"The hand is quicker than the eye"

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
Hey guys,
For the most part it is a myth that the hand is faster than the eye, that being said there are hundreds of moves that are. It would be fun to make a list of those moves. Just to get us started...

-Snap change
-Shape Shifter change
-Hanson Chein's Touch
-The gag where you take a rubber band and "shoot" it up your nose

I think it would be interesting to see how sometimes we as magicians insist that it is a myth but there are many instances where we do effects that are "quicker than the eye".

(Please do not post about how it is impossible to do something quicker than the eye)
 

Jay Adra

Elite Member
Jul 11, 2011
332
3
Australia
www.jayadra.com
It's impossible to do something quicker than the eye.

Joking aside, I think that in a lot of cases, sleights which could be classed as 'quicker than the eye' are actually more or less 'quicker than the mind'.
 
Feb 27, 2008
2,342
1
33
Grand prairie TX
the point of that quote is that the eyes can only be fixed at one thing at a time. And yes the hands are quicker than the eyes.
If you see a straight left punch coming that already means your too late. There's alot more examples.
 
Jul 14, 2010
206
0
Croatia
Classic pass, when done right, is one of the perfect examples of hands being quicker than the eyes. Producing the card from a back palm can also fit into that category.
Interesting thread, by the way!
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,238
3
For moves you have the Ring Thing Move, Strike Vanish, Sylvester Pitch, and a score of color changes. For effects, the first one that comes to mind (that uses a unique "hand is quicker than the eye" move) for me is Puncture.
 

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
A bullet catch takes advantage of something that travels quicker than the eye. Your hands don't have to be fast enough to beat your eyes but the bullet always is too fast to track.
 
Aug 20, 2010
147
0
Practicing
The hands are quicker than your eyes. If you wave your hand in front of your face it will blur. As visualartist said, plenty of other examples...
 
Feb 17, 2011
185
0
Quebec, Canada
In fact, your eyes can only see 30 FPS (frame per second) in average, so basically if you can do something faster than that, you can "fool" the eyes. That being said, Snap change I guess?
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results