5 ms·
How David Blaine Held His Breath
- wallflower 16y ago> free divers, who descend to scuba-diving depths without the aid of equipment Freediving is one of those sports that seem to deify and defy rational explanation. http://www.cdnn.info/news/article/a040709.html http://www.cdnn.info/news/article/a040709.html
- e40 16y agoAnyone else struck by what a bad speaker he is?
- dgarner 16y agodefinitely.. but he can hold his breath!
- nhebb 16y agoStarting off, I thought he sounded like he had just taken a bong hit while pinching a loaf. As he went on, I became more and more engaged. Each minute of the speech made me want to hear the next minute, and finally the conclusion. So you have to ask yourself, what makes a good speaker - having polished elocution or relating an engaging story?
- mcantor 16y agoAgreed. He's a great example of how successful storytelling can come from charisma and passion as well as diction and articulateness.
- scorpion032 16y agoThere is so much conveyed in his body language. A lot is expressed; surprisingly little made it into words.
- latch 16y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex
- geekinthecorner 16y agoA couple more HN! discussions on the subject matter: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=912889 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=912889 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1166803 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1166803
- TamDenholm 16y agoI know a lot of people here aren't fans of Tim Ferriss but this is relevant. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/10/30/how-to-hold-your-breath/ http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/10/30/how-to-hold-...
- kadavy 16y agoI've tried this, and it worked very well; but it's dangerous from what I understand - you can kill some brain cells.
- yatsyk 16y agoThis talk at TED http://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_for_17_min.html http://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_f... is interesting. Like the moment when he talk that his ex-gf used time that he spent underwater to read SMSes on his phone.
- orblivion 16y agoI don't understand why people aren't more concerned with the fact that he's conflating being a magician (illusions) with pulling off medical feats? I think we should be raising the question of whether this stuff is real. EDIT: Funny, I paused to make this comment immediately before his story about the doctor suggesting the illusion of not breathing.
- cmod 16y agoJust a note: if you do watch this, watch it until the very last second.
- StavrosK 16y agoWhy? I don't see anything.
- mcantor 16y agoHe tears up at the end, just barely losing composure, as he explains what magic--and, I imagine, life--means to him. I was certainly touched.
- louislouis 16y agoReally? It seemed like poor acting to me? I duno, just didnt seem real.
- StavrosK 16y agoOh, I took your comment literally and thought the guy on the stage was someone to note. I did see the end of the speech, yes.
- Avshalom 16y agoIt should be pointed out that the unassisted static apnea record is 11.5 minutes. Making noise about Blaine's times sound a little silly.
- btilly 16y agoCitation, please. The article claims that the record without oxygen assistance is 8:58. Your 11.5 claim would beat that by quite a bit.
- Avshalom 16y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-diving#AIDA_recognized_world_records http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-diving#AIDA_recognized_wor... I guess to be fair at the time of the article AIDA's record was only 9:08. But if the article is worth reading today it's worth comparing to today. The point really is that holding your breath for 8 minutes was/is not the achievement Blaine('s publicist) wanted it to be.