Magic Trick-learn it in Seconds
How to perform a simple magic trick
It is rare one gets the opportunity to learn a magic trick. Magic is a craft that has to be kept secret otherwise the tricks will die from exposure. I have personally learned a few tricks myself and indeed, once you know the mechanics of a trick, then the "magic" is practically gone. My advice is, if you want to practise this trick and showcase it-then do not showcase this article! Like Einstein said, originality is a matter of how well you conceal your source. Enjoy
"Eric Mead is a prolific magician, mentalist and comedian who worked his way up from doing magic on the street to appearing at exclusive events around the world." The TED web site goes on to say "magician Eric Mead does a trick to prove that, even when you know something's not real, you can still react as powerfully as if it is." In this fantastic talk about the Placebo effect, the comedian gives a lighter look at things at an otherwise very serious conference.
Eric shows in his talk, the magnetic hand-where a knife sticks to his hand though he opens and shakes the hand that was holding it. Find the talk here
Quoting further from the TED conference website "Sugar pills, injections of nothing -- studies show that, more often than you'd expect, placebos really work." This is an interesting effect as it has been widely explored. The opposite effect is called the Nocebo effect. (Deepak Chopra's book "Magical mind, magical body" has a wonderful passage on this)
"TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design." (Quoted from the TED website)Ted.com is a fantastic place to get wonderful doses of interesting information from inspirational people like Chris Abani, Golan Levi, Al Gore, and many other wonderful people in the arts and sciences. I find it a wonderful source of material in the varying perspectives presented there.
Presentation is a crucial part of business and social life too. It is important to see how other people handle their presentations, especially at an international conference. I have seen some terrible Powerpoint presentation ruin an otherwise interesting presentation. TED is a wonderful place to see and learn all these things from. They have archives dating years back, which are great to watch. Visit TED today, learn a magic trick, learn what is happening in the sciences-learn!
