23 people together in a room,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54if astonishing things might be possible.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Folks, just to save my voice, will everyone come up a bit closer?
0:22:01 > 0:22:05If we form a bit of a lovely arch here... Excellent.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Now, folks, what sort of credence, what sort of value
0:22:11 > 0:22:14do you place in the superstitions that surround number 23?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Chaps at the end, what do you think?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20It's pretty strange to see all those numbers that go with it,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24special like the 666, or like the World Trade Center.
0:22:24 > 0:22:280K, excellent. We are going to try something really simple now
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and all of you have got a secret personal number.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34I want you to keep it a secret from everyone, make sure no-one near you sees it.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40John Paul's job is to try and guess what any one of your numbers are.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- Do you feel confident about it?- No. - 0K.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49- It will be just a coincidence. - If you get it right, it will be just a coincidence.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- Yeah.- A pretty big coincidence, I would guess.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53You've got a pad, take up your pad for me,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57and I want you to look out into this audience...
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Remember, the chance of JP getting the same number as any one of these people tonight
0:23:01 > 0:23:03is something like one in ten billion.
0:23:06 > 0:23:090K. Now, let me see. All right, that's interesting.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Does anyone have a single one-digit number? No-one?
0:23:16 > 0:23:19OK, all right, I'll just take that one. That's grand. You take that.
0:23:19 > 0:23:25I want you to clear your mind, I want you to look at every single one of these faces
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and I want you to make another guess, you make a second guess
0:23:29 > 0:23:33as to what you think someone's number might be.
0:23:38 > 0:23:430K. Does anyone have a number between ten and 20?
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Ten and 20?
0:23:45 > 0:23:47No, anyone?
0:23:47 > 0:23:51- Tear that one off for me. That was a random choice for you?- Yeah.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- That number mean anything to you? - No. Nothing.- 0K.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58And make your next guess.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Folks, I really, really need you to be honest now.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11If anyone did get a two-digit number as their chosen secret number,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14would you raise your hand for me, please? No?
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Honestly, folks? No-one?
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Folks, we'll give it one more go.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27So, for the last time...
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Desperate Dave only needs JP's number to match with one other person in the room
0:24:30 > 0:24:34to make the coincidence work and convince John Paul
0:24:34 > 0:24:38the 23 enigma is more than just a superstition.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41OK.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46OK.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Hands up, and please, please, please be honest,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53hands up if you've got a three-digit number.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Oh, come on. One of them's got to have it.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00All right. 0K, folks.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Look, JP has done a great job, let's give him some encouragement anyway.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08JP, thank you very much. Thank him, anyway.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10We appreciate it, JP, thank you for helping.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15THEY ALL TALK AND LAUGH
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- What's wrong?- It's the same number.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- What's wrong?- It's the same number.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25- What's happening? - It's the same number.- What?
0:25:25 > 0:25:30Everyone's number?! Everyone's number, look!
0:25:30 > 0:25:36Hold on. All of these? 51272213. Everyone's?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39This side as well? 51272213.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44You're kidding? No way!
0:25:44 > 0:25:49That's unbelievable! Look, here, you see what you did?
0:25:51 > 0:25:57- How did you do that?- No clue. - No, seriously.- Seriously, no idea. - All joking aside.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02- Seriously?- Seriously. - Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for JP, and for you as well!
0:26:07 > 0:26:10The magic of these numbers doesn't stop there.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14Luckily, there's a mathematician on hand to help David do his sums.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18- This chap in the blue, what's your name?- David.- What's five plus one?- Six.- Plus two?
0:26:18 > 0:26:26- Eight.- Plus seven?- 15.- Plus two? - 17.- Plus two?- 19.- Plus one?- 20.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- Plus three, what does that equal? - 23.
0:26:29 > 0:26:3523, what an amazing thing, John!
0:26:35 > 0:26:37- You did it!- Fantastic!
0:26:37 > 0:26:43Really weird, just amazement, absolutely amazed, absolutely amazed by that.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50I've been looking into the number 23 for years now and, I'll be honest with you,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54I've looked into that superstition with some degree of scepticism.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59But I cannot imagine what must be going through our participants' heads tonight.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01That was mind blowing!
0:27:01 > 0:27:06How he got that number, I haven't a clue. I haven't a clue.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09I want to be standing under to see if there's anybody passing notes up or something.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13I just haven't a clue how he done it. He was absolutely brilliant.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16It was just a coincidence that 23 was picked.
0:27:16 > 0:27:1923 is a creepy number.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24I am quite a sceptic, so I was kind of looking for the trick,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28and also, Paul had the number and everybody had the same number at the end was quite a shock.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32To think, like, everyone in the room, there was 23 people,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and he still managed to pluck random numbers out of the ether
0:27:34 > 0:27:39and they all sort of matched up with what everyone had got. It was pretty cool.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44Yeah, definitely wasn't expecting it to add up to number 23.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47I thought it was a massive coincidence. You just never know.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53And it looks like John Paul may have found a new faith in superstition.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55It's not fake, it's totally authentic, you know.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57I have no idea what just happened.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00I don't know how that happened, I don't know how, don't know.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03So, I'm kind of, yeah, it's brilliant.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09For me, superstition is all about coincidence.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12I think coincidence is the input and superstition is the output.
0:28:12 > 0:28:19I only hope I haven't left all of tonight's participants with a terrifying fear of the number 23.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Although, frankly, that might be quite funny.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:47 > 0:28:49E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk