Doug Dyment - Calculated Thoughts

On Psychic Guilt A highlight of the 1983 ~Meetin8 of the Minds- (the ann1,1.l1 convention of the Psychic Entertainers Association) was iI seril'S of simulated interviews, pitting a hard-no:;ed "investigative reporter" ( .... alli(~ investigative !1!porter Ward Lucu) against a 5efin 01 psydtic entertainers, each of whom was assumed to have su~srul1y completed a drDmlltic headline prediction. The Interviewees handled themselves with varying degrees of success, and the exercise convinced us of two things' if you're trying to Hdo an Uri Geller", stay away from Ward LUGls, and whatew!r you're trying to do, be ~:r rt.~ly ,lNr llooul the na/urt of your own ptr/orm;ng ptrSOtlll /Jiffnt trying /0 J<'II il loolhus. "Are you really psychic, or do you use trickeryr Several entertainers had difficulty responding 10 tha~ due in part to some discomfort with tIw word . psychic"', and in p.>rt to the leading natun> of the question. which enCOUl'iIges an either/or ~ (when !he preferr'W anllwer may simply be .ye5'"). One enlertainl.'r admitted 10 the use of 5ycho!og cal trickery", but the m<:IISt SUU"eSI5fuJ (the late, irrepressible, and mud! mis.sed. Irv Weiner) calmly assured the reporter tnit everyone is psychic. A dea!nt dictionary agrees, the principal definition of psychic~_ when used as an adjective-being simply, ·of or p!!rtaining to the human soul ormindn. The most LOmmOn u~oftlM! word lnourcultun> have no 8upernin.md implications: the npsychicbidN (a Bridge term), ·psychiC energizer· (a medical term for antidepress.nts), ·psychic distana" (a referena tJJ maintaining I deg~ of detachment), ·psydlic ,,,come" (a personal or subjective reward ), and so on. So don't ((lI!"1 in .ny way guilty rererring to your psychic Ibllities. Don't feel guilty about fore.:asting future evenl$either: economists and meteorologists do it all the time. and Dre rarely bwne<I at the stake. 351

352 On Predicting the Future '"If you can pr'Nict the future, why don't you mike a fortune on the !otterie5?" How many of us holve heard that challenge. or some version of it, when doing prediction effects' While a number of approachi!5 might be employed to deal with th is question. here's one with which ]'vl'; had success , .. Did you ever read one of those scien~ fiction stories dealing with time travel, in which the protagonist goes backward in time and is subsequently confronted with some parado:<;cal situation. Olle in which his actions could have a oontradictory effect on the fu ture? For example. he is put in , position wh.ere he could kill his parents prior \Q his own birth. Such an event can't be allowed to occu~ for obvious reasons. lnd~ the plot 01 such stories is often based on the resolution of the potenti,I! conflict. usually in a way that preserves theessmtial elements of the future as it is known to have unfoldoo. It's clear that the time traveler is allowed to have somt effect on the plSt, just nothing tha t could disturb future evenls in II ~riously conJIicting fashion. Well. ra~ling forwtlrd in time (e.g., forecasti ng fu ture events) could well work in the SII.!l\e fashion: as long as the OCC\Iuen«, of the prediction hns no signifi<:ant effect on the event itself, everything is aU right. If it w~re to ~ffect the predicted event in some notable fashion, however (~.g .. yuu win the lottery instead of the Mna turalwinner), the laws of causation would have been vkJlated, whkh c~' t be ~itted to happen. lhis view also serves 10 explain why, typial1y, predictions are only viewed "ft~ the predicted ~~ t has ~""". -But wait a minute", some might insist, "'lime travel in tiny d in'ction i$ an impossibility.- Not ne<:l!s.sarily .. . quantum phySiCS allows for it- from a mathematkal perspective at least- and strongly suggests that our con~pts of the flow of time may well be based more on our belief stroctures than on any objective reality.

On Learning Cold Reading Picture a largesodal gathering. one for whi<:h ~ organizer has himi both D strolling magician and a "psychic reader". II',. pretty safe bet thai the magician is wandering about the place, looking for likely audience!l for his ta lents. The reade~ on the other hand, b probably seated comfortably in .. quiet com er, with " linl/ leadingQ ... 1 the door of people wailing for readings. 50 it's a topic of ongoing interest to many. What is Cold Reading? To begin. is it cold re"ding'" or wstock reading"? Such a question pn)~" false dic::hotomy, as these terlJl5 refer to two quite differmt aspects of the reading process. A · cold readitlg" is simply a reading (." p!!rsonal interpreta tion or appr.oisil]M) delivered cold (Mwithout advance prepar .. tionff , using no previOU!lty-dltained information abou t the client). This oontrasts with a "hot reI-dins", which exploits ri o~fte n secretly obt in d-information . ffSlock phrases" a re pre-formulated sta tements of a general nature (often called Barnum or forv statements), designed to be applicable to broad classes of people. A di g consisting primarily of such statements is termed a MSlock read ng~. Although these can unquestionably be eifeo;tive, they ~ rarely as compelling as a truly persona lite<! (and well-delivered) reading. The latter is ~ much more interactiV(' pl"OCl':is, rooled deeply in {~ful observation oland feedback (both overt and covert) from-the person bring read. Skilled cold readers commonly make selective--even extensive--use of stock phrases. but not indiscriminately so: they choose carefully from an eJ(tensive repertoire. and tailor each comment 10 the specific client and situation. Thus does a stock ph.rase become an effective cold reading line. How 10 Become a Cold Reader First, and most important, that is tlo/wk th~t will ttdch yOl/ how 10 Irmmrt Q" ncccmplishtd cold rt:li>Ikr. In fact. reading too many books on the I \353

354 subject(searming for some sort of " holy grail"7)can be tremendously rounterproductivt', as you have 1"10 personal COI\text within whieh to IIppreelite (or even understand) mum of the information being ~ted. Cold rNding is a skill that arises from one soun:e, and one soun:e only: giving leadings. Many of the world', best <:old readers ha ve neverstudi(od a Mcold reading"" book in theirliv~ (and may well be nawlI"~ that such things even exist). But if they are any good a\ all they have given ~ /01 ofmldings. Thill's not 10 say that books on the lopi<: are unhelpful. Quite the contrary, they offer infurmation tha t can significantly elevale your game. BUI-unlike whalllUlny purveyors of produc ts fur magicians would like you to believe-they will not ma ke you a good cold reader. that iS80mething yoU must doon your own. And that is why it's$udl an uncommon, valuable skill (one that can ea rn you a living in good ti~ and bad: read Richard Webster's upcoming inspiring essay if you need convincing) ... because most would-be readers just study (too many) books, and never quite manllge to get up the courage to begin doing actual readings.. · YOII wi/llf.II", lTIOn!frorn {givins /1m mldin~ IhIlnfrom ~ny book ..001/1 ,tadin8$- • -Iohn Wellington Wells Cold l"I!ading can be viewed as--Simultaneously_ science, an art, and a craft. For the science, there Is no better book than Ian Rowland's exhaustive Thr Full Filets Book ojCold Rtadins. For the art, tum to srudies like Brad Henderson's TN Danct. For the craft, choose an orade tNt appeals to you,. and learn a traditional/proven set of niles fur in~rpreting Ihat ori>de (Richard Webster's Quid: & EJfrcliflf! Cold Rtrzding. which employs 1mi5try U ils oracle, is a dassicin this a tegoryj. But mostly, go out and do ".,adings. Do them for free .1 first; let sitte rs know Uuat you J"., justleaming. and they wiD be forgiving. (It's unn«es5ary at this stage to have completely IIUIS~n!d your d>osen. orade: begin with the basics.) When you start getting requests for lon~r readmgs. you will know that you are be<:oming competent From hl:>re, proceed as your intelO!Sts di~ you. Rc.ad further; now is when those books will become useful (and ma ke much more sense than they could have at the beginning). Apprecia te that cold reading involves the crafting of stories. The oracle supplies thr dues, but the reader must construct. compelling

I rr'tive: .. good cold ~a eris a good storyteller. Som~ will certainly have ~ grealer innate talent for ll this than others, but anyOM with II siltctrl inluesl in~, and a desin! to help Lhem (even if that help is sim ply a dive rting en ta inmentl can beco.'I1oOt an ~ffo.'ctive read~r. Inslanl Cash: Tht' 5fary of BiIll'/ Whtlt II fritltd of miltt IoIst "'5 job " /= ytlll'!l ago, lind COII/dll', filtd III1OU,U bmJllse ~ W4$ tooald ~ ('magj , ~ guy IDOlS 42,,1!d loooldl) I slIgg<!Slrti ~ slop lookiltg for II job IIltd $Ia.1 rrad,,,g TII,.,I cards. Initilllly, Bill WIIS horriftd althe idta. Iioid him 1ft CIlwld makt h,1/1MI/ a rollplt of hundred dollars every Wt"r!kmd, Qnd stil/ hllU't .. II w«k fru 10 Iry to find II regular job. Aboul fiftult ytOrs ago, Ilaughl MoIM. jritMd Iww 10 mid Tarol (/I .d" altd sift marit Sl! much molt~ l?t'Ui'ng thtm III fica "",ruls Ih .. t sift gow lip her .tgul"" job Qltd IfQW works two dRys /I wtd: lIS Q mlw. 51ft luis /I IQ,gt c/'tnltlt of tqJt/lt OIslo ..... ., tdro Iwvt rtQd,ltgs 011 II I'f8wla. bI.u,. I mtroduad /Mm, lind ~Iwttr! 1m two of 14$. wt filUllly mll1lllgtd to tllrt1f< rllgt Bill 10 "ue ,I II $hoI. I /omottl ",m my ropy of I"" Rid'ltg', lhe Tarot Made wy, which ltachn how to muJ Iht T<I1tI I ilt 5n!tIt dttys."" 1",,'$1y'ltrn 115<'5 Iht RiduWll ilt Tllrol, 1M ml-.i:noum d«k, md ~ mosl ptC1pIt iltlursttd i" ruding5 woll id rtCOglI'u . I s"gg(Sltd Bill buy I~ UnivelAl T'atot dtd (publishtd by La 5caN/Ifo/.1t is wry JimilQ', bill mom mocitr" looking. Dllr'"8 1m 5tW" days ,I look Bill to Itarn the urds. I paid for "im 10 ,,<iW mldi"gs from a fow profrs!ioltQI rtlWas. This 100' m""kt/ n Stllrch. 1 IOOMltti Bill 10 set how olh.r mlders worktd. After «1m OIIt, 14Jktd him QIl<"5liQlts about Ihtm. Old Iht mld.r "",y yall ful cmnforltJb/.t ? Did !fOu Ii~ h,m or hu? W4S the nadiltg rnjo)Plbk? Helpfol? Did!JllU 8"i~ a"!f insights? Bill had Itrot!' hlW Q mldi"g INfrm. AU of the rudm lISSumtd m was vis,tiltg thtm ~Cllu~cfh"til r. NOTltofl"t m mtntiontd ~"MmplO!Jmrnt •• They wen /II/ "pbtal altll p<J<Sitill<! abo"t hi, /ullin.. They spokt in terms of Ttllliionships. ~ Bill Ms b«n 1IIDfritd}or lti""l«rt yttll'S and ItQs tMa Itt""~ drildmr. One nadtr Q1f'IUIly pit:itd the In- childmr, b,,1 11ft others lalktd gntalllI!f Ilbolll a Irappy family lift· Bill lUI.!I iltitial/!f imprtSStd wilk his re/ldiltgs, 17111 rzJItr analysing IIttrn dtcUItd Ihey wtn 1111 ctr(i$(s ,It pasitive Ihinki"g. HI Itfl llll of then Jrtling lhal tht /ullin wcrs going 10 be p<)$,f'lI<! /lnd &1IcctS5JuI. fU 111$0 Itft coltfidrnt Ihal h.'d be a/llt to do QII=I lIS good II jcb al rttlIliltg 1lI101 (""ds lIS t"ey Iuld. l~l . " _ , . ... ~".,. by Rld ,,«1 Wro..<r in lOOG ( .. ><I iod...t.J ........ ~ M. p<t",,,,.i,,.>l • .. . "0')' l"<ll" N.w z... t...,.ll ,ho, t 'hlttk aor po«M .. 1 ooItI t<O<H< ~ tikdy 00 Sod in"":,,",,, WO, ..... ; ..... noJ poo ..... ,. ",""",,,,r),. llOl. W l' )to< IUd .. , dm;I in .lOOS: """"""",,. "'" booU« io "" Icqcr uoIlr ............ 355

