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Chortle Review
The
UK Comedy Guide
A show, two scientists, a few
laughs, weird concepts and some tips to helpyou survive life's
turmoil.
Bafta-winning, Emmy-nominated,
ghost-busting real life scientists Simon Singh and Richard
Wiseman present What are the Chances Of That Happening? and
Mental Trickery, to enlighten and entertain, harking back to
the nineteenth century when watching science on stage was a
hot night out.
Review
A comedy show about probability
theory and the psychology of deception might sound
frighteningly academic. In fact, it turns out to be just plain
frightening. Richard Wiseman
and Simon Singh will make you question your own judgement with
a series of simple, but astonishing experiments. And what's more, it'll shake any confidence
you may have in the legal system, health screening and even
your own eyes.
It's more of a spectacle than a
comedy show, as the surprising conclusions are revealed with a
magician's flourish. But our two boffins are entertaining and
engaging speakers, and the 'lectures' are peppered with enough
witty asides to keep things resolutely upbeat.
Singh is the statistician - and as
such demonstrates how to win cash in a seemingly fair game of
chance. 'Counter-intuitive' is
his buzzword, as occurrences you consider highly unlikely are,
in fact, surprisingly frequent. It's backed with real-world examples - such as evidence
from OJ Simpson's murder trial, and the failings of Aids
testing - to back up his plea for more training in statistics
for those making such vital decisions. Obviously the chances of that happening are negligible
- you'll have to ask him for the exact odds - but at least the
message is supported by some amusing mathematics (and it's not
often those two words are written so close together).
Wiseman, on the other hand, is a
psychologist, a member of the Magic Circle, and a big fan of
the optical illusion. His
section is a lot lighter on the science, though it does
provide a fascinating insight into how we perceive things and
process information about the world around us.
This is quite an astounding show -
with amazing spectacles pulled off not with some clever
sleight-of-hand, but applied science. Don't fear the men in white coats, this is an
entertaining hour for even the most scientifically
illiterate.
Steve Bennett |
