1. Memrise
Welcome Back!
This is the second course in the Memrise Derren Brown series.
Some of you may be coming from finishing the Derren Brown
Major System course. Hopefully that’s all of you. If not, do
yourself a favor and check it out. I can guarantee you that if you
master all of the concepts in that course, then working your way
through here will be a breeze.
Some of the tools you will use in this course will fall back on what
you’ve learned there, so it only makes sense that you check out
that course first instead of doing this or trying to learn them at the
same time. You can come back later. I’ll still be here.

2. Memrise
I’d first like to address a question that I asked myself before
designing this course –
Why make a course on card memorization at all?
Memrise is, after all, home to quite a few very good courses on
the same subject. But the same have been said of the Major
System course and that proved to be very popular.

3. Memrise
Well, there’s a bit to be said of the power of celebrity and
although Derren Brown in no way endorses , promotes or is even
aware of this course (so far as I know) it IS his mug (39) at the
top of the page and I did base these techniques, tweaked and
fitted for our purposes, from his own methods.
Now Derren didn’t invent any of these methods exactly. They’ve
been around a long time, but it is fascinating to get his
perspective on utilizing them, which is what we’re doing here.

4. Memrise
And apparently you all have been very keen on pulling off some
neat mental feats just like he does on television. How does he do
it? Good enough. That’s what this course will teach you.
The first course I wrote was geared more towards the student
and aspiring scholar who wanted to use these methods to retain
volumes of necessary and useful information. Near the end I did
allude to some possible entertainment value to be gleaned from
this and that is what I hope to further expound on here.

5. Memrise
To be perfectly honest, a course on card memorization was that
LAST thing I wanted to create for Memrise. Despite my great
respect for the founders of this site and other mental athletes the
world over, I always found memorizing hundreds of cards, as
difficult and impressive as it is, to be a rather frivolous sport. I
would much prefer if they emphasized memorizing math facts
and poetry to cards. It just has the air of parlor trick all over it.
But that’s also why I chose to create this course – it’s an
awesome trick! If you’re like me and fascinated by magic and
mentalism (hence, why we’re DB fans) you’ll find yourself saying,
“I want to do that.” It’s entertaining.

6. Memrise
Mind, there is a large difference in the degrees of difficulty and
accomplishment possible with this method and other more
complicated methods developed by mental athletes who
compete to memorize a thousand cards in half an hour.
This method is easier to learn and will give you the ability to take
your sleight of hand and suppositious devilry to the next level. It
also has the added bonus of quickening the memorization skills
you learned in the previous course. There’s no better practice I
can think of.
It is an ideal method for memorizing cards towards a purpose
other than memorizing as many cards as possible in hopes of
breaking world records. If you desire more, look elsewhere.

7. Memrise
I will now show you some videos that will give you a rough idea
of what I am talking about.
But before we even begin, I must include another warning for
parents and teachers who are encouraging young ones to try
their hand at this course– sometimes the best way to remember
something is to use naughty words.
Bawdy, violent, crude, etc. All the things your auntie and greatgrandmamma would frown upon, we encourage here.
Sorry that’s just the way it is.

8. Memrise
There’s no pornography involved and this course is very SFW,
but you’re warned that you might encounter the opportunity to
use a dirty mind.
The beautiful part of course is that you don’t have to. You can
indeed fly through this course quite productively and maintain
your innocent, cherubic spirit - unsullied and lily white (11).
If you don’t believe me, please try the Major System course and
see for yourself. What matters is what works FOR YOU. I won’t
try to put any ideas in your head that you do not wish there.

9. Memrise
Lastly, a word from Derren Brown:
“[Card memorization] can work as a stand-alone feat, at other
times as a hidden technique for a kind of card trick. Bear in mind
that sometimes in my performances I pretend to use memory
skills but don’t; and sometimes I use a lot of memory work but
pretend it’s something else. At other times I’m perfectly honest.
Ultimately, it’s the overall effect that interests me most, and I take
my cue from that.”
Tricks of the Mind, pg. 99