356 I dtli/:>trtJltly chose IhrSf«ific rradt:rS joT" l1umbi!r ~f~s. I fOOnl~d Bill to s« diffolTnl StylN of /TQi/ing, bUI I alS() IOrml M /rim to nolia lire di/fr, ffll mllillmlMnts in which IloqwormI. 0 .... rtIIdinglOOU knt on d b/dlm table ill. smallltcnlw in" poor p<t11 at/owll. Anoliv ID<lS i". smlfll5mli-p ivr;~ mom tit 1M beck at. New Ago shop. One road.r /rQd tI ¥«itll room in 1m I-mM P midi"8$- BI1I found Ilris Illmost 100 new tWO .• In IIdditwn 10 tI table tlnd trw dltIi1s, tlri§ rtado h"" tllm)fr displlly at frySttlls, pllCIl1g~ On lhe UlII $hotui"glJn wilh II writty of w.britie;, . Largt Buddiltl, tlnd II CAndlt IhltllD<lS ~ ~ il 5<lt on/he ftcor. She IiI 'his II' IItt S'tlT' of Ow rtiUling, tlnd Idd Bill II .. , tI d.irwya,,1 hlld told hrr liull sht'd lie able /0 rmrlli" II rtadu only 11$10"1 4S the candle omld s,ill bt /il. Accordinl to Bill, Iht candle W<IS $0 largt shr'lI bi! .blt 10 mill ermls fr1r tht "a' 5,000 y~rs, IlISktd Bill to Ihink ubolll how ht'd lib /0 d«o,a/. his l. blt.1 Ih( f/to. markr' ~/T WI' IuId decidtd hr'd mzd, I suggrsttd a tablecloth dtcora,rd wilh lilt signs of lhe zodirte, a small UuSiMSS CArd holdt, Ihm t n.bI.d propl. to help thtmst!11It$ to. ami witJro./l inttTTup lil1g his rt""ings, and a CA rd IMI 5<lUl: Bill BurI'OW$, Tarol Card RNliings. Dliri"8 Iht wett. I tt$ltri Bill $tI1n"Q/ limN on Ihe am. Ht had 110 probImrs mntmbtring Ihmr, IMIIks 10 lot', dtIIfT systtm. By 11K tnd uf Q wtd, Itt W<I$ .blt 10 giw pro/rs6iontll 'lutllity millings. NCItD it lOllS up lei him Ht sprofi,,,lIy IISktd IMI I didn't oi§il the jim mllml on his first day lhere. I WQS ttmptttl to Hnd Ma'I'Irtt, my wifo, 10 chtck On hIJw he was doillg, but dtcidtd .gllill$/ ii, AI Ilr. tIId of Iht day, ht pho"ed me. Ht was u,i/ed, as he'd mIlII. $100 afttr txptllstS. 1 ron8'~l ed him, bul StcTt:lly I was disDppoinltd. 1 thought ht'd lralN! mtldt at ItilSI double that IIr"ount, This fila mllrlctl is htld in tht car ptn'k of. largt marktl-optn srotn days a wra-llult Cdlus mainly te tourists. The f/tG marl:tl is lrtld on Satu rdays d S'II1dIlYS, Proplt who buy a silt nrcy W«hnd ""!Ie prtformcr. and IIpmIle thfir llUJinastSfrom Iht 5<lmt sitt tlltry ~ Ptoplt who lurn up mtry 11010 'lId 'W'i" .re fr« /0 choost from .ny of tilt Ut/OCtJlpitd posilions. CoIl5tfut71lly, 111051 ptoplt lITrit>t d coo..t 6.00 A.M. /0 IIIIIkr $U", tMy 811 tI good position. On Sunday morning. Sill mivtd prmtfptly at six, lind gaur his first /Tllding just /c~ minule'S IIIltI' /0 a fr//Qru uhibitor. Bill Md asJwl mt not to go On hisfirst dey, tn.t /tad 5<lid notlrillg aboui/ht "rond. 1 arrivtd just of/tI' 10,00 A.M., lind hild tI good look around tire marktlllcfort po:using 10 look al Bill's stand, Thtrt wtrt tlrm olMr ,rodus al Iht j1to. mll,!;et, Two !lim rrodirlg T.rot cards and Ihe oth~ was offtring palm ,rodings. I had SHn none of IhQr! btforr. Ollt of the Tarot rJlrd rtIldtl's WO/S nolicrably bus,',r lluln the oIlr,.",

Bill U>II$ finishing a m>di"gllS' drrw Mar.' ro~ld htDr his "~nl IMnJ:mg him, and lx/oiling his IliT/1IlS /0 Ivr Jritnd. TItt frV"d otImost /wi a ffllding hlr$tlf, bill dtddd againsl i/. BiII ..... s Mppy hi I« lilt. Ht'd a/mIlS' tIIurlild his firsl dlly"s IlIkings. -Come wilh 1m" for 1/ smmd, - , Si/iI/ h) him./ quidly loot him fNl3ll~ ol~r Ihrtfl mWM. -Whlll did )'011 notice? - [ asktd him, oncr he """ Jilti"g dawn I/gain. -Wtlt IhaVf!oompttilum, IglI~. · -You 110,,'/ "ud /0 worty QboullM oompdiljon,- I Hid. -rM importanl Ihing is IMI only ont of Ihem was doing a rfQ/1in8' 1\otn'Y minI/its llgo, whtn I firsl ~nl past, sht W<lS givilfg II rttu!ingand III/tltSl ont ptr:;(m was WIliling. Whll/ is sin doing Ilultlhe TeSI of you lire no/?- "Maybe she·, II reglilof hirt and hm buill up II dirnu!t. • "11"$ possiblt, bUll doubll/wrs Iht Ttl/son. " A yo"ng mlln Silt down lind QSked for /I rtading. -ninA: .bout iI, - I SDid. -/'II be bIId.- TItt fiN "",rUt WI/! ~Iting busiD; ... d Bill mid ronslanlly for 1M tint two hours. -Whalll S-I dlly'- M SQid, n.iren _hIId. cIrII"rt 10 Wk. -/'m "'1'0- -II', my /0 mllkt monty wIrtn 1M pUct is lNluing willi pnIfIlt, -, SDid. -All at you wtff! JIIIl Ollt. Have yo~ warlctd 0111 wily IMI wo.,um gt/s dimls in Ihe qu~t timts'- Bill slrook his Mud. -She probably hlOftoS /015 of ptOplt. - -I'm goi"g now, - [wid. "W/rePI it gtlS quitt, walk pOISI htr slll"d IIgllin. /"!.It IlIkw somt photos, SO I'll show you lo"ighl ifYOIi 1Io,,'t pick illlp.- Bill wlllktd pilSI her $11I"d /I couplt of limts, but was unllblt to!iU what I w.:IS gtlli"g III. HUWf:[)tT, ht saw lias soon <IS M l/Xlktd 1IIIlrt pholographs. -Htr 5(t "I' is cI<w,·v thll" tht othm, - ht SIlid. -It looks, "",II, mort projtssio"lIi. - -How much did)'Oli rruIkL todayr -$.320, -Itt lold mt prowlly. -, wolldn how much mort sht mw , - I Hidpoin/i"g ~I /Itt photognzph. -Okay. Nrxl wed /11 ropy whal slot', .so ..... ~ -No, 1"1(1, doII'l do Ihlll, ~ , sa'-d. SItt 's got Ittr own $ptdIlllhings. You nttd /0 110 )'Our OWII Ihing, S<Jmtlhillg l/wl dijfrff!"lilIlts you .• -Yv'hnl aboullhe slont?"Tim n'rIdtr had II" 0Vd1 s/:on<", IIppmrimatdy Ihrw incltt$ /Iy two. SMllSked hn clit:n/s 10 /wid it for a _mlllnd Ilvll phla il 0" 1M I4b1f. Then, wltile shtWi/S givi"g 1M mldi"g, sllt·d rest 1M fiMgtrs ofher Itft Illmd on it, lIS if mriuing uibrlltitms from il. A IIi« louCh, II/wughl. "No, you Cd n'l U~ Ihlli. Thill'S Mr!!. DoI1'1 wony- WI!'II think of S<Jmttlli"gjor you.- 35

358 • 'sed Ihal 8i11 hadn '/ Mtiml how al/nlc/iw th, otnn I ""'511 I ;lIrpr'Mrn o{Im ihm'/ ""Ia Ih~ fin" ""ints. Bill's s/oml was mIIk~ " 51"" ~WIR'~~firU /luI this wom,"lu1d willdow-drnsnllKr SI/md "'ncllOn" 0"" ~'_ _ 1.- . J btle hoau<_.nd Ih,s .ttTtldtd ptOpIe 1(1 ntf'. ;xoc III$() mtuk ,,, II VII,.;rty "1 SIt -~-. , ••• ~ . ~/looIc !Itt /*If!' SM worr uioIrl robes. "lid" .W 01" ..... "''''8,n8 QfI11l"d IItr n«t ."ff II IIl1mftor of"'~ rings on he. filii"!. Hn hll,r ""d ""ils WIt"I'e imm«yI./t. 8,1/ WII$ thrillLd. Hi'd IIIJl/U himsdf"'(II! tha" $100 ill his first WftuTid. AsM ".nnw! 001110 mt, /ht.t's on extra $20,001) II ytlU for plaS4l .. , work in hir ,part ti",~. TIlt foIltlUling w«kmd 8ill modt ;usl owr $600. lIt had S~"I all W«k wo,*i"8 on i I/bill ways of improving his stand, and hi5 Q~lIrll"(%. HI! !.ought II btr>lIti/v1 wood,n bor from ,m imparl stort to Irold his cards. I uggdl!d ~ lise II ptllduillm to Mlp him r:cnfirm !.Itlrious things M saw in 11K ,.,dJ. Hi dumgtd his sign 1(> mid M It //anlt'/I Toll.", Rzadi"gs. ~ This cnattd in'nrst. and ~W /rim from 1M CltMr rtfldtl"5 who did "ordi""'Y" T4I'01 rtIIilillgs.1 hdptd him d~ tI dory to UP/gill h!1U/ ~ WQ5 fIIk /II ddiwr At/tlIIt~1I Rtldillg5. He bought SOItN' smarr ClUlltli c1oth~. Thest s- him additiontl1 ""'folm«, tI$ he foil good ill Ihnn. Th~ a/50 ~ llim loot SlIcm:sjid. BiU is stililcloking Jot g ,"r job, but ill tltt mnlnlimf Itt's milillg ~" $600 lind S800 twry W«hnd. Not bAd Jot 5Omll)nr who didll't how wIoal tht Tarol \IJIlS a frw mollths ago. n.m- m hoi! /fS5OIIS 1ttT(. Tk fi"t ill thaI, with your psychic sblls, yt'u am m.1kf monty vir/ually QIlJiWhm,,1I1 lilly lim •. No malltr what happens la!/O", YO" aln gawlllt insI1I1I1 CIlsh tIS II psychic: rtadtr, Tht other itsSOlI is Ihal willdow-drnsinK ptJ.!JS hu~ dividtnds.lfyou look sucrrssjul. haw al/t'lKliVt: props IJIId II rlallI ded: of Tarol Cdrds, Ilttrt is 110 limit 10 how for )<ItI 0111 8fI. I hDpt lhis has gn-)<ItI somdnsigh/ i"lo Iitt /uCTtllirx world", ""dings Jot tnln1l1i,,!lltn r. It 0111 lit tzNzllSli"g work al limn. In.t 1M pay is good, find lite chtlnas liT( yeJII71 ""lie no ~lition rdullsotvtr. A Final Note In my t xperimce, most magicians/ mentalists are woefully uninformed about cold re~ding (although they ~re quick to proclaim otherwise, and dispense dubious suggf$tions to beginners), unable tW'n ro olfer a credible definition of the term. Sin~ the tum of the century, there has been a rather unfortunate blo$50ming of books---- often absurdly high in price--by s um folks, offering "'improved'" reading system$, usually with a focus on ease of leaming, which

entirel y mis$E'$ the point. (f an oracular syskm is not ",bust, deep, and uhllustivdy tested, ,I wi!! r'leVl!r suffice for anything man: th,n superficial readi ngs. There's a reason why thepopularsystems-t"ot, palmistry, numerology, I Ching, etc.---.are the 0I"Itl! with tu ~ of evolution! As John Wells wisely observed. "lilr is mmplf'x; the oracle must be .. lso ~ So, in this and all othrr areas, choose your information sourcetl carefully, Ind wi~ly. 359

360 On The Va idity of Readings 1M whole notional readings has long been fraught wilh rontroversy, with both -believerS" (who are often not acting rationally) and ·skeptics" (who are often not acting skeptically, but simply as antibo!lievers) generating much heal bu t little light. For my~lf, a true skeptic who refuses to believe in tht impo&Sibility of anything, I CQIISider readings. wh~tI am/iuc/td t/hiCQlly ~"d rrspcnsil>/y, to be II perfectly acceplabie$O.'rvice, often yielding great good where it would not othf:rwise be availabl<.'. Rorsdlath testing is not ",tiona I (i.e" nol scien Ii ficall y credible). bu t is widely used by ~ licensed menial health pmfl'SSionals. Tho! $aI1M! Is true 01 II. variety of personality analysis systems used in the human resources field. For that matter, t~ identical criticism Cln be made of all m;umer of religious belieb.. And placebo is blatant df('tpMn. yet comm<mly employed in the medical community. So ~;ue not $imple, black-and-white issues. I am per$()nBUy disinclined to believe in any kind of paranorma l po'rformanre on the part of oracula r symbols; I expect thai the patterns formed are primarily the product of chance. BUI I also believe tha t sum patto.'rns, properly (i.e., with relevance) explica ted within a rich. complex, traditional inrerpretive model (which subvt'l'ts any ino:lin,.tion toslmply Hrnake it up" ), act as an effectivewnduit for the psychic abilitiesl skills of the reader.

