A LECTURE t::'i OCTOBER 3. 2004
FIN L fRED The p8ffonner takes a deck of cards OUI of us box, and asks a spectator 10 Il1nk of a card He $ilYS lhal tie w,lI rhM'l use telopathy to eooccece the name 01 the card The speclalOf concentrates 'the perlOtm8f says, "'Fred· Tho audJeneo IS contused. so the maglCJan eXplains. -Fred 15 the name of
your card'" ThIS seems 10 be a silly loke, however . there IS a surpose rmlSh The spectator reveals the IhOughl..of card The performer sho.....'S Ih8t every card has a person's name on lis back rM>Chaef." -Jennlfer,- etc). the one named Fred" Is the spe:ctalor's card!
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The ear1test versIOn of nus tnek was Fred Lo we's "Chnstened Reverse: whICh dates back about 30 years (The baste gag IS much older, and can be traced to a quip by Alexander Woolicon m the 193(5) During the past severar decades, many methods have been devised I created thIS method In Ihe earty 1980s Recently, Trevor Duffy of South Afnca reinvented and maril;elod Ihas same vet"S1Ofl, whICh Coy 10)(11(: coll"lCldence) he named "The PIlIl Deck • We discussed the suuanon. and made an
equuabse atT'Bngemenl The cards employed are unusually thin. alrhough the pactt IS the see 01 a standard deck of 52 cards. It\ere are actually mofe than 1S cards In Ine 00): To prepare. take one complete pack (52 drf. tereru cards plus a tOker) Use a wlde--bpped mar1ting pen (0 Wn!O your rceee name on toe back of eeen card In the example above. It was "Fred," but of course any name can be used Now. take about 25 more cards. and wnte a different name on the back of each Put the set of 25 ditfetenlly named cards on fop of the shuffled pack of S3 "Fred" cards ThIS combW\ed SCi will fit InSIde the: card bolt properly To perform . began by retnovlO9 the deQ. from its box, holding Illh'T1h the face of the pacll:; toward me aud
CI TltlFUGAL IS The performer lnlfoduces a standal'd pack of Zener cards "r nes e eve the ESP testing symbms thai were devetopcd under the auspees 01 Or J B RhInO at Duke Unlverslly many years ago They corne 111 pac)(S of 25 five of five s)'!'Obols Clfde. cross. waves . square star One set '$ removed and drsplayeo, as the I'llstoneal use of lhe symbo ls ts dJ5CtJssed II 1$ explarned that If live random cards are removed from the pack the law averages states tnat me most common result will be a set such as this. contatnlOQ one of each design Ho'Never. such may be the common result. bul only In terms of many repeated tnala In a smaller stansucat sarT'tP'U'1g, the results wlll li kely be different Those ftve cards are set asKfe The remallllllQ 20 cards are moed. then glven to a pat'llClP3nl The performer turns h IS back , The person gIVeS the pack one Of mote complete CUlS, then dea15 the cards rOlallonally mrc four hve-card groups One group IS chosen. the others discarded The person IS told 10 exenune the symbols in the chosen set. and to mentaUy convey them to the performer Alter SUItable hlstnonlCs , the performer IdenlifteS the symbols 10 the spectator's hand
eaen
or
Ttus routine makes use of a SImple pnnclple of dlslnbutlon thaI has been explored over the years, pnmarfly for vanous poker deals Notable examples Include Stewart James' Jamesway Poker Denl manuscnp (1948) and Ihe faSse·false-deallng demonslrahon popularIzed by Harry lorayne as 't.orayne's Poker Dear In Closo-Up Cam Magrc (1962) In the 1991 book Thavant I offered 18 apphee tens. mdudllg ttus one As l.he pnnclple had "ever acqUl1'ed a formal tnte, I dubbed tt (he Gen tn(uge Pfanc:ple . wh ICh seemed like a good Idea at the tene TT1e symbol pack is prepared For ease 10 explenauon, we w fll refer 10the symbols by their estab lished eeseeeuve values (de\l'lsed byJ G Thompson Jr tn the 195Os)'
1 Circle
(one Ime)
2 cross
(1'.\10 lines)
3 waves (thr&e Imes) 4 square (four sides) 5 star (rlV6 POUlts) Arrange the pack III order from the top 12341234234534?'~~'2'2345
The star cards
tn posltl()fl5 15, 17 and 18
(shown undeff1ned) are marked on Ihelf faces 10 ....dlCate values of three. one and two respecnvety Sample manungs (pOSIlional scratcnes) are shown a t (l 9MI Bnng out Ihe cards . $pfead them lace up for dlSptay There 1.<; no d l sceml~e arrangemenl Remove !he (lYe cards at the Ieee of the pack. showrng each and dlSCU Ssmg the odds .nv~\led In gelling a random group of fNe
3
,
2
Set those five asfde False shu ffle the remamder of the pad and glv~ II 10 the spectator Tum yoU( bacl': TeU the persoo to make one 01' more complete cUls ,then 10deal the cards rolabonally etc four groups one set Is chosen. the others puI
w."
