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Cardinal Bunal New user 79 Posts |
Are they? Or can they still be "taken in" by showmanship and good patter?
I've done a math trick 5 times in a row today, 2 of my reactions were freak outs... the thing is I wonder how much of lay men know that "something went down because operations were involved after they thought of a number" as opposed to divining the number directly. Any thoughts on this issue? Or should I stop worrying and let 'er rip as I found out today that the right patter can give the right effect. Those who didn't react were those who aren't really responsive. Because I know the people I performed for... |
Slim King Eternal Order Orlando 18012 Posts |
What one did you do?
THE MAN THE SKEPTICS REFUSE TO TEST FOR ONE MILLION DOLLARS.. The Worlds Foremost Authority on Houdini's Life after Death.....
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stepseven New user Staffs, UK 54 Posts |
1089 used to go down a storm when I was at school too
+ev
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FreefallFool New user UK 61 Posts |
I'm amazed at how many people don't know about that number...
It's not how far you fall, it's how you land...
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Cardinal Bunal New user 79 Posts |
Slim,
The one where they'll think of a number, double it, add (blank number here), divide by 2, then subtract to original number. I don't know the name of that trick... :) |
landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
Cardinal, that one's pretty well known, or can pretty easily be figured out. But if you want to dress it up a bit, here's a little presentation for you that tends to be more fooling:
"Imagine you've got some money in your pocket--don't tell me how much--let's say you've got a certain number of dollar bills between one and twenty, okay? (you keep it between one and twenty so that they can do it their head) You're planning to use all this money to buy a magic book that's on sale. "Now imagine your Uncle Bob comes along, hears about your plan and also wants a copy of the magic book. So he gives you the same amount of money, and you put that in your pocket. "Now your mom comes along and gives you a birthday present of $30. You stuff that in your pocket too. "Your very happy now, when who should come along, but your girl/boy friend. When s/he sees the big smile on your face s/he knows you've got money and asks for half of it. You figure you better share it so you give him or her half of what you have in your pocket. "Now your Uncle Bob, remember back at the beginning who gave you some money for the magic book? Well your he's decided he doesn't want the magic book, he'd rather spend the money at the bar, so wants his money back. So you reach into your pocket and give back the money. "Now you look at the money left in your pocket--and you go to buy the magic book. But it doesn't cost what you thought it did. In fact it costs exactly the amount of money in your pocket. Visualize the price sticker on the magic book. "That's right--fifteen dollars!" Jack Shalom
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
airship Inner circle In my day, I have driven 1594 Posts |
I did a 'Confused Calendar' effect for a friend of mine this weekend. Her reaction was "Oh, that's just mathematical." Even though she had no idea how I did it!
It struck me as almost as bad a dismissal as saying "All magic is done with mirrors and trap doors."
'The central secret of conjuring is a manipulation of interest.' - Henry Hay
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mchristy New user Raleigh, NC area 25 Posts |
Some things are obviosly attainable by math. Before I started doing any magic myself, I could usually pick out most of the math based effects. Now if I find someone that likes math, I throw this one at 'em. ....
3 guys at a magic convention stay too late and drink too many beers, and finally decide to get hotel rooms. Problem is there is only one room left. They agree to split the price of $30. That's $10 each, and we'll flip a coin to see who sleeps on the floor. Later, the manager comes in and sees that the person at the counter had sold the last room for the night. He is very happy. Only problem is that after midnight, the rooms are only $25. The manager gives the counter person the $5 to return to the guests. Not being extremely good at math, the counter person decides that it's much easier to give each guest back $1, and pocket the other $2. All said and done, after the refund, each guest in the room paid $9, for a total of $27. The counter person has the other $2 that they paid, bringing the total to $29. Where is the missing dollar? |
stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
I know!!! Because I was at that same magic convention, dining in the hotel restaurant when the three guys checked into their room.
Here's what happened: I was having dinner with a friend. Our bill came to $20, so we each paid $10 cash. We were less than pleased with the food. The late night manager overheard our complaints and insisted that we accept a $5 refund. He pulled five singles out of the register and gave them to us. Now the food was horrible, but the waiter did an OK job, so my friend and I each took a $1 and left the other $3 as a tip for the waiter. The next day I thought about what had happened. My friend and I each paid $10 and we both got $1 back. $10 - $1 = $9 2 x $9 = $18 $18 + (the $3 the waiter got) = $21. I was puzzled as to where the extra dollar came from, but now I know. I guess the money from the front desk and the money from the restaurant somehow got mixed-up! |
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
That is very funny!
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Bill Hallahan Inner circle New Hampshire 3222 Posts |
I think the 1089 force is pretty transparent to mathematicians, scientists, and engineers, and like-minded people. They'll either have read about it before, or they'll realize the self-referential nature of the calculation. They also might try it with a different starting number, perhaps even during the presentation. They still might think it's cool, but they won't be fooled.
I read about the 1089 force about 35 years ago. I think it was in "The Magic of Numbers", by Robert Tocquet (formerly "2+2=4") but I'm not sure if that was the source. I was 15 years old then, and I recall being totally fascinated by the stories and ideas in that book. Stan, My uncle Tom told me and my siblings this story over 40 years ago. I've seen variations of it since. I expect you have too. I think I even saw it somewhere here in this forum long ago. Three men checked into a hotel. They each paid $30 for a room. However, they weren't happy with the room, so the hotel manager gave the bellboy $5 to give back to the three men. The bellboy gave each man $1 and kept $2 himself. So, each of the men paid $10 - $1 = $9 dollars for their room. $9 time 3 men is $27, plus the $2 the bellboy took makes $29. What happened to the extra dollar? I like your story because there is an extra dollar. All the other variants of this I've seen are always short some amount. Wait, that's it! The extra dollar from your story came from my story! Give it back!
Humans make life so interesting. Do you know that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to create boredom. Quite astonishing.
- The character of ‘Death’ in the movie "Hogswatch" |
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