Psychologists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were very interested in the work of stage magicians as it related to misdirection and suggestion. Using the scientific knowledge at their disposal they were able to discover practically nothing about how magicians were able to manipulate audiences.

Modern psychologists have discovered value in using illusions similar to those used by stage magicians to help them understand how the mind works. Part of the art of misdirection employed by magic practitioners is a phenomenon that psychologists call “change blindness”.

Change blindness refers to our inability to see huge changes in a situation we are supposedly focusing our attention on. Here is a video showing how we exhibit change blindness.

One of the most startling experiments showing change blindness featured a video clip of a gorilla walking onto a basketball court. Hardly anyone noticed the appearance of the gorilla and when it was pointed out, some even accused the experimenters of switching videos.

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Stage magicians seem to have no problem with duplicating the psychic feats of spoon and key benders. Apparently you can bend a key in a way that is not obvious to onlookers, and of course magicians are adept at switching unbent spoons and keys for bent or pre-weakened ones.

I recently read about a demonstration of key bending that was recorded on video and played to two groups of experiment participants. One group watched the key being put on a table and heard the key-bender say that the key would keep bending. The other group did not hear that the key would continue to bend.

When asked whether they witnessed the key continuing to bend, a large number of the group who heard the magician say that the key would keep bending say that they saw it bending.

The significant result of experiments like these is that even eye-witness testimony can be affected by suggestion.

If you search YouTube you will find lots of people bending spoons but this video featuring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry showcases the psychic’s determination to stay cool under pressure:

It’s important for a magician to find his or her speciality but to do that you probably need to experiment with the different types of magic tricks you can find on the internet or in books. Once you become used to talking to an audience and become adept at the art of misdirection then you can branch out into a broader range of magic. But first, develop your stage skills by doing your favorite tricks, not the hardest, not the easiest, and not the most impressive, just your favorites.

The reason I am harping on finding your favorite kind of magic is that there is really no such thing as an easy magic trick. There are tricks that don’t need much preparation or many props but all magic needs the kind of presentation that only practice can give. You will probably be able to find a book containing so-called “beginners” magic tricks. They are usually involving sleight of hand and they will serve as the material for working at your stage routine and your presentation skills.

All magic tricks are essentially based on illusion. The thing that makes your magic tricks seem mysterious is the surprise. The final stage of the trick might be a complete surprise to your audience or they might have seen the trick coming but are totally blown away by the fact that they can’t figure out how you did it. The sense of mystery that is generated by a well-executed magic trick is what makes people keep watching magic tricks for generation after generation. If you are just starting out as a magician you will most likely have to learn your magic from books because finding a magician who is willing to tell his secrets is almost impossible.

Getting down to the nitty gritty of magic, here are the basic classifications of magic tricks. When you are making objects like coins or cards disappear or move from place to place, that’s called sleight of hand. Tricks like the ball and cups illusion also fall into the sleight of hand group. You can even use doves or rabbits for sleight of hand but if you want to go around prepared to do magic when somebody requests a trick, you will best be preparing yourself with coins or cards.

Card and coin tricks also fall into the category of close-up magic. The trick here is that your audience is made to think that they are in a position to see how your trick is done because there appears to be no barrier between them and the magician.

There are also tricks where something really cool appears to happen in front of your eyes. A girl could be sawed in half, a member of the audience could be made to levitate of people could appear and disappear. Another advanced kind of magic consists of escape tricks. Harry Houdini is one of the most famous escape specialists. He could escape from locked barrels under water. He could escape from chains and handcuffs. But it’s not only the mystery of how the escape is done that makes escape magic interesting, most performers add an element of danger like being placed in a water tank or hanging upside down at a great height.

If you have a repertoire of tricks that make you appear to be able to read minds you are called a mentalist. You will be able to copy a drawing done by a member of your audience, or perform a range of strange tricks that will leave people gasping in amazement.

Another variation on magic lies in where it is done. Any type of magic trick can be done in a number of settings. You can perform sleight of hand or mental tricks in a hall or on the street. Street magic is a recently developed kind of magic which appears to be done without preparation on the spur of the moment.

So the effectiveness of magic tricks depends on how the trick suits your individual style and the setting where it’s performed. If the audience senses that you are not comfortable doing whatever you are doing, the illusion is never going to get off the ground.

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