Manipulating Memory

Many years ago, when I had more free time to peruse online magic forums (fora?) there was a topic of conversation that came up fairly often. It went along the lines of, "If you had twenty people stranded on a desert island, would you want one of them to be a magician?" Ergo, ipso facto, magicians are useless... and so on.

I'd be hardpressed to get a magician into the top twenty. I'll admit there are higher priorities like shelter and food and medical care. But there is one public service that I think magicians deliver almost better than any other profession. We demonstrate how our perceptions and memories are not as reliable as they feel. 

You, like me, probably feel most of the time that your eyes are more or less like a video recorder, but what's actually going on (and I'll be the first to admit we only have a superficial understanding of it) is pretty far removed from that.

Take this simple test to see how your memory is and whether it can be manipulated:

Hidden Messages

Have you ever wondered if you could be persuaded to do things against your will by subliminal messaging (messages which are delivered so quickly that they sneak pass your conscious awareness and feel like thoughts that come from within your own mind.)

Here, a man with a British accent explores the history and science behind them. (Warning, video may contain subliminal messages.)

Photos from Magic & Martini in Oakville

Last night we had a fantastic sold-out performance of Magic & Martini in Oakville at O'Finn's Irish Temper. It was a very hot day, as you can tell, I wasn't even willing to do up my tie:

(Those who wish to complain about my lack of decorum can write a strongly worded letter to the producer at complaints@grandspirits.com) 

Thank you to everyone who attended, we had a wonderful time (with the help of some air conditioning.) Here are some photos from the event by Tyler Sol Williams.

Seeing the Invisible

Veritasium's Derek Muller shared this video of some astonishing video he took which was able to capture some of the invisible movements around everyday events like lighting a match or rubbing your hands together. Sometimes the invisible needs to be seen to be believed.

Keeping Secrets

There's a survey you can take at www.keepingsecrets.org. We all keep secrets and here are some that we keep by category according to researcher Michael Slepian.

Compiled by Michael Slepian | www.keepingsecrets.org

I'm in the business of keeping secrets and I have mixed feelings about it. The secrets I keep tend to be like nuclear codes, except harmless. There is a feeling about magic — which I think is correct — is that if you saw the sausage being made, you wouldn't want to eat it. So the secrets of how magic tricks work are best preserved, not for any special traditional reason, but for the benefit of the audience. But they remain available for those willing to actually do the research: to wade through the large body of literature we have assembled over the past century and a half. Our secrets remain hidden in plain sight. 

Other approaches to magic

Who knows, it could work: 

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal by Zach Weinersmith