The Schrodinger Ploy - Christopher Taylor
$14.95
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=65209

Hype:
You don't need to be a master of quantum physics to observe audiences being amazed as their own reality is revealed, perfectly predicted, every time.

Create dozens of new effects with this powerful new system from Taylor Imagineering. Easy to use, this approach allows a performer to simply and reliably predict three different choices at a time, perfect for strolling magic or parlor.

My Take:
I have always found the puzzle of Schrodinger's cat fascinating. There is a cat in a box. Is he alive or dead? According to quantum physics, he is both until the box is opened The act of observing the cat determines the outcome. So, to the old question, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a noise? Actually according to this line of thought, it not only does not make a noise but it exists as both upright and fallen until someone sees it.

Chris has taken this premise and created a nice little piece of mentalism. An envelope is laid on the table. Your volunteer chooses if the cat is dead or alive, white or black and male or female. When the envelope is opened, a piece of paper is removed. It shows a picture of the exact outcome just arrived at by your volunteer. So, out of the eight possible choices, you invariably get the right one. So, obviously the outcome is not determined until your volunteer decides what it should be.

Chris has designed an index which is easy to make and does the majority of the work for you. The construction makes it simple to get the billet you need and will easily fit into any jacket pocket as the size is minimal. Apparently if you had bought this from him at a lecture or convention, the index would have been part of the package (at, I am sure, a much higher cost). With the download comes a detailed pdf showing just how the index is constructed.

The promo says dozens of effects can be created using this system and I cannot disagree with that. Any set of choices where you have to pick one of eight can be done with this. I suppose if you needed a one out of four choices this could also be used but eight makes it so much more impressive. You could pick one of eight cities, vacation spots, names. or even playing cards. I have seen a lot of ads claiming to be able to create endless effects. This is one of the few that I have seen that actually delivers on that promise. It truly is limited only by your imagination.

Conclusion: A powerful piece of mentalism at a budget price. If you do mentalism, this should be in your pocket at all times. Portable, small and convenient. Recommended.

Thank you for this review, I am considering this. One things I appreciate about Christopher Taylor's offerings is he provides video of one of his live performances. I also feel like he does not over-hype his products.

The demo video is pretty impressive

I really love the premise for this effect.

This has great routine potential. I purchased this and my presentation uses an actual box large enough to hold a cat, that I describe as being soundproof. Having a box that might contain a cat increases the drama of the presentation 100 fold. There there is the comedic moment of explaining that in the box there is just a piece of paper. I have performed this a few times and every time there is so much opportunity of outrageously funny moments interracting with the audience. There is always someone in the audience who is either temporarily outraged that there might be a cat in the box, and someone in the audience who thinks it is ok to have a cat in a soundproof (likely airproof as well), box. The secret to the effect is under the box, which adds much more sense of fairness. I then use a little something that Jay Sankey offered to the magic community many years ago. It is a really great routine.

KJ

KJ: Thanks for the kind words and the brilliant idea on magnifying the effect. Sent you a PM.

Christopher

Luv this, had it for awhile now. Repurposed my old Kennedy Mystery box from card to blank paper and wrote Schrodinger Cat on the side of the box. People can really relate to this.