The Birth of Pia Palladino, lesbian gypsy psychic

A list explaining the origins and inspirations for Pia Palladino

1.  British mentalist and illusionist, Derren Brown. ​

Brown is in a different category of magician than David Copperfield, Chris Angel and Penn and Teller.  This is how Wikipedia describes him:

Brown does not claim to possess any super-natural powers, indeed his acts are often designed to expose the methods of those who do, such as faith healers and mediums. He makes clear in his performances that all of his apparent abilities, which manifest on stage/screen as feats of memory, intuition, mind-reading and control of other objects/people, are achieved through a variety of psychological means, such as hypnosis, suggestion, cold reading, misdirection, and showmanship, and in many cases he will often give detailed explanations of his specific methods during or after the performance. In some performances he also uses his techniques to explore issues of personality such as fears and motivation.

Brown's psychological focus is infinitely interesting to me.  I've watched almost all his shows and what finally struck me was when I finally grasped the concept of vision.  We see the world in a specific, narrow way.  And it is on the outreaches of this vision is where magicians work.  This caused me to question my own vision, and my own desires to want to believe certain things.

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