On Being a Perpetual Student I have often witnessed what I consider to be a fundammul error on the part of readers, begil'\l'lil'lg and t'Xperien~ alike the:--porba, themselves too overtly as elCperts in their particular areab) of d ivination. I think this is a mistake, and that it is much bette, tad ..... • a lesson from those (spiritualists in particular) who refer to Ihem5eIq,o; <IS MstudentsH of the act. irrespective of their years of ~ a.."ld levels of experlil)e. Aside from displaying a modest demeanour. this apPrQachcorne with II built-in rea!lOfl for the encouragement of a morecoUaboratn-ereading process (as opposed to a series of H pronouna'menl5"'), and an aoceplable excuse for any misinterpretations that might ari..~. Mind you, I'm not suggesting that you p~1 yourself;r.; an~ihing less than a highly skilled professional reader in terms of your attitude. actions, and accoutrements, just that you allow;my ~ch d..scripti.-e conclusions to be drawn by your clients. Your ourn self-dl'5O'iption should, in my view, always be that of Na studentH.

Borrowed Business

Other Minds, Other Thoughts Ir's II rare enterblir.er who does not make eJ<tensivl' U5e of the cre~tions of others. Most of what I have used myself (Bob Ussidy's classic "Name/Place" routine oomes to mind) is readily available in the literature. Bu t this is nOi so of everything, Some items have never been published. Some exist only in hardto-obtain documents. Some exist in veuions that differ significantly from the handlings tha t I haVE' evol"ed overtheyears. This!ieCtion of the book. then. records such. pieces. with the kind permission of thrir owners, and heartfelt gratitude 00 my poorl. Some, like Markus Beldig's -ABCOEFC" Me delaibed exadh' as conceived by thrit originators; othtrs, like Marc Paul's ~ Dup!icity~, IUlVe ~uIf<=d significant modification on my part.. AU ~ pre5enttd here as [have used them. A Note on Business Card Orientation Several of the offerings in thiS S«tion make primary use of bU5i.ness cards, underscoring my conviction that these humble bits of paper are one of the most organic-in addition to versatile-props in our art. Just be .w..:e that in most efifcts involving bus~ cards. it behooves one to put a bit of thought into the orimtation ol the cards d uring their handling. It is better, for example, if I putici~t's drawing is not upside down when unfolded for reading.. or ~ for 11 peek.. And it is better if t\",·O cuds turned oYer for rompari!;on revul their respective d!<lwings in the identk.l orimtation (;rnd. .gain, not upside down). So, while working through your own handlings of these effects, pay attention to the positioning of the writing on the prin({,d side of the cards,. and ende.IYor kl ha"e th~ play O1.lt in prof~""S5ion l fashion. J6

366 ABCOEFG (A Business Card Divination Effect From Germ/my) Created by Markus Be/dig Plot l1m!epartici~n sare invikdon stage. and positioned ina row, facing the audience. Each is given a standard business card, and asked 10 privately print, on the bad of the card, the first name of someone they think of in a favooillble light. As this i$ done, the entertainer stands in front of the Pl'rticipan~ facing the audience. Ulins; a fourth card held high and 10 his side,. he shows the wrileB how 10 fold their cards in quartffS, in order to malce them identical; this ~dernonstrati onw card is then clearly set aside Or discarded. T~ ng-without looking at- the now-foldm (;lOrd from the first partici pant (the one on the audience's left), the enlerlair>er fairly and openly drops this card into his p~ousJy empty ri ght jKket pocket. thus demonstrating to the other two participants what to do with their cards. They subsequently do as dil'l!Cled, following which the jacket pocket is shaken 10 furth(.r mho the CilrdS. The enlertainer now removes one of the cacds from this pocket and. after utioning the participants not to show any reaction, unfolds it, 1'I!a<is the randornly-chooen name aloud, and optionally shows it to the th/ft participants. With suitable byplay, he id entifies the f».rticipant who wrote the name. This is not done offhandedly, but usinga -lie detection" theme, having each puticif».nt I'I!ply ~no" when asked if the name belongs to them; sometimes he has e....n pmkipant say the written name aloud; lhis p""5entat;oo.;.1 approach is WNt 511:115 the plot, as the audience is al50 Iookil'lg for clues, spedfi<; ~tells- that indicate the identity of the writer. This is repea ted,. in largely the SOlme fashion, with a second fold ed card. To make it mo1l' challenging. this time the participants are requested not to speak: the entertainer 1l'ads the name aloud several times, and watches for physical reactions. Again, he Wlerringly identifies the card's owner. As the writer of the third card is now obvious, she is inste~d

invited to remove her own ,e~ the laSI remaining) card from the pocket (nobody else touches or sees it at this point. In an appropriate revelatory style, he divines the name written thereon. If desired, aU four business ca rds can be left with the audience at the conclusion. Preparation The only prelN'ration ne«ssary takes but a moment's effort: one business card is modified such that it can readily be identified by IDW,h when in ~ fold ed Slate. This is done by sort~ng'" the COlIleffl of the card: folding a /;1IJ/ portion of each comer Nd and forth a few times-Ideally, this preparalion should be invisible tQ the~, but readily det«table by feeling the ca rd's comer(5). Performance/Methodology In pedonnance. when the thn!e business cards are distributro to as many participants, tile prepared card goes to the third pelSOn (the om on the audience'a far right). Evenl!i then prcxeed IS described under HEffectH, above, W1til after having tal"m the folded cMd from the first (1eftm05t) participant This card is placed into the jacket pocket, demonstrating to the other two participants what they are to do with their cards. But as soon as this fi1"5l folded card is hidden from sight within the pocket, it is given a strong lengthwise crimp. in order to be able to identify it later. On~ the rema ining two folded cards have been added to his pocket, and the pocket shaken slightly to mix them further, the entertainer reaches i!\Side, ostensibly to make II random choice and remove one of the folded ards. In fact, the crimped Qrd is taken in finger-palm position, and either of the remaining two cards taken at the tips of the same fingers. The hand is removed from the pocket. the palmed card being hldden from sight in the curve of the fingers.. The visibLe cud is lheo openly unfolded. a.od its name te3ld aloud. Also 01 this time, the c .. rd is felt to determIne the writer (if the card is W initially prepared one, with the soft comers. il belongs to the rightm()!;t parti0p"nt, otherwise 10 the centre one). n.e writer of 1m, cud is then revealed in appropriate fashion, and invited to retum to her se~t. As she mak6 her way back,. the entertainer refolds her cud, and begins to di",.rd it by pl..aog it in his righ t-hand trousenl pocket; as soon u the card disappeM!l from sighl he d rops it in the pocket,. repLaces it with the crimped one (the 367

368 one that has been finger-palmed until thi$moment), and immedIately withdraws his hand from the pocket At this point. it .ppe~D thai he has simply had a last-moment thought; In f;oct, he is now holding a diffuent card, that of the leftmost parti ci pant. R~rking along the lines of, Wa l a minule _ .. you thought of anoihoern..me, didn' t you, before)'<lu wrotelhisone1", theentertainer unfolds thesub$tituted card {apparently the one almost d iS(arded in the trousers pockct~ rtm(rVing 1M crimp whi/tduing $0, then reads (and remtmbers) the namt on this card (which belongs to the leftmost partidpant)_ Whether the participant being seated agrees or not about a previous name (though irs N'marhble how of len they do), the entert~incr points to the card, and comments on what appears to be a trace of h~it ation in the writing of the name. The card is refolded and returned to the trousers pocket, purportedly to (finally) diS(ard ~ but in fact the (now no longer crimped) card is shifted again to finger-palm po6ition. and the appamltly empty hand nomoved. This hand is now placed onC\' more in the jKIr.et poo::ket. ditdting the palmed (and ~embered) card and picking up the remaining one. Again the hand i5 removed from the jacket poo::ke~ this lime with but a single card, which is openly unfolded, and the name read aloud. The writer of this a.rd (the rightmost allhe two nomaining participants) is noVel! led in a similar (but slightly more "challenging") fashion to the previous one, and invited to return to her seat. The card Is deposited in the trousers pocket as before, but lacking any subterfuge. Remarlc.ing that it is obvious who wrote the final cud, and mwng a point of nol touching it, the f'nlertainer directs the remaining (originally leftmost) ~rticipant to remove her card from hill jadel poo::ket, and pocket it herself (or otherwise remove il from view). The name on this card is now divined and re,'uled In suitably dramatic fashion. Additional Notes BeSUte, when moving the folded cards to and from the pockets, that the trousers pocket is clearly and visually diffnentiated from the jacket pocket, 50 as not to introduce confuSion: pull the side of the jacket well back and away from the trousers pocket when accessing the latter. Use of a jacket pocket can be dispensed wilh enrirely if desired, or when a jade! ill nol worn, by using in its place some other sort

of rontainer for the folded canis. It's important, when doing so, 10 choose a container presenting a liny amount of difficulty when atttSSing same, in order to mask the necessary finger-palming of the fif$t I1!moval. A sm ~1I paper bag is a good choke, or any container that is SOrTl('wha t taller than its width. Nole that, at the end of the presenluMm, e-verything is clean: all folded cards are in their correct places, and can be returned to the participants if desirt>d, though this is certainly not ~ry. 369

