My dad was a professional magician for many years. He gave professional shows in high school and while he was attending engineering school, and he had a local TV show for a while. When I was little, he taught me how to palm a quarter; he delighted me to no end by putting my finger in the guillotine chopper (along with a series of unfortunate carrots), by always knowing what card I picked, by making the interlocked hoops separate with a wave of his hand. And, of course, by showing me how it all worked.
Here’s an article about research showing that knowing how it works is what kids really want from magic.
Simon has taken to doing his own small magic tricks all the time–”interlacing his fingers and hiding one, so that when you count there are only nine. (Uh oh, what happened to your missing finger?) But he doesn’t actually cherish the concept of illusion. Watching him and the other kids watch the magician, it seemed that as soon as they caught a glimpse of the man behind the curtain, they couldn’t wait to rip down the rod. — from “Why do kids crave magic?” by Emily Bazelon
I was tickled to be reminded of the missing-finger trick, which I did all the time as a kid because it didn’t take any practice. It was a native skill (grin). I loved watching my dad do magic, but I knew even then it wasn’t for me: my young fingers were clumsy, and I didn’t have the patience to practice and to wait. And my misdirection skills turn out to be more verbal (‘nother grin).
And I was struck, reading this article, by the idea that as kids we don’t cherish illusion. At least, of course, not until it’s gone. I guess this is an adult pleasure, this surprise and wonder, this joy in not knowing how it works; that it might be magic.
Thanks for the magic, Dad!
Larry Eskridge, 1963
How cool to have a magician for a dad. And that picture blows me away (I was thinking is that really her dad? then saw the title).
Saw an interesting thing last night on my recording of CBS Sunday Morning. Another study being done by neuroscientists in AZ:
“There, two Harvard-educated neuroscientists came to the humbling realization that magicians sometimes understand the mysterious workings of the human brain more than they do. “
They don’t have a video up, but there’s a text excerpt here if you’re interested. They had some interesting drawings showing how magicians misdirect attention in the video.