This is a nice take on Mnemonicosis. With an over the phone spec. It almost feels like A.A.C.A.A.N.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4KQGArGYn4

Wow! They really got lucky. 9S just happens to be at position 9--no pre-cut is necessary. Really awesome when you get the cleanest out with this effect--it looks like a true miracle.

You have to hand it to Asi, it took some balls to ask for a number "from one to ten" and hope for an 8 or 9. Part of me wishes it was lower (or 10), because I would have loved to see what where he went next--his bag of jazzing tricks is endless. To me, that's the real beauty of Menomnicosis: watching someone still elegantly get there when things aren't going their way. On the last Blaine special, I was jazzed (pun lamely intended) when it seemed like he was going into Mnemonicosis, then disappointed when Dr. Hawking said 9 of Diamonds.

Its possible to continue with Mnemonicosis in case of 9 of Diamonds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAoa3qVb9j8

Thanks for the link Shakuni. I'm a big fan of repurposing the c**ss c*t force to display the bottom card (and have done so). It seems super fair. I love the addition of the "top, middle, bottom" question and not just going right to a reveal. I know what I would have done for "top", but I find myself very curious what he would have done!

That video was great. For some reason the phone part of the effect makes it seem so much more impossible. Asi definitely got lucky that she said 9. I've noticed that when someone names a card that lies from 1-10 in Mnemonica, Asi will usually ask them to name a number between 1 &10 (In his Chapter One and A.A.C.A.A.N performances). This is definitely a nice touch I'll have to try.

Since the cards were still in the box while she was holding them I guess if the person on the phone named something less than 8 or 10 he still could have used his A.A.C.A.A.N as an out. I would have love to known what he would have done though.

That's the part we (I think) all want to know. What exactly are his outs.

That's definitely the show off shuffle though. But also I love version! I hate the cross force... But that looks like something I'll have to put in my bag of outs. I usually do a stop trick. But I like that the cards only get handled by the spec.

But he couldn't have done that to Hawkins. He can't touch the cards.

That's great, and it's not a new idea. For what it's worth, in Mnemonica, Tamariz describes how he typically performs Mnemonicosis. He uses (surprise!) the very same strategy, an over the phone spectator. When I saw Juan perform Mnemonicosis in a live performance, that's exactly how he did it.

Oh I know it's in the book. But that was my first time seeing a video of it like that.

Mnemonicosis? Nope, just Asi's A.C.A.A.N - he always does this..pure brilliance! You have to see it in his stage show, its an absolute killer.

It was definitely ACAAN. But I'm pretty sure he can do whatever he wants lol.

I preform his ACAAN and Biddle trick version from One Chapter. Never had someone call the number to their card.

Is he doing any shows? I've been dying to go to one for a while now.

You can do menmonicosis with any card. 9 of diamonds? Reveal it on the bottom.

I usually reveal the 9D as a stop trick (by using the glide). But just the other day someone posted a very nice way of doing the criss cross force. That's even better way. Because you don't touch the cards at all. Which what I'll probably be doing from now on. It was David Blaine actually.

Its posted above in this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAoa3qVb9j8

I would technically call this Mnemonicosis, in that he knows where the selection is in the uncut stack and navigates the spectator to it by whatever means. In this case, he had her name a number between 1 and 10, knowing from experience most people go for 8 or 9. In the "Real or Magic" video, Blaine instructed Katy Perry to cut off about a quarter of the deck to hit her selection of 8H (card 14 in Mnemonica) and she nailed it. In the Cambridge Union video, the spectator selects 2S (position 10) and Blaine has the fellow give a friends name, ostensibly hoping that the name has 9 or 10 letters. And somewhere in Youtube land there is some video of Asi doing the more common two-step out, where the spec gets close with a cut, and then choses a small number that brings him to the card.