The BBB Peek (A Business Cord PeekJor the Ages) Created l!y Markus Be/dig Prcrotnancl! Perhaps thll earliest link in this parl rul~r eVQlutionary chain was a lon s:·~go personal n!<:ommendation by Oocc Hilford that I look into a t~ique called M~age Reading Without a Clue", by Gene Grant.1OI The fact that Gene considered this his "favorite close-up ITll'Ilt .. lslunt" o:nnbined with Oocc's inteml to suggest tha t this was something 5pOOa~ not to be overlooked. lhe maneuVff is an excellent one. to be sure, bul suffers (rom three concerns: it is (a) extremely bold, requiring an entertainer with consideu.ble chNtZpilh to pull off; (b) dananding of very careful timing: and (e) so.-what angle-sensiliw. In a close-up (particula rly one-on-OI1e) situa tion. it can be very effectlve, but as a genera l u tility procedure, il has its limitations. Markusl:leldig changed all of that. Hisown enthusiasm began with Neal Seryer's lovely "Synchronistic Dreams" effll(llOO, which requift'S no more than an unprepared business card and smpll coin envelope. Mprkus didn', c<lre for the various suggested methodologies, however, i(l beg~n ~ quest for a c1e-aner; more elegant solution. Dan Dent's highly d~ptive HCouvert Peek H - though it requires that the billet be (singly) folded- was the leading contender until I entered the ic~, mcounging Markos to invE!!Itigate Gene Grant's idea. He clme to the ~ «InclUSions I had aboutlhe applicability 01 the Phantini move, but (unlike me) decided to dosomcthins about it. So he worked diligently on refining the peH.. grldu~!ly eliminating the restrictions, and Ultimately creating the BBB Peek.- UJ. G,;, ...... ,," 11~l<t-l~IlJ .... , proj,lic. ...... ,,"'. , .. I _y ,,,",,,, 211" ""'''''1 me.""I1" . ...... , )'I'blMnllulf . ,"""ro, Io"""' ........ n. _ "" ","_ -""",,;or:n .. ,,,,,,,," "_.", ",(.", .. '«1 h....., k __ ",,'"..poly ~ .... "tikd in ,I>< """" «I;,"", ,J 11.o.,.,il u., B-1< of M,.,,/ '~ I( ", 19711. PI" 1_' 61. 2t. 26. "~ ~ ..... of ~I, " "'" "",""r,,1 ioh,. ond <.In """' ~'..JiI1 b, r .. md 10 llk",d w.to.."" """"". 1«).>-. IJJ",i, "' If""" (A.odbod • .roili. f'I'. H ... P 16~. lkoo ,,,t.! """'" AI"k .. .,J,kmJ ,h,., ""'.,to" .. , "".\li .• «....."., ......... ,.011 ""' .. 370 .dd,,! bo,~) . ... ""'1'I"'nnI ,n h< ,,;.~ .. ,lor -l1.li< .. ,~ Ox - (iot -..de. U.K.) ...;.h

Plot The basic plot couldn't be more suaightforwnd. A participant writes somethi ng on the back of a business card. TIle card and a small coin envelope ~ initial<!d by the participant. who then insem the card into the envelope and seals it At lhi.! point the enlertai~r knows what is written on the card. and can "",eal it as approprUte. Many presentatiom are pos6ible. of course, such as the af ~menli on<!d Nea l Scryer picoee. Markus has developed several applicatiol1$ 0/ his own. including a delightful one that revolves around the psychology of de.;;sion.making, The peek also serves as an ideal pre-show methodology, and a superb tool for Psyduc Party engagements. My focus here, though. is strictly on the mechanics of the peek itself. so I will leave you 10 your OWn choice of app]jcations. Props & Performance. All tha t is OIII.!ded are a writing implemenl, a business card. and an app ropriately-sized coinl pay envelope. No. 3 coin envelopes (2.5 . 4,25 inches; 6.3 • 10.8 em) are ideal for standard business cards. Begin by drawing a line toward the bottom of the Mal><rllohtit ~ --- -----. "'I long side of the business card. indicating where the writing should be placed, and ask the parlicpant to ream! her thought. (While it is possible 10 pt.'('k ihc entirecard. lhe action is more easily leamed, and amcealed, when constrained to its lower ha lf.) While she is writing. lale the envelope in your left hand, address side down. fllIp closer to you (and openL in the Ir.aditionat Mdealing posilion . ~ place the business card. writinf!; side down. on lop of the envelope such that the participant's writing is closer to the left thumb. Immediately (but usually) close the flap, folding: it over the short side of the bu,inHS card. The objective from this point forward ;s to convince the participant that the card and envelope are now effectively a singlt bondtd ~nil, with the writing sandwiched between lhe two (thus completely concealed) until the en\'l!lopt! is returned. V .. ,,"" .. "Irn ~ H."y t.oK'" ~ .... "Ia!;g'. II<M a.h;" "'~ " ~4 ) ... " · ... ~t . /",1< 1><. bo>kl, b.oo (unll"" it>~) -...II .. ;do;" die "" poboi ;'" 01_ " r ~ ....... ., .. 1..... 371

372 Now sign 1M in~ side of the business card with your iniHals! rurrenHlme! date! etc., as appropriate to the presentalion (this can be done by the participant, but the action Hows more smoothly if you do il youl'9CH). When fini>hed. turn the cud/etlveJopt ~sandwich" over u:ngtlrrm~ltnd-{o -end, wilh your right first and!leCOl'ld fingeT$ above and thumb below, as illustrated. You may do this while continuing 10 ~ hold the pen. or set it aside prior to the turnover; the former is ~gain 50 as not to interrupt tht flow. When the tum is neuly romp~ e, tM envelope flap will touch the bage of your left forefingl!I; use this contact to OPlln the p (don't d .... w J"entlon to thisact:ion,. bUlthere i$ no need 10 be overly secretive about il). The h.lm now completed. it is time toexeeute the actual peek. This is done while poinling to the envelope, showing where the writing will go. The motion to facilitate this, however, is not exactly as it appears 10 the participant.

To her, it seems that you are simply tipping your wrist slightly downward to {ace the address side o{ the envelope more in her direction. In actuality, you simultaneously tilt the envelope up with your lelt Ihumb, as if executing a one-h3nded Charlier cut with cards. This small raising action is obscured by the larger wrist motion (which is a<:tually not nearly as pronounced as illustrated, b.><:a use the greater part o{ the envelope's motion is <:iIused by the thumb lift).'" And because the nap is now open, thus no longer holding the business card in plare, the card will consequently remain nat on your pal"" giving you a dear, unencumbered view of the writing! information. But don't look yet. The fact Ihal the card is lying open on your palm is hidden from the left side by the open nap, from the top and front by the covering envelope, and from the right by the blocking action of the right hand as it begins the next pha.><:' (slightly tilting the left hand to the right will also aid the latter). As the next step is writing on the envelope (which can be done by you or a participant, as appropriate to the plot), you begin by using the right hand to point to the upper/exposed side of the envelope, indicating where the writing will take place. This both completes the blocking of any view of the expo:sed card (as explained above), andeven more importantly- provides motivation for you to look at the envelope, along with a dear view of the writing on the card beneath. The final illustration exaggerates the space between the envelope and the card, in order to clearly depict their relationship to your hand. In practice, the wrist is cocked somewhat downward, aligning the peek with your angle of vision. thus minimizing the required degree of opening. Refocus attention on the pen by handing it to the participant, simultaneously reversing the previous actions, and lowering the envelope backon topof thecarcl. n.en allow her to sign theenvelopeat the indicated location (in much the same fashion as she earlier signed the business card), [ turn my head aside at this point~mphasiz;ing my inability to see anything useful-and keep it turned until I am relieved 01 the envelope. Finally, extend your right hand over the card/ envelope pair, grasping it at the llap end (thumb on top, first 1(,(" To ", i,,,,",,,: Ffon, ,k p."",,,,,",'. f'<"f<ai ... roo ..... ~")' ,ihod ,... <", ... lop< in h,:, d,,,,,;.,,,. in ,otkt to poi "' ... , ,h,: .. ,i,"" t<><><io •• t. ""\'oy. ,he """ .,., .r"" ,h"mb h .. ,;!,,'d ,ho .. ""lop< modo m"" th,n <he .t.lnk,. <0<0';"11 ' 'ipo;licrn, PI' bctw«n 01, eu>J ,oJ <">dope. S"""M . O' b Iookins" ,t.. ..,.dop<'. r..:.: .• oJ ..... '" ~. oM ~""""" <0 J.'''m,"" ,t.. amoun, of til,. 373

two fingers on the flllp), re-closing the flilp 15 you turn everything over md·for-end and hand the Hsandwich" to the participant 50 that she ",n insert the card in the .. nvelope. Altematively-dependmg on the p_tational contnt-you can m0C\l5 attention on the pen by simply regripping it, then wriff!' on the envelope youl$llif. Now tum the Hsandwich" over, atld conclude either by handing illo the participan t to procet!d as lbove, or inserting tIw: Clrd in the envelop<.' yourself. "I"he whole turnover-peek-sign sequence is quite fluid. You C1Il b~lIk it into steps, delay the peek, etc., depending on your f"!rfonnance style or the needs of the plot. The peek ilself is simple to execule, but the overall choreography requin.'S li",ing.. casualness, and Mturalnen. The mechanic; are simple, but, as with 50 many worthwhile skllls,. the execution demands practice!

Based on an unpublished idea from Marc: Paul Plot After a brief introduction to the notion of psychometry (the notion that objects retain information about those who have hand led them), the entertainer hands a blank-backed business card to. participant, inviting her to draw a simple design Or picture thereupon. He turns ~w~y while this is being dont', ensuring that the image is known only to the participant.. After ilie has finished, she is handed several more clOrds. and asked to mix aU the cards together, such that nobody knows which card contains the drawing. She is then invited to spread lhe urds printed-sIde-up (ie y drawing-$ide-down)on a table, where they are further mixed to ensUl'l" thaI the loc.tion of the d rawing is completely unkoown. The entertainer, moving hi!; hand above the cards, now attempl$ 10 sense, one al a time, which are blank. The!ie are removed from the table until a single card remains. Prior 10 verifying that this card is the one with the drawing. the entertainer asks the participant to reca Ll what she drew asdearly as possible, forming a duplicate image in her mind. Taking one of the disarded cards, he draws what he believes to be the imagined design. and pla~ the card drawing-sidedown near (what is hoped. to be) the ri gin~l drawing. That card left remaining is now turned over 10 show the original drawing. confirming that it was 5u«eSShlLly located by the entertainer', psychometric skills. Lastly, the second d rawing is turned over beside il, showing that il mal~ the image held in the mind of the participant. Preparation The preparation is modest: an unobtrusive, visual markon the printed side of one business card, in order that it can be re~dily identilied when mixed with the others. In .. walk·around mvironmcnl, it is a 375

simp"" matter to keep a supply of su h marked cards on tffi, bottom of a group of unmarked ones,"" PerfarmQncelMethodology Begin by proffering a markm card, along with ~ pen. to tffi, participant, requesting IMt she make a simple, easily-visualized drawing on its blank side , Present the card hori2.ontally (landscape orientation ), ensuring that the drawing will be made i" that faMion. Tum away from her in order to make d ear tha t you aN! not tt in g any dues as to what she is drawing. While she does this. obtai" a small numberof Wlmarked business cards (about five), ready for usc. Hand the participant the additional cards, requesting that she mix all the urds until she no longer knows where her d rawing is_ lhen have her spread the earth around on the table, printed-sidesup, such thai no two elrds are tourni,,{;. At th is juncture, locate the elrd with the drawing (id~tified by its marking), and fu rther mix the cards yourself, on the off chance thoIt the participant knows where the d rawing is (Ws important thoIt she does not); this is fairly str. ightforwa:d, as you can uS(' YOll' hands ;md forearms to obscure multiple earth as !hey are shifred around _ Begin lhe psychometry portionof thedemonslration by apparently using your moving hand to'itm-se / loc;tte a blallk ca rd. Pick it up, and p~ it printcd de- p on the palm of your other hand. BecauS(' this is your first attempt, it is not inappropriate to take a brid look at this card, and show it equally briefly to the participant. ensuring tha t you have been successful. and that your senses aN! properly synchronized with heT$. YOtl will not do thi:i with the nex t few cards, however. Lot"te ~nd pick up the marked card, and place it atop t~ firot. This is assumed to b@ anotherblankCi1rd,butin fact is the card containing the ~wing. Repo>~t (thi:i time with truly blank cards. 15 that is all tha t is left) until tyro cuds remain on the tab"" (one ()6t@nSiblywith the drawing. but in fact both blank). At this point, feign d ifficulty in making the final choi~. Then nesil;mlly point to one of the cards, asldng the participant to peek at il to a::mfirm that it is blank before adding it to the discard packet in the hand. TIlis is just a small subtlety to confirm that everything is as repre!;enled. One (bl~nk) ca rd remains. Before turning it over to verify your s urcess, note that you seem to kave a particularly strong affinity with U,1. 0. ...... 'P", .... _ .... ........., 1""';10.1< ......... _, I,,, ...... ,pl<. _ IJ k«~ ,..0 376 ,,><b of <.>,. b ... " .... ,he ..... , "'"' of oKlo <)1'< (pl>.. ,.., ",,"-«I).

