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MemDeck329 Regular user 179 Posts |
REVIEW: Aronson Stack for Everybody
“Aronson Stack for Everybody” by Geoff Williams PDF Download Version – 71 pages, $15.00 USD. I left my career at IBM in 1970 to teach a course called Mind Dynamics. Along with psychic development, self- hypnosis, and distance healing…..a large portion of the course was memory improvement. As part of the demo to recruit new students, I would perform (on stage) what I later found out was called “Giant Memory”. The numbers from 1-50 were written on a blackboard. Members in the audience would call out various objects of their choice. I would recite all of the objects forward and backward. The audience would call out random numbers and objects. Three years later (1973) I saw Martin Lewis perform as the house magician at the Magic Cellar in San Francisco. I was hooked! I took semi-private lessons at his home every Sunday for 5 months. That same year I became a Regular Member of the Magic Castle. I worked as a Trade Show Performer for several years into the 1980s. The point is that I feel qualified to write a review on content that either has to do with memory work or close-up magic. If you have been thinking about learning ANY stack, this is the book for you! The author takes you one baby step at a time, and he will lead you to success. Most of the pages contain large color graphics to ingrain the “pictures” of the 52 stack numbers and the “pictures” of the 52 cards in the deck. While the Memory Pegs for the stack numbers are similar to most other treatises, the Pegs for the actual cards are different to what you may have seen before. One thing that slows many people down when learning is that most “systems” teach the suit, then the value. This is one more unnecessary mental thing you have to do. In other words, in many mainstream systems, the Ace of Clubs is denoted as CaT. The C is for Clubs and the T is for Ace. Geoff does a reverse in a very clever and useful manner. In my opinion, this idea is worth the price of the book! This system is MUCH different from the one Bob Farmer uses. I wish I had thought of this idea many years ago. Using this method reduces the number of mental pictures you have to memorize. I have been using the Aronson Stack almost exclusively for six years. I didn’t “need” this book but was curious of the contents. I’m glad I ordered it, and you will be too. I even did an Excel chart using his system. I did reverse a couple of suits to make the learning follow along with what I like. You can do the same thing. I wish I had this manuscript when I first started on MemDeck work! BOTTOM LINE: If you want to learn ANY stack, including Si Stebbins, you NEED this! Yep, Darwin Ortiz memorized the Si Stebbins stack and does absolute miracles with it. The truth is if you want to do memorized deck magic, you MUST memorize a stack….. ANY stack. In my opinion, this way works! LAST WORD: CAVEAT……. The front cover states that you can learn the stack in “as little” as 90 minutes! Again, in my opinion, this is BS! In my opinion, you can learn how a system works in 90 minutes, but you cannot learn a system in 90 minutes! When you have “learned” a system, you “know” it. I’m not trying to be difficult. Maybe it’s just semantics BUT…. on page 63, the author states: “WARNING: What I'm about to propose violates one of our main rules in using pegwords. If you are not intimately familiar with your stack-card pegword combos, you will want to come back to visit this section later. You should have spent at least a solid week of committing your stack-card pegword graphics to memory before tackling this section. You have been warned”. OK, this begs the question, “If I can learn the system in 90 minutes why do I need to practice for another WEEK before I can learn the next section? The “NEXT” section is merely a Story-Telling sequence that is also available in almost EVERY memory system, by almost every author. BOTTOM LINE #2: Ha! I’ve done a lot of reviews over my almost 72 years on this planet. Never before have I done a Bottom Line #2. Hype aside….. BS aside, If you truly want to memorize a sequence of 52 playing cards, this is a best bet! |
JBSmith1978 Veteran user NY 389 Posts |
Sounds like a nice supplement to peg literature. Has anyone read Maigrets work?
I'll probably pick it up soon to OCR/ Translate. After I'm fully done with the Chapman book. |
Geoff Williams Special user St. Pete Beach, FL 617 Posts |
MemDeck329,
Thanks for your in-depth review of the book. To help clarify a couple of the issues you had: I define "learning" a stack as being able to 1) name whatever card is at a specific number and 2) being able to give the stack number for any named card without crib notes or cheat sheets. Speed is of no consequence here. I define "mastering" (or, as you referred to it, "knowing") the stack as a deeper (and relatively speedy) familiarity that comes with concerted practice. I completely agree with you; normal humans probably cannot "know/master" a stack system in anything CLOSE to 90 minutes. You and I are just using different terminology to say the same thing. The reason I had a caveat in the "story-telling sequence" is that there could be some negative transfer when using the card pegwords in a slightly different way (in a long string with no stacknumber pegwords present). I only mean to keep the newbies from being confused in ANY way on their road to mastering the Aronson stack. Once they get through the "learning" phase of the PMS method and begin approaching the "mastering" phase, THEN they will have the mental agility necessary to keep things from getting confusing. My throwing out "a solid week" may have been somewhat of a random, nebulous time frame but is, nevertheless, really good advice. Hopefully, this clarifies my use of "learn." Thanks again for your supportive and insightful comments. Geoff
"Saját légpárnás tele van angolnák."
(Hungarian for "My hovercraft is full of eels") |
MemDeck329 Regular user 179 Posts |
Hey Geoff! Thank you for responding. You're right, much of it is merely semantics.
I am returning to MemDeck "work" after a 6 year layoff due to health reasons. I remembered ALL of my Stack Number Pegs but had forgotton ALL of the Card Value Pegs! If I had known your system was available, I would have used that. Your inovations would have made re-learning the Card Values quicker and easier. |
MemDeck329 Regular user 179 Posts |
BTW Geoff, I see from your webpage that you will be filming a new video in
Rancho Cordova in a few days. If you need to "escape" for a few hours, I am 5 minutes away from there. Also, if you need an audience member, I am here for you. And, if you need a "stooge" to call out a number or a card, you can do ACAAN without ever touching the deck! |
Critisizer New user 47 Posts |
Great review, keep upt the good work
Dream house of any wizard: Wizard's Dream House
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lux New user 29 Posts |
Has anyone tried to adapt Geoff'S PMS for the German language?
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Waterloophai Inner circle Belgium 1368 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 24, 2015, JBSmith1978 wrote: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=205 |
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