The Magic Trick Of Making It Seem Inevitable

I’ve always been fascinated by how magicians are able to direct our attention. Even if you’re on guard, a skillful magician can guide your focus to where they want it to be. They don’t just use their movements. The words they say and how they say them are an active part of that misdirection. The words are strong enough that they can be the trick all on their own. Mentalists do exactly this with several “cold reading” techniques. It’s a versatile tool that magicians can easily adapt to their own style. Some of the cold reading techniques reinforce each other, and can even lead the person in the direction you want them to go. These aren’t limited to magicians, of course. A super-simple example: If you see someone wearing a team’s logo outside of game day, you can probably quickly pigeonhole them as a fan, and then use a generic-but-relateable Barnum statement about the sportsball. This is about where these techniques start to get a little ethically uncomfortable, right? Is that bonding…