the participant, Dnd suggest ~king the ~riment one step ru rther, .sking her to, Visu~lize Iht drawi"8 i" your mimI; try 10 rmlll prt<iMly huw you d~ jJ 0" 1M card, Il"d reproduct thaI t:racl stqut"uo/ markings i" your thoughts. ~ As sh<! is doing so, you attempt 10 rq>roduct' her lhoughl-of dr.wing. Ci1sually TUm over the p.eke! of cutts in your hand; the situation at this point is that the (nowl printed-sidl'-<iown stack of cards has a blank card on the top, and lhe card with the original drawing lies Immediately underneath. lilting the cards toward yours-eJf, uS(' you r free hllnd to rota Ie the top card into landscape orientation, thereby exposing"" the drawing below (see illustration). Pick up the pen with your free hand and reproduce the iTmge (If> the top card, continuing to shield boIh drawing.'! from view. When finished, return the pen to the table, while simultaneously revolving the oth~r hand to tum the new drawing, Along with the remaining cards, printed-sides-up. Pluck the (now) bottom cud., which has remained more or Jess perpendiculn to the others from the group, and lay it drawing-side-down on the table, nex t to-but below- the other card (LI'., their short ~ge5 are adjaC<:'rll, but not touching). ~,- ...-. (00' •• *1:>\1>0 _-.....-, _M J .,,,,,,,,,,*,,,r'. -.~ .,... - The situation now is INt there are two cards printed·side-up on the table:. blank card (which the participant assume to contain her drawing). and the card containing the du plicate drawing that you have just made. The ottUpio:'d hand (left hand., 'or most people) is holding. group of ClIrdS, also printedsides-up. with the original drawing on the boHom of the packet. The task now is to $witch the card containing the original d rawing with the blank card on the table, in ;;;;. h~ """,,I 1.>o,.Jl;", ( ... 0<1. """' .. _ M ..... ·' -M/<."-' ~.,.~.". I ..... ·"'" •• ·k .... """." -)'<"I ... ,d ~_of 'M d."";ns-

the pY'OC'eS5 of revealing 00th the origin l drawing and its duplica te. This is Ka)lllplished quit ... convincingly using. trad itional card sleight: the Mexican Turnover (about whkh. more shortly). Tili the bottom nrd of the packet (i.e~ the origina l drawing. still face down) with the free hand and use il to tum oV('r the (upper. blank) Cllfd on the table. switching the two via a Mnican Thn\(lver. lhen use the (now truly blank) card to tum over Ihe other (lower. with dupliclite r~w ng)n rd in the (seemingly) ldenlic~l fashion. I precede these tu rnovelS by asking the participant what 5he drew. Then I pause for a beat, as if 5Ome1hing may have gone a miss. and say. 'Well, Itl's is<< how I did .•. lturning over what is supposedly her card1 YO"" ... 1 turning over mine) d mint .• Finall y. return the actua l blank card to the packet, and deposit this packet on the table, blank sides uppermost,. and spread slightly, leaving you dean with everything I~ted exactly where it's supposed ~ .... Thoughts Or! the Mexiam Turnover Theneophyte card magician is typically exposed early to this5leight, lIS il is one of the more easily i>COOTllplished card techniques. !hal said, no can:! s.lcighl should be considered lrivial, and one should be prepared to devote a significant amount of practice to maSk-ring any that you intend to use in publkperformance. Roberto Giobbi provides excellent instruction"" on this particular move, and I recommend it highly. Note ~peci llyGiobbi"s admonition that the Mexican Turnove r is a amltxl"""nsitive sleight. Viewed critically, and in Isolation. it is not the most deceptive 01 TrI()W$.'" Fortunately, there are two excell ~t methods for hiding this modest ~akness, both of which involve an adjustment, not to the rno~ itlielf, bul the context in which it is ex«uted. Juan Tamarizdeveioped one such strategy"", for use when the turnover must be used alone. !he preferred technique, howe.e t; is to perform a pqir of turnovers in fairly quick SUCttsl!iion. employing the 6leighl the first time, and • legitimate action the seamd. 1his is precisely the ,itu~t>on here, 26'.>. lilt 1.I<"',n r~ .. ;, .... e~b.d in <u<fIJ de .. it '" VOl" .... 4 ofGIoItbi" •• CK)'<I<>p.di< Gil..! r.;""" (s<. " I,. 1Il00). 1'1'. 824-1126. r.y p"""'I,, """01",, ,. hl> Chtck 1'<11., .~ . 170. 0... .. I&" ......... vi tao .... ,h .... , .. ;I~," o..dint= " . .... 1, ... , 10 I .. Iooki"!: 1'0, <->«1 ~". S.~I. boi .. """"" P"P'",..! .. .,<>0.1> pr<ftrabl< ,. ,h, ,~" ... I .. . ~n T.....,i< ptO_ h .. .,..·n _ h>I"I<lIil'l$ '" ,i>< l>I<>ian 1",-, I. I.i. s-. __ 378 8t~ M"Ii< I40I0,., I (S, ..... 1'n11 PII. 7_~!.

making for a highly dect'ptive presentation. Further (and unlike many uses of the Me~ican Turnover), no unexpected/startling visual change occurs during the revelation of the two cards on the table: h~y (1,.. eX(1ctly what Ih~y (1'" exper:11.'d 10 be, minimi~ing any thoughts of manipulation. An Alternative Approach Mal"(C Paul's own handling of this plot uses a completely different method to accomplish the switch of the blank and origina l drawing cards at the conclusion. Specifically. he asks the participant if he can look al her drawing, as if he's unsure that he has it right; without waiting for a reply, he picks up the blank card with his f~ hand, looks at it, and makes a comment about some detail. He then asks her to tum over his drawing, and, as she does so, executes a Top ChangeV' with Ihe original drawing (on the face of the packet). He then places this drawing next to his own for the pa rticip.mt to compare. This yields the advantage of allowing the participant to tum over the duplicate drawing, and you may prefer it for that reason. Also, although the Top Change is a more difficult sleight, it may beone tha t you have already mastered. In my view, though, it is a weaker approach, for two reasons: It takes the blank card (ostensibly the original drawing) off the table. and moves it toward the card stack. I want the final revelations of the two tabled cards IQ take place as far away from that stack as possible. 11 reveals the entertainer· s drawing prior to showing that the other card was correctly chosen as the one located by the psychometry. I consider it a stronger finish (becau5e the participant already knows what her card looks like) to reveal the duplicate drawing at the very end. Yet Another Approach A final option, which eliminates card-handling sleights entin!ly, requires an adjustment in the overall plot, changing it from a drawing duplication toa word divination (i.e., the pa rticipant originaUy thinks of some sort of significant word, printing that on her ( ard instead of maki ng a drawing). This removes the necessity for the final exchange of the participant's card for the blank one on the t~b"'. Continuing from the point at which the entertainer·s card (now 271. 11, ,, d . ,,", ';;;'d .kosl>< ~ wdt "'pio'nc4 ;n Vol"", 1 or RoI><rt GlotM, C.",/ c.oIkr< (S<,,,k. 1'1')1). 1'1'. 231-233. 379

380 ((lIltaining the ed word) has been placed on the table, the rondusion now consists of simply picking up the remaining blank card (purportedly the participant's) and misruding itS content (aloud) as the pdrlicipdnt's word. While this happens, the hand holding the st.ck adjusls il such that the printed sides a~ up, with the blink cards on top (the participant's actual card being on the bottom). The re~ d blank card is plaQ!d atop this stack, and the tabled card (with the peeked word) immediately turned. over with the free hand t() show that you M ve accur3tely divined the word. Should you care to return the participant's originally written <:arc!, it Cart easily be relrjevloci from the stack. While still I potentially mystifying plot, this is definitely not as strong .s a true drawing duplication. That said, should the performing premise (I trade show, for example) suggest the nero for • word divination. this may well prove the p~fernd path.

Psi Coin (An imaginative Interlude) created by Scott Demingl1J My pcl'SOnll! predilection for materia! that is as free of props as possible should be apparent to any reader 01 this book.. Few i~ms herein require anything more than writing materials. envelof"C", or a single pack of Zener/tarot/ playing cards. The classic dvi~ to ~pack smalt play big" is always at the forefront of my mind. Soil'shard to top a routineu$i ng props tha t are entirely imaginary. Not only is the notion inherently appealing 10 audiences {d. the dust ... "Invisible ()e(:k ~ script), il seems to preclude any pos:iibi]ity of lTickery, and provides wonderful fodd/!r for playfu l pn!Sentations. Technkally, even the writtet prediction used in Psi Coin'" oould be dispensed with, though nei!herScott nor I would suW" doing so! Piol The basic plot is the classic one: a participant is ffe~ her choia! of one ll~ "invisible coins . in this case. ptl"\J1y, a nid:e~ and a dime. Her chosen coin is tossed in the ail; and she decides whether it lands ~heads~ or "tail s~. A prediction i$ ~vealed, naming both the coin and its orientation. Unlike many other versions of this pn>mi:;e-, there is a single, unambiguous p rediction (which could be in the hands of the .udience prior to the demonstr,tion,. .nd left with them afterward). Provenance Whom Mu M""I;'n first sculpted LMry Bed:er's invisible roins idea into his P~iti ve Neg ti~ Cn!ari.on'"", he likely had no idN of the zn I),." '" ,I>< <0<1""'''' ........ , "'" k<)nn<r ..... • ....Jot ... " .. '1"' ...... S-, 0."'"", ..... t..rIy ..... "",,<>Ii,", 0._,,,,,,,,,, '" ki<k 011"10, ,""_ .............. i,,(_ hi> ""'. ___ .,><1 .... , I, Fo.m.t lo .. ,..eo""" w .. ~ ""_,I'b.,,,· 174. I" ..10.1;. .. " ,0 in "" ''''p,fw " iu<, ,~ ~ ,i,k ~ ,\00 1""...Jo:< 1O",..,k. "Il.p C .... -. V,,, OyL, 1'. 01<. ~'" _I (wrl"<n in I %4). S.bo~ "'.'1y ..ronl-.J II:>' ........ 1 'ni .... "'" I"'I"'l.In"," ..,. Ii"""" iii ...... II>< 'ilk i •• """"""'" 110, ""." .. ~ .... , .... ,. l? ~ "1'\),,,;"0 N.s>'; .... ..... ""inJO<,J UP'"' ,"" , M.l:<~" Iu-.M..II_ I . .. , a-1~ /11""",;, .. n. 3S1 ,

ongoing internt that this appealing plot would stimulate over Ihe years. ~ators John Bannon. Richard Busch,. Roger Curzon, John George, Scott F. Guinn, Kenton kJ,epp<'l", Bryce Kuhlman,. Alain N .... David Parr, Art Va nderlay, and olhers n..veill developed hindlings"" for this intriguing premi:;e. Most hive d irected their alt<'ntions toward the management of multipko oul5~, ;lAd ronce ~ed wlutio"" 01 varying sophistication. Mr. Deming's minimalist approach tak<>li a difl'elO!"t tum, however. with a focus on elimill'lting the need to have such .. mechanism in the 6rst place. Additionally, most have tr('ate<;i this primarily as a close-up pie«', and while $coli certainly use'S it in this fashion, he has also ada pted il well to platform presentation, a$ will be seen In the following performance description. Perfonmmce What is dct"i1ed here is an accurate repn:sentuion of II specific ()nn.nce'" given by Soon to a large medilo corporation. pa rt of a three-hour program delivered to U\ audience of exe<:utiV<>li and sales representatives from radio, If'1evislOl1, and able sta tions. pl~ newspapers and dired marketing groups. The presentation i!1\l11l,'diately followed a br('akrnidpoint in theevent. and WaS used to introduce-aM S('t the proper tone for--thc portion of tht program addlO!56ed to "Guaranteeing Sustainable Success for You and Your Cus mers~ . Scott had the audi"'nce (fairly) JO!d a random volunlf'er. He brought he r to the stage and asked her and the audience, "Wouldn't it ~ ," Qxi~g 4~d uxmdtrfo/ if Y"" coilid nol OII/y 8uQra"ln SIlCUSS for your d;lnl . bil l could II/50 pttdicl the ttSlllls of lilt progr~ms YO" produa for thtmr lney all agr=:! that it would be ama1.ing. Scott placed a l~rge, folded piece of p<lper on his flip ch..t. then positioned the pa..ricip<lnt diredly opposite him on stag<" Le~ fllCe ( 0 face, each with ~ shoulder-5cott's right and her 1eft-toward the audienct'). He nellt placed an imaginary t able on the stage betv.-een them, describing the table and asking her to ·PIt4$t vGu«/iu lIN: bol )'Ou can. 4$ Ihi$ wiU come into plOY;1I illSl" mom.t~I." Now Srotl re ached into his pocket and plltCed three imaginary ~ on the imaginary T"b s.,.,,,, of""," bt<>dH"S'- • ",.N .... ,.;d . """" .I,. pIO< ..... rf~." >< ;"' __ P'" ''' r . . .".11", ;", • .10« .... 1 ( .. ,." ,nan ,m>go""yi , .... ,~ . In. h ..... 0..1; ",,.,) ;" ~"mhu,. (lhio on ! 7 /<oIy !OOS. anO ... ;c 'ib. ... hr Soot. fro ... ""'''''''T ,bt k.l1q..;..,;.Ior. n. ""'''''1 1""".,(,1>< "" ....... l>o"," bt ,~"ioo~ .-.fl«, , .... t"'" 01 ,1>< """"" _ "" ",,' .k , ... 1_ ... ~ ...... '" ,uj."....\d "",,,I .... nd iIIu." .. ," •. bt,~ 382 ","'''''.

