Magic in Theory: An Introduction to the Theoretical and Psychological Elements of Conjuring

effects

Introduction

Parapsychologists, psychologists and magicians have all written about the stratagems that lie behind successful conjuring. Each has approached the topic from somewhat different viewpoints.

Parapsychologists are aware that many individuals claiming to be psychic use magic tricks to fabricate paranormal phenomena. Failure to detect such fraud can lead to serious consequences, including loss of funding and negative publicity. For this reason some parapsychologists have examined the psychology used by such ‘pseudo-psychics’ to prevent researchers being fooled during their investigations.

Psychologists have long recognised that they may have much to learn from the techniques used by magicians to fool their audiences. Magicians are able to persuade an audience to look in a certain direction, misperceive actions and objects, and misremember key aspects of a performance. As such, magic has proved of interest to psychologists researching attention, perception and memory, as well as those with a more general interest in deception.

On a more practical level, some magicians have examined the theory of magic in the hope of improving their own performances and the performances of other magicians.

Unfortunately, most of this literature has been written by, and intended for, these rather specialised audiences. This book is the first attempt to draw together these different theoretical approaches and present them in a way that is accessible to a non-technical readership. In addition, it extends this previous work by incorporating material from the experience of the authors and from interviews conducted with present-day magicians, many of whom are internationally recognised by the magical fraternity for their insight into conjuring psychology and theory.

Finally, although the book is concerned with the ‘psychology of magic’, there has been no attempt to make substantial links with academic psychology. The purpose of this book is to present the theoretical and psychological elements of magic as understood by magicians.

An overview

Aconjuring trick is generally regarded by magicians as consisting of an effect and a method. The effect is what the spectator sees, and includes an event that the spectator regards as incompatible with his¹ view of how the world works. For example, the magician places a coin into his hand, closes his hand and when he opens his hand the coin has apparently vanished. The method is the secret behind the effect and allows the effect to take place. It may be a secret move or ‘sleight’, or it may be a secret device or unknown procedure of some sort. For example, the magician may secretly steal the coin out of his hand via sleight-of-hand or by using a device of which the spectator is unaware. There are countless conjuring effects and each effect has at least one possible method, normally more. While it would be impossible to describe more than a fraction of the effects and methods that are available to the magician, it is nevertheless useful to have some idea of what the performance of magic entails. Chapter 1 offers a framework for understanding conjuring effects and methods.

In addition to the countless methods behind conjuring effects, there are a range of physical and psychological ploys that the magician may use to help enhance the effect and conceal the method. Chapter 2 describes such approaches under the umbrella term ‘misdirection’.

Following a conjuring trick, the spectator will normally attempt to reconstruct events with a view to understanding what happened. Chapter 3 describes the relevant elements in this process of reconstruction, including the ways in which the magician may actively influence the reconstruction process.

It was noted above that parapsychologists are interested in this subject because of the role pseudo-psychics have played throughout the history of psychical research, and continue to play in shaping public attitudes towards the paranormal. The similarities between the magician and the pseudo-psychic are significant, and examples will be given throughout the book. However, there are also significant differences between the two. Chapter 4 is concerned with these differences.

Chapter 5 attempts to place conjuring theory in perspective by describing in more detail its function and limits.

Chapter 6 presents a comprehensive bibliography of work on conjuring theory and the appendix is an overview of the principal methodological devices used by magicians.

Viewpoint

Within the broad magical fraternity there is often a distinction made between magic and mentalism. Mentalists simulate psychic powers for entertainment purposes but do not explicitly claim to possess such powers. In one sense, mentalism could be viewed as a particular branch of magic. However, some mentalists would stress the differences between magic and mentalism, and many mentalists might be regarded as closer to pseudo-psychics than magicians. The problems with such distinctions will be discussed briefly in Chapter 4. However, it is worth pointing out that, so far as such distinctions are valid, this book is written from the point of view of magicians, rather than mentalists. Both authors come from a background of close-up magic (i.e., magic with small objects, such as coins and cards). While we feel the theoretical elements described are relevant to both magic and mentalism, it may well be that a mentalist would have said things differently.

