Misdirection

Nov 4, 2012
22
0
Hi everybody!
I'm doing a school project on the Psychology of Magic. Focusing on misdirection. If any of you have seen a video of a magician doing a trick that demonstrates misdirection, then don't hesitate to post it.
Post if you have something to say about the topic of the Psychology of Magic.
Thanks,
Dunc
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Every trick uses misdirection to some extent.

The video JokerZingo posted is pretty similar to one done by Richard Wiseman years ago, called the color changing deck trick, I think. Richard's version would be far better for a presentation, I think. I'm on my phone so linking is tricky. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAntzB7EwE&feature=youtube_gdata_player see if that works.

A great trick to perform would be the Mark Wilson hole-in-the-egg trick with the silk. It uses great misdirection, and seems to let the audience in on it, then still fools them.
 

D@n

Oct 11, 2011
104
1
If you're doing a project on Psych using Magic, you should definitely read Sleights of Mind
 
Jul 8, 2011
21
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I second the suggestion of Slights of Mind, it is a good basic look at the neurological processes that make the human brain susceptible to being tricked. And as others have said, Apollo Robbins is definitely the guy to look to if you want to see misdirection in it's purest form.
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
One of the most important things to bring up is the reticular activating sense. This is a function of our brains that evaluates any and all sensory information that is irrelevant, inconsequential, banal or so constant it doesn't warrant further attention beyond initial recognition. People on the autistic spectrum or with ADHD have a reticular activating sense that is easily distracted and they end up mistaking inconsequential details for being relevant. Regardless, the RAS is very easy for magicians to exploit because all they have to do is keep the audience focused on something that doesn't matter.

To see how far this can be taken, look for video from a TV documentary on the Science Channel called Mind Games. The show is all about how sensory data can be used to completely lead the brain astray. In the first experiment, a magician pretended to be a sales rep at an auto parts store. As the conversation progressed, he kept removing parts of his costume has as his ball cap, his neck brace, he changed the color of his jacket, etc. Not one person in conversation with him consciously noticed the changes.
 
Nov 25, 2012
18
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Mumbai
When it comes to misdirection, go with Tommy Wonder. Almost all of his effects include misdirection.
Or you could check some pickpocketing videos.
 
Nov 11, 2009
194
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I love how once he found out that the guy didnt have a wallet he sent him searching for one in his pockets knowing that there wasnt one just to get him to pull his cell phone out.
 
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