table. He asked the partidpanl .0" YO" S« Itolr~t I JUSt plaud OM this tQb!r?" "Yes. I do.", she said. He replied, "My. ytnI'~ as aazy ... I am!" He then pointl'd to ea~h one in tum. identifying them as coins, and calling them out In ordet · Pl"'fUly, nidet and dime-. Scott did this three rimes. and then asked her to point 10 them and call them out. She also did it t~ times. When he was $\Ire th~t $he knew e~actly which coins were in whim positioons. he continued. 5<:011 raisec! both of his hands in lhe air and. with his fOlefinge rs and thumbs. madepinching motioons. Heasked her lomimi( him. and she raised her hand5and did exactly the sanw. He then instructed her 10. "Pltasr look deWM and. IIsing both hands, pick lip /l,IY two mins you 100M! III Ih ~ S/lmt timl ." She did so, reaching down and grabbing two COiM. Scott brushed away the roin remaining on the table. He ~sked her to hand him one. She did. and he tossed that coin over his shoulder. Now. he asked her to toss hercoin high into the aU. As both she and Scott were looking straight up in the air (115 though they could actually ~ the coin). he said. "PkllSt It II tvtryUI'lt which coil! YOII i"sl Ihrrw i,,/o tilt iii,.· She responded, "It's tht pen My. " He caughl the coin in his right hand, a nd MId it tighlly with a closed fist,. the back of his hand 'acing down. Scott verified., "Now, ytnI jllst !osstd tltt palMy, which YO" frtdy sdtcltd. 15 tll ~ co'rtcl?" She agreed. He said. "Look al "'Y clOI;td fo t. I hllvm'l tve" flipped Ih~ cui" ytt. /,,,, going 10 ~ "'Y /Iand Q"d 1 ",.ml YOllto ItlllMt which sid, of lilt co;" is faring lip." Scott opened his hand, and she said. "Hea4." He picked u p the coin with his left hand. displayed it, and repeated for verification.. "TIlt pe""y. and ;1 is hU/4 up." Afler she aswed. he handed it back 10 her. took the large, folded piece of paper (which hild been in pl.in view on his flip chart the entire rime). and asked her to unfold it and show the audience. It ~.d. -rHE PENNY is HEADS UP!- The~ w~ audible gasps. Methodology There is nothing revolu tionary here in the way of underlying method: stated simply, a variety of action sequences are used to force the desired outcome. Don't let that dismay you. though: the presen tation is well worth heeding. as it amounts to a gradua te COllJ"5e in the significance of scri pting. The true secret, as Al Koran would have empha tically aSR ... >d, is in the words. Although not particularly evident in performance, this routine has two phases: the first,. in whid:> the selection of the penny is forced; and [I383

1M second, where ~heads" is forced . Both forces are «omp ished.. in effect, by (h~nging the ru les of the game" in subtle w~Y5 as the play progresses. The participant needs to be sober, attentive, and comfortable, M she(!ngagl'S in this "imaginary play~ that you ~ate. In phase ()noo;>, it is important to identify iUld tr.ck the location of tht ptMy. To this end, the three coins must be cle-arly differentiated when they are intnxiu<.e:l. They must be piKed sufficiently far aparl that they will not bI.' confused. and the particip'lnt must remember (al leaSI) where the penny is. Place the penny to the right of the table. in linfl wilh the partiopant's left hip (recall that she is facing you). The rUckel goes e~actly in the middle, and the dime goes to the left, in li ne with her right hip. This provides markef!! for the physical locations of lhe coins (for you in reality, and for hcr psychologica lly). As in the script. th~ wins are named and pointed to in order: penny, nickeL dime. This is "'P"'ated twic.o! to ensure that il is clea~ and the participant Is instructed 10 name them three times .s wen. Ensure that she is pointing to the correct locations M shoe namtS the coins, gently correcting her if nI'CeSSoll)'. There are three diffemtt pl""OO!<iure for furting the penny (as there are three different path$ that the participant's acti0n5 might take). Again. you mWit keep urefuilIaclc of the pelVly'S location at all times. If she leavrt'i the penny on the table when picking up the initi al two COins, instruct her to toss the two coins in her hands over her shoulders, and pick up the remaining coin (which will be the penny, bul should not be 50 identified as y"'l. Otherwise (the penny is one of the two coins picked up. as in the described periormiUlce), dramatically sweep the rt!ma ining (non- ~nnyl coin off the table, and ask her to hand you Onfl of the w ins. If she hands you the penny. have her toss the remaining coin o"""r Iwt- shoulder, leaving you with the penny. If $he hands you the nonpenny (as in the described performance), 106$ it over your shoulder.. leaving the: pelVly in her hand. Whichever of yvu holds the (still unidentified) ptMy now tosses it high in the air.. and she: is asked, "PltrlW Id/ ~1dtidr. win yc /l jll$l thrrw mill flu <lir. · In fact. you alr~ady know that it's lhe penny, but having it named for the firsl tilTlf! when it is in the air strongly suggests to the audience that the identity of the chosen coin only becomes known at this point. This concludes the first phase. Phasc ocomm~"Ilces as the penny drops into your open. palm-up right hand. and the fingers dosed tightly around it. The pa rtiCipant amfinns that this is the penny, as in the described performance. Tben

C(lme$ the key phrasing: "/..whl '"!I c1ow1 fi'l. I MW'I!·t war flipped this CO;II 'P" r", goillg to opm "'y hQlld 'lIId I WIlli' yo.. to It/I nu whic1t sith of Iht(Olll ;s!lIdllg "p.~ This is wh"' .... SCOtt·sappl"Olch differs from most: the~ is only olle predirnon {"'mE PENNY IS HEADS UPn, ~nd in his hands il is eorrecl liS%- of the time! " Why doeslhls work? Direclor par tJ(tIl(lIa Ken Weber e"plains it as follows: "Sayi ng '/ W<I1I/ yo ... /0 Itli mr w#tidr side of/he coin i$focing .. p' allows her 10 lake the easiest p$y~holog CilI path.. i.e., tho.- IIlOf"e uplifting top, ·heads·. ther than the slightly oeg~tive bottom, ·ta ils'. And when in fJQnI of an audience, virtually all p1Irtidpants want to /eel at easc and be nOIN'Onfront.a!io l. ~ Additionally, the use of the word "facins " suggests a faC(', another small psychological nudge. Addressing the Alternative \15% is still not lam., though. so what if she !III)". -ralls~? ~ar not: 50)11'5 clever COnstl"\lctiOll deals with that pos5ibilily as wt'll.ln such ca-. he ~ponds. "Cormel, 50 n:Irt" I do 1M stlmdlml flip to 1M ""d:: of my halld IdoinS SO as he speaksL 1IOW what d" yo.. $«r Though this is. fairly atypica l occur ..... nce in 5cott'1 upetience. he ha.i found no notable diffenmoe in the audience response on tho$e occasions when he has used it. The ..... 's mo ..... to it than just the addition to the acript. however. It's ~ti ti al that. when used. this altemare ending bt secn as a planned, natural element. not something tha t was tacked. on at the last moment. This Is accomplished with an <!legant incorpora tion of hand/ann choreogr3ph y. As til<! a itical question is being asked, and defiflitely before the participant ~nsw<!rs. the left hand, palm down, is brought up for the (potential) final coin Ail'. The goal is to ha ~ the ~ft hand in the OOtT«t positicm at the mOmf"nl wMn she n!$ponds, and, if she should say 1s~ , it stops at that point. in ord<!!l to!elW'e its obviously inl1Pnded purpose. If she says heads~, whid! is typically the ~ast', ,he ann continues to ns..-, and the left hand is o5ed il\!ltl',d to pluck the coin from the tight hand. in order to dispb,y and return it to the participant. The final flipping of the coin,. while undoubtedly the lesser of the 278. '110.: . ... ' t,,,,,,,,,,, .,.d '" ado"'" ,h~ imp<='"" ..,..1, 1><,1,1<.>1. Scoo, inro, .. , n", ,h" I", P'f,io.Jy uo<O "," ... 10 .. lik, ·I'h,d," 4' "" r,..J • .oJ "" .. , .-1..., J'" ..... ~ '" •. .. r.II_ .IN" ,;,;, -r J,. roI.)OO "'. - 110, 0"", he ~ .. yi,. . • , .. ,..", .. .,.... .. , "-.oJ . ... , _"' JIM ,. ,,(J _ -.1M!. ,,"''' '" , . ... II J-6"l'" ~ ,he od.Jo ,110..1 - Ir in t._ "',hrm .,,"" ''-\<". So .. I .... " ,Iw ..... ! 385

386 two conclusions, does introduce an opportunity for II bit of humour: when the participant confirms Mtail s", you can respond. M$o I10W YO" brow I'm n(!t chtaling with ~ doubh-lulldtd coin." Repetition Rqleating a presentation that has alterna tive outcomes is never a good ide~; Scott raponds to requesl!l to Mdo il again" by saying, simply, that he an'\. In the corpor~te world, Mwever, clients can sometimes bring pressure to bear that ClIn'! prodenlly be ignored. In such situations, Srott will ~lbeil reludantly--do the routine for . different person (generally a man), forcing the ruckel instead of the peMy, and predicting "tails" (there is something abou t the human p$yche that impels people 10 "see if the alternative will work M ). Of rou~ this time you will have to end the routine in the same fashion as you did previously (i.e~ with or without the final Hip), 50 what hapPenS if you end up with "he.ds"? You can either live with ihefailure(you did warn them that you couldn't do it a 5eO)nd time), Or employ the st ... tagem of writing the prediction as '"'THE NICKEL is l lEh95 TARS UP!" (i.e v crossing OUI the "heads" to indicate that it was your initial thought, but you changed your mind ~t the last momenl~ making il mo re of a near hit than a lotal miss. A Word from Scott I use lhis aU the lime in dose--up. All. The.llme. It's the best impromptu effect ]' ve ever done. I write the prediction on napkins. roceiptS. business cards, and alwilYS leave it in plain sight. with the prediction face down. Afte, the effect is complete, I ask someone to simply tum the ~dklion over and it's literaUy shocking.