On the other hand, Asi's ACAAN--which I saw him do with an over-the-phone participant at his Toronto lecture in August--involves a completely free selection of card and number (1 to 52 are all fair game). The card finds itself at the exact number courtesy of a diabolical move--buying the trick at Dan&Dave just to learn it was well worth the few dollars--whereupon the deck ends up in the custody of the spectator and the card is found exactly at the number named.

For me that is the difference. Asi's ACAAN involves completely free selection of card and number with the card being exactly placed before the spec touches the deck. In Mnemonicosis, the spec has the complete uncut stacked deck on hand from the outset. The card is named, and the performer takes the spec to it by a more restricted, guided path--"name a number between x and y", "cut off about a third of the cards", "spell the name of your best friend", "spell the name of card", etc. ACAAN involves precise placement of the card. Mnemonicosis involves "jazzing" to get to the card because the deck is in the spectator's hand AFTER the card is named. Ergo, this is technically Mnemonicosis.

Les

Les,
Thanks for the very good explanations that are right on!
From the lay mans point of view--which presentation (acaan or mnemonicosis) is more mystifying or entertaining?
I have watched a number of performers do acaan--Asi, Born, etc, and still enjoy Tamariz doing mnemonicosis best.
Any thoughts?
Gene

I've seen Asi presents A.A.C.A.A.N. in 2 different ways on his demos. One was a close up still (where he called it hypnosis) and the other was a ustage act ( where he said he was reading her mind. and placing a card in a special spot).


I present mnemonicosis exactly the way I first saw it on David Blaine Real or Magic. I either false shuffle the cards or do 8 faros. And then ask them to look through the cards. And then tell them that they have the order of the cards in their head.

Wow that is extremely lucky!!! Thank you for this footage, I absolutely love it!

[quote]On Sep 26, 2014, phase27 wrote:
That video was great. For some reason the phone part of the effect makes it seem so much more impossible. Asi definitely got lucky that she said 9. I've noticed that when someone names a card that lies from 1-10 in Mnemonica, Asi will usually ask them to name a number between 1 &10 (In his Chapter One and A.A.C.A.A.N performances). This is definitely a nice touch I'll have to try.

I want to add that I complete agree here! The request "Please give me a number between 1 and 10" is a very standard question, unlike the suspicious phrases "please give me a number between 10 and 20 and so forth" The other ranges would have made his magician's force transparent, but he is really lucky that Nine of Spades happens to be in the top ten of the stack because the 1-10 range makes his force absolutely invisible to laymen. To fellow magicians who are familiar with ACAAN, it might not be so invisible though That is why I prefer not to perform in front of magicians, I enjoy performing ACAAN with laymen tremendously!!! It is one of my favorite effects.

Since this thread is about Asi's ACAAN, I want to share my experiences while performing the AACAAN on a friend.

Getting right to the important details, I asked him for a number and he gave me "43". I then requested for him to name any card and he said "ACE of Clubs". I was overjoyed because it happens to exactly match the position of the card in my memdeck (I was using the mnemonica).

This means I could just hand over the cards to him whilst they are still in the cardbox! This was one of those rare opportunities where your luck allows you to perform a "real miracle" I was very excited but he was totally skeptical. The fact that I didn't touch or watch the cards in the box at all made him doubt that any sleight could have occurred. I had made a deck switch prior to the beginning of this trick and had given him the impression that the cards were randomly shuffled. The Tamariz stack looks very random thus helped to preserve this illusion.

As my friend dealt the cards face up on the table counting them, I just sat back, thanked the heavens, and waited for the climax.

It never came. There was yet a sinister twist to this tale. On the 33rd count he exclaimed that his card had appeared! It was the Eight of Clubs. I was appalled. I told him I heard him saying "Ace of Clubs" rather than "Eight of Clubs. Since this was supposed to be a mind reading effect the excuse was a complete joke

Probably out of curiosity he continued counting the cards. Thankfully when he finally turned over the 43rd card and discovered the Ace of Clubs he was still amazed by it. I find this experience humorous because it is not common that a performer could mess up an effect so badly and yet be able to impress the audience despite his gaffe.