Posted by Ian on 2010-03-14
in Anecdote
I saw a young mind reader this week. He was enthusiastic and had a geeky charm and, although there was a touch of Derren Brown about him, he was trying to mould himself differently. He was also performing atypical effects – such as predicting what colour tee-shirt people might choose to wear – which was refreshing.
His multi-phased dénouement relied on one carefully constructed piece of apparatus. After the show the performer was chatting to a woman who had had the opportunity to examine the relevant prop. She was goaded by someone else listening into guessing a possible solution. And she struck gold – her explanation was spot on.
The mind reader naturally did what most of us would do in such circumstances – he told her she was way off the truth.
At a recently show I asked a woman to name any playing card in a deck. As I was showing her the relevant pack, it so happened that the card facing her most of the time was the three of hearts. She chose the three of hearts.
I then demonstrated that the three of hearts was the only red card in the blue backed pack. It’s a well-known trick that many magicians will recognise. The method, needless to say, doesn’t rely on the person choosing the three of hearts: she could have chosen any card and it would still have worked.
After the show the woman informed me that she thought she had some psychic abilities; and that was the reason she had named the three of hearts. Normally I wouldn’t have argued with her: but as I had noticed the coincidence over her selection, I pointed out to her that it had been the same card as was initially at the front of the pack. Perhaps she had subliminally picked up on that – and therefore named it.
The woman naturally did what most of us would do in such circumstances – she told me I was way off the truth.
His multi-phased dénouement relied on one carefully constructed piece of apparatus. After the show the performer was chatting to a woman who had had the opportunity to examine the relevant prop. She was goaded by someone else listening into guessing a possible solution. And she struck gold – her explanation was spot on.
The mind reader naturally did what most of us would do in such circumstances – he told her she was way off the truth.
At a recently show I asked a woman to name any playing card in a deck. As I was showing her the relevant pack, it so happened that the card facing her most of the time was the three of hearts. She chose the three of hearts.
I then demonstrated that the three of hearts was the only red card in the blue backed pack. It’s a well-known trick that many magicians will recognise. The method, needless to say, doesn’t rely on the person choosing the three of hearts: she could have chosen any card and it would still have worked.
After the show the woman informed me that she thought she had some psychic abilities; and that was the reason she had named the three of hearts. Normally I wouldn’t have argued with her: but as I had noticed the coincidence over her selection, I pointed out to her that it had been the same card as was initially at the front of the pack. Perhaps she had subliminally picked up on that – and therefore named it.
The woman naturally did what most of us would do in such circumstances – she told me I was way off the truth.
