Confessions of a Conjuror

by Derren Brown

Robert Cialdini’s seminal book Influence: The Science of Persuasion,

Annaeus Seneca: if you have high expectations of how smoothly life will glide forward every day, you will be routinely disappointed and therefore prone to anger. Lower those expectations, and the world becomes a less frustrating and therefore more delightful place.

It is rather like Descartes’ barrel of apples. René Descartes’ great work Meditations was concerned with the theory of knowledge, and an attempt to ascertain what you could know for sure to be true.

Doubtless this artificiality is in great part due to the fact that each side in politics is required to accept the ludicrous notion that there is only one worthy viewpoint to an argument.

There may, however, exist a good reason to privately believe that stands up perfectly well, and which could run as follows: ‘It may not ultimately be true, but to be honest it gives me enormous pleasure and confidence to believe, and that’s enough for me.’ This is one perfectly valid and sensible argument, although one that is rarely heard.