Throughout the writing of the book, there has been an attempt to present the theoretical elements of conjuring as understood by competent and experienced magicians. The sources for these concepts have been, for the most part, the extensive literature on the subject and the experience of the authors. In addition, in an attempt to avoid a highly subjective view, several prominent magicians were interviewed on the topic of conjuring psychology. While there was substantial agreement among these individuals, certain differences of opinion emerged and Chapter 5 discusses some of these. The contribution of these individuals does not, of course, imply that they agree with everything in this book. It is probably fair to say, however, that most competent and experienced magicians would agree with most of its contents.

An ethical concern

Magic is a secretive business. One of the reasons why so little information is available to non-magicians interested in the topic is that magicians are understandably reluctant to expose conjuring methods. Magicians are expected to keep secrets and, as prominent members of magical societies, the authors are well aware of the problems involved in revealing secrets. At the same time, it should be recognised that the dangers of exposing secrets can easily be exaggerated. Regularly, methods are exposed on television. Constantly, methods are available to the lay browser of the bookshelves of public libraries and popular bookstores. Most large towns have a shop that sells tricks to anyone who is willing to pay for the secret and, since few of these buyers wish to practise, these methods are regularly passed on to friends and family either through incompetence or explanation.

Nevertheless, throughout the book, there has been a deliberate attempt to reveal as few methods as possible, and those few methods that have been revealed are such that they are freely available to anyone with access to a bookshop or library. In addition, in order to discover these few methods, the reader will not only have to purchase this book but will need to read more theory than most magicians would wish to in a lifetime. Compared with the direct explanations of beginners’ magic books available on public library bookshelves, we feel that this would involve at least the same commitment as is expected from a novice magician.

Whether one regards the description of the theoretical elements that underlie effective conjuring as exposure is another point. However, academic and public interest in this topic is hardly new and, as Chapter 5 discusses, an understanding of conjuring theory will not necessarily help in figuring out how a trick works.

Credit

The majority of ideas presented in this book are not those of the authors but constitute what might be thought of as common knowledge among competent experienced magicians. The origins of these ideas are often difficult to place and little attempt has been made to identify historical credit. Where it is felt that further reading might be useful, or where a specific source has been used, references are given. The authors have attempted to use terms that are the most appropriate given the purpose of the book. Where it is felt appropriate, original terms or definitions of older terms have been used. The conjuring literature is far from consistent in its use of terms and further reading may prove confusing to the reader if this is not borne in mind. The authors would wish to stress, however, that their job has essentially been one of compilation and presentation. Credit for the ideas in the following pages goes to the great magicians of the past, and one or two great magicians of the present.

A word of warning

It has been said that a little knowledge of magic could be a dangerous thing. A spectator who thinks he knows how magic works can be, in some ways, easier to fool. That magicians fool each other regularly should warn against such an attitude. Certainly, if the reader were to finish this book feeling he was prepared to spot trickery he would be gravely mistaken. On the contrary, one of the aims of this book is to illustrate the extent of ignorance about magic among non-magicians.

Magic, properly performed, is a complex and skilful art, and is capable of deceiving anyone. Greater theoretical understanding of conjuring and psychic fraud will not produce invulnerable observers, but it is hoped that it will raise awareness of how vulnerable observers can be.

Chapter 1

Magic tricks and how they are done

An elementary framework of conjuring effects and methods

The performance of magic employs a method (how the trick works) to produce an effect (what the spectator perceives). Success requires that the spectator experience the effect while being unaware of the method. The effects performed by magicians, and the methods used, are incredibly diverse. This chapter offers an elementary framework for understanding the types of conjuring effects and methods used by magicians. The first part of the chapter outlines a classification of conjuring effects whilst the second part offers a list of methodological strategies for each effect.

What magic is: a classification of conjuring effects

To understand what magic is one needs to know what magicians do. However, the abundance of magicians and their tricks makes a list of conjuring effects impractical. To begin to understand what magic is, then, a classification of conjuring effects is offered. Classifications in conjuring are not new. However, there has been little agreement on the most appropriate classification system. Robert-Houdin (1878) divided the art of conjuring into six branches. Maskelyne and Devant (1911/1992) subdivided what they called the three orders of magic into thirteen classes or types, and forty-eight principles or methods. Elsewhere, Devant stated that all effects fell under one of seven headings (Hay, 1949). In the 1930s, Sharpe (1932) listed nineteen simple or primary conjuring feats, while Bernhard (1936) stated there were six. The first signs of consensus appeared in 1944 when Fitzkee’s Trick