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A Pickpocket's Tale

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Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#21

Post by larrys »

theory11 wrote: post #8

Apollo is a friend of mine - and he's without a doubt one of the most talented, intelligent performers working today. He has a frighteningly sharp understanding of misdirection, and how to control where you are looking and when. While a magician of sorts, Apollo's talent is unique from magic in that the secret is just as entertaining as the effect. Our company [ http://theory11.com ] is a collective of artists in the…

"Brain Games"

Thanks for that. Here's a link for anyone else interested that I just found:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/brain-games/ep...

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#22

Post by SparrowOS »

God says...

very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

30:37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.

30:38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

31:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 31:2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 31:3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 31:4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 31:5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#24

Post by noonespecial »

Cushman wrote: post #7
monochromatic wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a bizarre thing to do at a party...

If you were an alien anthropologist, would that strike you as the most bizarre thing going on at parties?

"Alien anthropologist" is the bizarre thing I often do at parties. Its very enlightening.

Excitement lagging at party? Grab a friend and start "observing the humans". Its endless fun.

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#25

Post by rdtsc »

GuiA wrote: post #4

Thanks, great article! Pickpockets fascinate me. A recent hobby of mine has been to steal people's straws in drinks at parties (a way to practice without being arrested when you fail :-) )- it's a fascinating thing to do: you have to observe how people behave, how they react when you talk to them, when you point at something with one finger, etc. I recommend trying it.

Have you considered that quite a few notice what you did but just don't want to confront you, rather put you in "that weirdo" category and make a mental note not to associate with you anymore.

I would certainly not follow you, point a finger and yell "you stole my straw, give it back" but I would certainly think you are strange and just steer away from you in the future.

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#26

Post by rdtsc »

kjackson2012 wrote: post #11

Fascinating article! The one thing I've learned about pickpockets is not to let people get so close to you so that you are confused by all the "noisy" touches. That's how pickpockets work, either by getting large groups of kids to surround you and they start putting their hands in all your pockets (like what almost happened to me in Rome), or in crowded places like subways or tourist areas (like the Eiffel Tower). I'…

> I've conditioned myself to put all my things in my front pockets,

My friend got his wallet stolen from his front pocket on his shirt. The pocket was buttoned down and he was also wearing a winter jacket on top of it as well.

It happened in a crowded city bus. That is really just a goldmine for pickpockets. Well usually. It hasn't worked out for that particular group really as we managed to catch one of them (crowded city bus only stops at certain stops and because it is crowded it is a little hard to run). We brought him to a police station, where the cops promptly escorted him to a room and proceeded to torture him. I can still hear his disturbing and desperate cries. It felt like we won at the time but in looking back, I feel sorry for the kid.

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#27

Post by fusiongyro »

cynwoody wrote: post #23
jaggederest wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're printed in advance to allow for distribution. Also, usually the date is 'the week of'.

But "distribution" has already happened. In milliseconds.

Yes, but explaining to you that periodicals that have been in print for 88 years have a certain way of working, that people like getting copies in the mail, and that people expect consistency between the printed copy and the electronic copy will probably exceed your ten millisecond attention span, so it probably isn't worth it for me to bother.

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#28

Post by batgaijin »

rdtsc wrote: post #25
GuiA wrote: post #4

Thanks, great article! Pickpockets fascinate me. A recent hobby of mine has been to steal people's straws in drinks at parties (a way to practice without being arrested when you fail :-) )- it's a fascinating thing to do: you have to observe how people behave, how they react when you talk to them, when you point at something with one finger, etc. I recommend trying it.

Have you considered that quite a few notice what you did but just don't want to confront you, rather put you in "that weirdo" category and make a mental note not to associate with you anymore. I would certainly not follow you, point a finger and yell "you stole my straw, give it back" but I would certainly think you are strange and just steer away from you in the future.

Who is going to let a little klepto sabotage friendship?

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#29

Post by theory11 »

hexagonc wrote: post #13
theory11 wrote: post #8

Apollo is a friend of mine - and he's without a doubt one of the most talented, intelligent performers working today. He has a frighteningly sharp understanding of misdirection, and how to control where you are looking and when. While a magician of sorts, Apollo's talent is unique from magic in that the secret is just as entertaining as the effect. Our company [ http://theory11.com ] is a collective of artists in the…

I'll definitely look up Apollo. I've been interested in mentalism and magic for a long time but only learned one sleight of hand trick which I'm not very good at. Looks like Derren Brown, who is currently my favorite magician, might have some competition.

Our team produces instructional videos and downloads that teach sleight of hand (and a wide spectrum of magic effects). Some take a little bit of practice to perfect, but the result is well worth the effort!

Re: A Pickpocket's Tale

#30

Post by edanm »

theory11 wrote: post #8

Apollo is a friend of mine - and he's without a doubt one of the most talented, intelligent performers working today. He has a frighteningly sharp understanding of misdirection, and how to control where you are looking and when. While a magician of sorts, Apollo's talent is unique from magic in that the secret is just as entertaining as the effect. Our company [ http://theory11.com ] is a collective of artists in the…

Fun to see theory11 on Hacker News. Great company, I'm a fan.

I wonder how many HN users are magicians. I've always felt a strong connection between hacking and magic - both involve trying to "hack" a problem in a way that ordinary minds will never think of.

In fact, I credit magic with teaching me the roots of skepticism and rationality - once you know how to explain seemingly unexplainable things, you realize that things that you can't explain mean a lack of knowledge on your part, not a lack of explanation on the universe's part. And when you have smart people around you arguing that it simply can't be done, when you know the secret, you realize even smart people get fooled into thinking that what they can't explain must be supernaturaly.

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