Plot C.C. Seer (An Impromptu, Workhorse, Triple-Billet Routine) Created by Christapher Carter Three participants each write, on individual billets. the name of the fi""t CTUsh they ever had. These billets lite collected in yOW" otherwiseempty j~ket pocket (the participants remain standing) and then mixed. by a fourth participant. A random billet is ~moved by you, read ,loud. and Ihel tossed aside. The initial th ree participants are questioned in classic ·liI'-d lection~ fOlShion 10 deler~ which On<:' of them is lying. You 1M. remove a second billel and hand it to a fifth participant, who n!ads the na~ aloud . Once again, questioning n!~als the a!8Ocialed name-wrih,>r. "The third participant lKO"",rs the remaining billel (which is hers) f.rom your pocket. and coru:enlTales on what she wrote. You divine the name. Provenana O\rlstopher Carter is one of Amerilll's busiest mentalists. and pretty mu, h constantly on the road . Although he targets a variety of audiences, and COJ\SI'!quently diffurent p<!rforming contexts, his Nbre~ d and butte"- work has come from college audiences. As such. he dcmands that his matcrial be straightforward in elfect. bulletproof in methodology, and amenabl<! 10 moM casual" Interactive, ewn «in the udie~« presentations. «CC Seer"m " one such example, a workhorse routi .... thaI he u:;es all the time. If you deted ;II thread of Similarity bWo.-een tround H ABCDEFG", you ;1.n' not hallucina ting. Ouis was inspire<! by Markus' elegant ~ation. and $OUght to develop II versiol> that Will ITIOn!' suitable to his performing style; HC.C. SeerH is the result, a great, aU-purpooe routine using almost nO preparation (you need only round up throe i~5 of billet-sized paper and a writing instrument). 179. Th< l.hWt -Cc. •. t" odd~ioo, "' ~, o-ponymo"' '*"on« 10 III< , ... ,or of "'~ pi«< . ........ Und of -.j pia, Oft • ....,. «f. -Cc. RId.t-•• popula. bk.o "' ...... ..,. tIdet- boI., I ....... <"' ... 10. I __ of d .. M . .. , ... , ... ~ 387

388 Performance/Methodology The billets are prepa.w slightly differently, in order that they can be viwally identified when read. The first billel is titled, simply, "Name", fonowed by a line indicating where the name is to be written. The second billet is almost the same, except that a short"·" mark is plaCl!d after the "Name". The third billet uses a "," as the identifying mark The ordering of the billets is thus detennined by the number of extra markings: 0, 1, and 2. These markings are easily applied: the billets can be prepared on the fly, in front of the audience. Goose three participants, one SQmewhat to your left, one more in front of you, and one slightly to yo>ur right. Hand the billets to these initial particip"nts in SO"!quential order; from left to right, such that you can ea5ily recall which participant has each billel The billets are collected and mixed as described under "Plot", above. When fi rst reaching into your jacket pocket. finger palm anyone of the billets, then take a second between the thumb and fingertips, to hold and display upon removing your hand. The visible billet is openly unfolded and the name and associated participant silently noted (and remembered!} while a joke is made, along the lines of, "The m05t difficult part 01 this demOI\5tration ;s often reading the handwriting!" Under cover of the laugh, briefly refold the billet, sWitdUng it for the palmed billel in the process.. and transferring the refolded billet to the finger-palmed position. The Switch, The opened billel is positioned atop the finger-palmed one, as illustrated at right. This open billet is (re)folded left-to-right, then bottom-to--lop. During the seoond fold, the hidden billet remains in contact with the one being folded, the result of which is that !he hidden billet is rotated to the top, thus exchanging the two billets. The new topmost billet is now unfolded as if it were the original, and shown to a nearby audience member; with the comment (adjusted as appropriate), "Fortunately, this one is perfectly legible."

",",,", J/' ..• / The now-open billet is read aloud, and then openly-and casuaUy---rossed 45id~; the palmed billet (w~ name and author are now known) is retained. A Iie-det«tioo lIppro&eh is used to reveallhe wri~r of the chosen name, and ,he sits down. nw hand with the still-palmed biUet is placed into the jIIcht pocket to retnC)V1! the HIlt'Xt" (adually, only remaining) billet; the palmed one i5 left behind in the pod<et in its pla~. Hand the removed billet to a nearby p"rticipanr.. who is asked to open il and re<td the name aloud (H I got lucky with the first name ... this time you can n>ad II for U$!~). Again, the writer of the name (easily detennined, as hers is the only billet th~t you have not ~n) is revea led, again using the lie-de!f'Clion model: she Is also asked to retake her seat. There is now II single remaining (standing) participant. Observing that there's no mystery in the identity of the final wrilet; so perhaps you might try something different, ask ha to recover the biUe' from your jacket pocket (NI don', want to touch itl*). lhen divine the written name (which you have remembered from the fitst billet .... adingl. 389

Figmenta (An Impromptu, Inscrutable, Invisible Book Test) Created by Raj Madhok Provenance h venerable "Mental Epic" effect has a long history in mentalism, and appears in many incarnations. Its most ch1lllenging aspect has always been the n!'ed for one of the three p..ooicted items to be forced. This generally cauSi':S practitioner-s to resort to wlulions such as "pick. card" (which frequently ["",lsoul of place) or a psychological fo"% (which i5 typinlly less baffling than desired, especially if the remainins items ~ very hard to p.-edid). Enter Minneapolis mentalist R.ij Madhok, who. when he is no! SIoving live,. has built an enviable reputation 8:!l a top-flight contributor to the mystical arts. In this instan«-, he has inrorporatro my "'krbi'g1!" force into a compelling book test» that has the added advantage of oong almo5t completely impromptu (you'll need a few business cards or the like, and a writing implement). And as if that were not enough, he has wrapped Ihe entire mystery in a truly engaging (and c .... >dible) plot line based on the notion of guided imagery. The following is a slightly edited version of Raj's own scri pt" ', 10 properly convey the flavour of the performance. Playbook PhueOn. Hg~ you ktmI of gllUkd i"",gcry? It's a flow of inner thoughts whm !JCIIl1 mind dlows )'Ou to ",und 1m tilings 11& viuUlly l1li if h~ wur really 1u!~ning. Doctorund thmrpists lISt it to tllkt ptOpkon imaginllrY jou,ntyS to 00fm>>rn' strtSS lind nIf" k:rwer Mood prtUlI .... Crrrztiw visullli7JItion h~ bmI UMd by many , "/tum; lind spiritU/IJ sttl:rr$ 10 1t:U fM!1Plt /0 pl~'ts IMI wollfd olhtrWist txisl (mly in liltir dTellm$. lllO. ! .,'" "' .. ," tho Ilb",'1 of cunl<"i"5 """,, I I""", '" b<. ,,_ ~<P'" ,10k.., ~~ .~ihk B..>ok T .. ,·. 2~ 1. '",1' "'jpo ~ od, p'''' "'., Mp",;'o", "'oJ M,,_, (s", 1I<",,,clitlO. C/o.. 2016). pp. ~ll.I)'. Mod ..... ,...:dIrnt......,;a.."" of 'lint -.I;..., """' ..... It ..... bt<n «!;,«! 390 .." ....... "" to ,,1Ioot ..., ..... "'pcri<n« w;m d .. .

"I'd Iju 10 IQU yo~ 011 a ;o~T1ICY whae I wiU guide you. Ilwughl5 1111d dimt you /ow/lrd tllrgt't Imll~ yo~ migh/II()/ olhmuise ~ IIbk 10 prtdid or know. Art you willing /0 ;oin mt? "Imagine thai you arul I ~ ~I finisN.d a wondaful mtalllnd _rt IIOW rrlllxing in my study wilh /I glllSS of fine wine. Rdtu, d~ you,~, IIlId visuali~t you, surrounding,;: Ik plush, comfMlllbie chair you IIrt 5t<lltd ill. Ih~ i>rl u'lud of ~ rtd wiltt swi,ling in you, glllSS, alld Ihe walls Wllltmi wil}' ,ich mllhogQny ~1V<tS. 0311 you sa l},is? E.xalknl. "I'm soing 10 diml you , thoughts by wriling a 11Irgt'1 i"",~ on the /lQd; of Ihis ctlfd, lind placing i/ face down On YO" ' palm, Covt, it wilh YO'" other hand and liSkn clOSt/y, "Imagine thai in frollt of you is a l1l<I1/, lined with books of many differtnl roJOUr$, bUI no lillts. I wanl you. 10 imagine leaning frmqilrd, ch0Q6ing one of tM boob, alld rtaching 0111 /0 pull II from tk wlf. JlIst lay tM book 011 your lap for a momt nl. Now ~u;cily, whllt aHOII' is i/7 [She responds, say, 'Yellow.'] • An ,'nllTtS/ing dtoia ... II. co'o,., ~Ied with icY, hIlppiness, inttlltd, II.nd tnrrgy ... nol IInliu you, actllll1ly. • Phase Two "I'm now going 10 guilll you /ollplllcr wilhin the book YOII~. This nat law' will go in yo~ ' /wnd abo:n>t> the pmlioliS ca.d. K«p }'Ou, olhe, /ull1d On lop lind follow my instructions. You lilT holding 1M yellow book. You ope:n it, and ~gin 10 lurn thepagtsorlt by onto AI SOmt point you stop, then look. al Ihe ""110m of Ihal specific page. HIliIt you dont thaI? Now, whal I"'ge num~r do you s«? [Sh.., ""'plils, say, 'Sixty-three.') "Very good. Nt:d, I'm going 10 dir«1 YO" 10 a spedfic place on Ihlll "" ... ' Pha.eThree ,Itt nel'l largtl will« C/II this card. 1'1/ pilla i/ YO"~ luz.nlls on lop of /he otlm two. KNp your ollm luz.nd on lop, !Jfl'" tytS cloud, lind lislen to my iIIOrdJ. "Look lit 1M bollom of pilgt 63. lis YO" do, yo,,'U nolia !Omtllting stnmgt. TIrt /t!4ck lind whitt tal is blurry lind ilkgiblt. CTQdlUlJly /RQVI!' your ty~ lowa,dJ Ik lop of Iht P'lgt. As yo" do, Iht um-ds and Itxl wry slowiy btgin 10 coml ,nlQ fixus. As you mKh lire top Iil1e you art jusl "bk 10 matt oul II ftw words. Quickly, imagint II verb. WlIIII word do you _ 1 [She responds, 'Run:) HOK, you mll)loptll ytlurtyeS.1 ~d IhIll yo,,'d ~a good subjtcl with "vivid iml/ginalion. Lei IIItshcw 1Pu how good . . ,. [You retrieve the three 391

392 business cards from her clasped hands, and turn them over to reveal their target word$: 'Yellow', '63', and 'Run' .! ·~II dantl Yow 1Iilw. g=1 imllgi"Q/ion and II s/""'g ability /0 rtaiw good /IIowgh/$.· Proadure You've likely deduced that the first"written pred iction Is the target word of the final !IO!1@ction, whkh will bf, fo~. The Sol'COnd and third are, respectively, the colour ,md page number chOS('n by the parti cipant. Accordingly, the business card. do not end up arranged in the order assumed by the audience; in order to correct for this, the bottom card must bf, shilled to the top. This can bf, managed with a very natu ralistic action. performed under the guise of confirming that only thro:e busi.nt'ss cuds are in play. With you r thumbs on the top, and fi ngers on the bottom, spread the three cards into a s:maU ian,. separating Ihem even more by taking the bottom card in the Iefl finge.s and the upper two in the right,. wiggling the right fingers 10 slide the cards back and forth a bit,. emphasil:ing the ab!Jence of anything else. RUS/iE'mble the slack by moving the cardsback together.. but allowing the fo~r bottom om! to arrivea lop the other two. During thi! mon, look at the participant, and pose the question,. ·You ,"",ltd 111m! imllga in )til" mind. All _ 1/ fru choiu, (0,.,...("11" Having to consider this (and reply) distracts her from recognizing tha t you ha ve reordered the cards. Now recap the A~t choice (the colour), and flip over the stack of cards to revea l the associated target word. Next, review the page number choice. pointing out that there Ire mlUly more po5llible page numboer than color possibilities, and expose the second card. Finally, m-.phuiu the even greater number of potential words, and reveal the Cllrd depicling the one that they imagined. Precautions Alas, psychological forcrs do not always work. Be su re to review the a~· ter for information 00 improving the cha.nces of succeS6 (such as writing two targets, and crossing one oul). Understand that il ls important to have the choice made quickly once YOll have asked for it, and encourage thiS using both your language and the pace of your voice as you as k for the word. Make this action <:Onsistent by hurrying along the pIl'violU two choices as well. And if

you still f_il, be prepared 10 deal ... ith it. You could ask if they :;ee ano~r verb on the poige, Or ask anc)ther onlooker what word * imagino,>d. Or jU5t bile the bullet and rongratulate the participant on getting thot first two images. You do have thor advantage of knowing the outcome prior to the revela tion. which gives you much Il't'Way in managing expectations.. 393

B oodied (The Thumb of Mr. Fingers) As performed by 1m Weiner In my opinion. few mystery enterta iners could hold a candle to Irv Wciner (1923-1999), aka Mr. Fingers· ... [have seen this diminutive giant, the n ·ra ted college enrerlai~r fOT most of hIs performing years. bring a !IOld-oot auditorium to dead silenre, hanging on his every word. They laughed, they cried, and they came away not only amazed at the skill of this consummate artist. but bett er human beings as well. He could truly command all audience with his ulten! ... and his heart. nus was his favouriteciosMJp demonstrat>on." PIo, After introducing the topic of mom",l ronlrol over bodily functions (and perNpt performing II pulsMtopping demonstration), the entertainer borrows II knife'" from 5()meone in attendance ("Oh. that's pretty sharp!", Irv would say 35 he 6'amincd it). Displaying his thumb in clea r view (his hands are truly empty of anything save the knife), he proo:l.!l.lds to cut II 1- 2 em. slice in the side of his thumb. about a quarter of the way down from the tip. 1be slice immediately begins oozing blood, which CIIn be a!lowro todrip onto I plate, or mopped up with a liS$ueor handkerchief. The blood is real. ilnd iI sufficiently skepti cal iludience member could later submit the tiS$uI!! to DNA analysis. whim would snow it to contain the blood of the entertainl!!r. 1he knife is $eI aside and-with admonitions to Heill ~ - the cut is dabbed with the tiss""'. lt slowly d oses, the rem;lirung blood is wiped lRl. !..-, &<iop<N m: ," .. .,." . ~ '" h;, *"" .of·"" ,," ",.a. h"-c" ,)"', __ ", ~,..I"' . '" ' ..... , .. "" u. ....... ~) b., .. «HI""!"":, of hi. dar ,"u" J>H<"'" ......... ico" I-i£" t .. _ ..." h~ -_he< "", ... ,,-. 'N . 1, "' ~1 1< """ "" ... ,..,;" .... hiM ~;"")". U ). I" ""giu ,hi. '0 rnt ,," So,uni" . 29 M". l'Mo •• nd .... " .. "" , .... pn" ,,'" ,10." 1 """kI ... ,t,- ",,.,,1>< h;, h,nJii",,.,..-...,,,, (h;.). lM. ';'1'",<k , ofcou .... ,. h .. , ... ...... 1""'''''' """,'" lund I. ,'_ , . .. a n"", ........ ,~ 394 I\onooo'<d l . ........ ..,. ... "'.,'-l;b.

away, Ind the th umb is seen to be once again fully intact. Not, to be lure, a pie.:e suitable toevery occasion. but an incredibly powerful convin~r" for appropriate situatlons. l ..... used it regularly. Provenance I ..... Learoed this stunt ilt the age of thirteen-, on the Boston and Ma ine Railroad w~re he worked as a news butcher. Irv employed magic to help promote !tis produC'l sales (earning. 15 I raul" even more than his fathe!; who worked two traditional jobs); thi, prompted a trainman to show I ..... the one effect that M knew"". I ..... performed il for the rest or his life: this dose-u p performance pi~ was so much a pa rt of his personal rq>erloire lhal his wife Rulh was instructed to ensure tha t the Nn~sary somethlng" was always. part of his atfule. The method does appear in print""', though ltv was unaware of any other professionals actually U5ing it. Performanct/ Methodology The Nne«'SSiIf)' something~ is a normal stra ight pin.Asafety pin or other similar dev~ could also work, but Irv stuck to the tradition ~ and Ruth ensured that the lapel of every jacket he wore always contained that all-important pin. It would not surprise me to learn that he carried one to his funeral! The blood is real, and actually come, from the • \ I thumb, albeit via a tiny puncllm!, and not the purported ict- . Prior to the demonstration,. US@ the pin to prick II small hoI(> through the skin at the position indica ted in the photo. As different people exhibit varying rates of healing, it's impossible to specify how IorIg }Bl Cutloo..,. . ......" 1_ th;"""" , II ""'" ' ~<hootl k(, ...... h • >l~1r>< ..... "" "'Y Id. ,"".,t.. '" , I,""" ,.....'odr ,ho <0<<<<"< IoooDo~ , ....... fo,. . "'"'T <uoMndIl~ On..! l~op«,lt>n. Note d ... , I "n .. ~ « "'''"''11"1'''' '0 ot,,,,,'I" '" """,I. " ,i>io. 18(,. I,.., d.l,no>.! ,hot ,..b.o.o.", you n"'" '''"''''''11< who .""",,,,,,Iy ""«~«" )0. dioo,Jld po>' l"-"K'1w " ".,10" . ......... ,.ill "" ",,,,",, '0 1=,,- 181. It <0 . lot: jj",..:1 Wt I",'. C_,;", !o.><>k: M.»';n G ....... ' ew,. ... 1i. ofl..., ..... ,... M"f'r (a.koto. 11_ 19n. pp. 192_31 . .. '" it .. ; ...... no on ,II< """,on "" lund """". 395

in advance this <:Ill be done: )( ~rirnenl to find wha t works for you. You should have plenty of opfH)rtunity to make Ihe stab: you a"" not under scrutiny. 15 no one knows whal's coming. The "",,11ing punctu"" may result in a small drapof blood, which can simply be wiped away. Left unmol~, the pinprick will not C(lntinue to bleed of its own aC("Ord, though pressure applied to the fleshy pari rithe thumb will cau~ il to produce another drop Or two. Thill providet fuel for the simulation. To perform.. place the blade lightly against the skin,. pQ!iitioned over the puncture location. Rest the thumb against the sid ... of the forefi nger, ostel\5ibly to provide support for the cutting. but actually to press against the thumb at the ~ssary moment, In order to produce a fresh drop of blood at the puncrurtl site.- As this drop emanates, the blade is d rawn downwards {rust lightly touching the skinl breaking the surface tension of the blood drop, and smearing it ;dong the edge of the blade .. nd u... surface of the skin. This occurs pn!tty much automatically: it t .. kes but a little practice to ensure a perf«! Illusion of slicing the thumb. All of this should, of routse, be a«ampanied by appropriate hi$lrlonic5, such as wincing slightly during the ~ed cutting. Remembet:. though. that the magic is not in the cutting (which, though potentially ill-advised, is not an inconceivable a<;tion), it is in the healing. This is where ltv would shine. [ can think of no better way to dose this chapter than with a transcription of one of Irv·, actual presentalions, taken from a 1982 audiO recording. Note his emphasis on the sharpness 01 the Imil ... (even though borrowed knives lend not to be particularly sharp), and encouragement of the audience to ~seeN the cut actually closing. ~WMt I'm goi~g 10 do is simply OIl ... aIt, 11ul,., slutrp; IIult"iwry good. "17r.:t1's /I _I OIl; /hut's nO qUt$lio" "oo,d IhRt. II 's 1101 1011 d«p, but it's d«p DJClUgh lluIl Ihat's lID q"""liorr abo,,' il. ""T"M n"t,1ItS in linaudiblel mnoved" laf from " 1m, thinking IMrr IIIIIS tltnllpnltic lJIIIiw in /lult WI. TIrLy would T"I1I;"'I kG! ,"10 1M 1UO .... d, lind tM wo"nd ..,.".Id II.~. I brow Ihlll ii's ~ot IIt«Ul1ry, ~~tmt d«sn'I ~ to hll"tle • kGf: thct's lID Ihtr~py in th~ Itll! ilsdf. ·You·/1 stt thai it's not cloud romp/tilly ;,tt. You '/I Sit;1 ~ IIlmQliI d_d, /1 ul IlO I camp/tltly. WMt wt!·11 do is li~ $0 ..• just ctmCtlltrlllt on h(Qlillg: Mil .. . h"d ... h(Qlcd, romp/tlt/y. No (."111 .. . /my 10Ilgtr. · 2U. 1 ........ 14 """_~ ""f" d...o "hi., b.ndl<K~"" """oJ ,Ot bib. .nu ,h..1Ib, 10 "'" ... "'" oI"l","."dl '''''ft""",. , lid ID 'nap"r II>< Iio....:t I )u"II<' ' Jon.: ,hlo n,,..M 1_.,. 396 bo.:.uo< I ...... , -..n,-~ . "'~;.f). pffln"'~"'''''''''_ ... """ "'<lnIV_, "p.

Acknowedgements Writin& is I solitary task. but creating is gmerall), a collaborative one. All creators build on tho!. ideas 01. those who h;tvt 80M before. Tllough wedear brush from fresh trails, we would neverha~ found those trails wt'fe it not for OUr pred~r$. Many people have rontnbut~, knowingly or otherwise, in measure! great and smaIL, to the malerial in this book. Rl'alizing fu ll well th~ll will have neglected to mention at least one of them (to whom I hereby apologize m adva~), I would like to mention a goodly number of Iht>se colleagues-most of whom are perwnal friend!,.nd sorne of whom are no longer with 115: Al~n .... ckerman.. Leslie Anderson,. Greg Arce, AI'Igtles Arrien. Mid< Ay~ Banachek, lMry 6ecl<er. Markus BeJdig. Harvey Berg. Bru~ Bernstein, Adrian Bint, Richard Busch. Ouistopner Carter, Bob Carver, Bob Cassidy, Dick Ouistian. Joe Curcillo, Roger Curton.. Bill Cushman. Scott Deming. Madin 0Wfy, I.in Dunford. Tony Dunn. Lee Earll', Bob FaTlTlll'I;. Roger Ferriby, George Frega. 8ill Frilz,. Mi~ki G.bri .. U~ Martin GardMT, Mark Garetz. Cluules Gauc~ And~w Gerard, David Gerard. Bro Gilbert. Andi Glad win. Cene Cordon. Ray Grismer, Paul Hallas, SU5llMe HangschHtt. Bart Harding, Chuck Hkkok,. Lar Hookway, Mike lnee, Gary Ingl~, loshua Jay, Ross Johnson, Roy Johnson, Davey Marlin-lones, Lewis Jones, Tom Jorgenson. Ted Kannilovich. Steve Keyl, Rudolf Ko.nzl~ G"*8ory Lacomble, Denny Laub, Paul I...e$so, Millard Longman. Ward Lucas, Raj M~dhok, Lior Manor. Brian M. rks. Marvoyan. Bob Mason. Max Maven,. Colin Mcleod. Ste~ Murray, Gene Nielsen.. Richard Osterlinc!, Richard f'<Iddon, 5tu;lrt Palm, Marc Paul, Simon Pixton, Cha l~ Pecor, Walter Penney, Seth Raphat'l Joe Riding, Robin Robertson. Ned Rutledge.. MarcSalcm. MarkSnerman. Robert SiepielskJ,. Teller, Johnny Thompsoi\. Bobby Torkovil, Ken Wd>er. MieNel Weber, Ridlard Webster, lrv "Me. Fingers- Weinet John Wells, and Ron Wohl. It should not prove surpri5ing that most of the ~bove are (or WE're) fellow members of the Psychic E"I .I~i"trs ASI<lC;aliQ", since 1978 the premier fellOWship of those who entertain with the lascinating powers of the mind. 397

\398 Afterword Richard Webster Waybi>Ckin 1934, [attended my fi rst Psychic EntcrtainetllAssociation o:mve<1tion. This was the first time! was able to talk op4!nly about mentalism with like-minded people. llov~d every minute of it. 1 ~t Doug DymOlnl there, and we've been good friends ever since. I was thrilled when he first started publishing his work, and am delighted that all of his menta lism writing iii now available in one volume. Doug is my favorite mentalism author, and now that you've read this book. he may well be yours. 100. 1 enjoy his work for m.ilny reasons. His wriling isciear, erudite. and cove,.., every possible nuarw;e of the 5UbjI:'d. He pubLi5ht>s material only when he Is he ean make a worlhwhi\e contribution to tIw topic. His footnotes an,> helpful. inforrnatiw, and have enoouragN me to search Out articles and books tNl I wouldn" have found otherwise. His writill8 helps me to think mor(' deeply about what I do in my KI. However. the main I'USI)n [love his work is that I use so much of his m&teri ai,. both on stage, and in casual performing situations. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that this book is much more than a collection of his published work, containing at least a third morc materia l than the original volumes, With so much quality material to choose from, it's hard to list favorites. However, if forced to make ~ moke, I'd indude the material on magic squares, full-deck stacb, ard clocking ("'1ick Tock Too~) ilnd Zenermancy. ] enjoy the e\egan«' and depth of information that ESP a.rds provide using Doug's system. I've used magic squal"6 for more than forty years, but learned I great deal from Doug's section on this (asciNting subjert.1 also US(> iI full-deck st.ck almost every day, and found Doug'~ i,m;ighl$ into how they an be used enlightening and useful. -An Immoderate l:Iettption ~ is one of the few magi<: effects I do using a memorized deck and it always plays well. -rh~ Real Thin ~ is a delightful, easy to perform effed that I've presented numerous tilTlCfi over the years. I'm confident thiS book will become a classic. and will be r('ad iIJld studied by future gell('rationso! m agicians and ment.lists.