1. 1 123
2 223 4
3. 3 34 1
4. 4 4 1 2
To dotermlne the tdenunes of Ihe remaining designs In the chosen group. apply this simple systern : There will be two of lhe symbol of the same value as the markIng, one of the next s)lrnbolln nu.. mCf'tC81 order, then one of the next. (Tho star symbol. now out of play. ~ notmcluded In thiS cecne-
lion 1 Call oul lhe remainIng sym bols m any ardor yo\! oesee. lalung each one from the spectalef a51115 called In order 10be conslsteru w uh the iniljal retoevet
ECOINITION A pred"lChOI'l IS dlSp\ayed The performer brings out a box. expl81nlOg thaI II contains samphng from hIS com collectlon A pafhClpant IS asked to k)ok mslde the box, and examine the co'"s C31efuUy The performor comments. -You can see lIlat there are ~ns from different countnes around the world Some are from Europe: Asta; Amencan The COfflS are of different siZeS They are of dIfferent values They are made OUI of different metals Not a n of them are round AS least one has a hole through Its center ObvIOUsly, there ere many v8f1ables-50 many Ihal lt would be impossible for me 10 know which reetors would Influence you • The partiCIpant IS asked to look at the COIns. and deode on one The predtC(lon ISrevealed, and found to be accurate
The pallor leads the audience to beneve tha t there are many COIns In the box In fac!. there are only foor (The set t have prepared for ft us lecture has: France. 1 franc: United States, I eee r, Japan, 5 yell. England. SO pence. There IS a printed labm Idenllfylng each coin . 10 guarantee thai there wIll be no confusion by lhe participant.) These are covered with 8 four·way ou t Itor example. two double envelopes In e1th s ide 01 a Hlmber Wallet) A .gunmlCked box can be used. WI a h inged nap, allOWing lIS mtefior 10 be dISplayed m two ways The rest, shown 10 tne audreoce. has 30 or more COins gfued In rseee The second. seen only by tne pan~lpant. has Justlhe tour COIns
ILER
NORMAL
For nus oescnpuOf". we shall assume thai the perlormer 15 named 8lII GOCKf'o\'ln. and the audience paf1JCJPSnI !S Gordon Bean BTiI has lUst completed somo son o f astomstlmg demoostrallOO. ~ Gordon is 5ullabty Im pres sed says. "Thanks. Gordon. I'm glad you lIked that I say this parucu Ictrty because. la t~y, .t seems to me thai there are all sorts of amazlllg ttungs 8(ound u s thai we take fOt granted - Gordon says . ~0tI ? Do fell· (Actually. knowing Gordon , he probably Just nods eagerly) BIU continues. "For example. jet's consider somethlllg quite astomsnltlg thai takes place almost every day. thaI we rarely appreciaTe the posta l system Well. of course we comp4a1l1 when leiters gel los t Of something takes 100 long 10 reach ItS desunauon But If you think aboul iI. the fact that most of our mad hods us way to the propef reCIJHenl is pretty astomstting ImagIne: MUhons of cards and let. ters and packages enter the system each day, headed for one SpecifIC address among turthet m ilhans. and usually, 10 Just a feN days, " gets there WfNlt" (Mote fervont nodding from Gordon .) BIU continues, "I was conlemplatlng Ihls earner looey. as I was gathef'lng some envelopes of recent vWllage-eact,. In rl$ own way . a small wonder. because each one found Its way precISely to rts correc t rectplcnl " With tms, he bnngs out half a dozen envelopes, each addressed 10 htm and bearing a recenlly cancelJed stamp or meter mn As he fans out the envelopes, he pc mts out thai they ere overse In Size, color and POint of ongln. Some are personal, and some are from mass mai lings Some are handwnllen, wh ile others are computer generated. Gordon IS assee 10 sImply name a number between one and SIX He opts for. say. four. "A fasc.nalrOO chOICe · says-8 th "I wonder what made yOU choose lhat? Wei1. let's find out Remember, I said that each envelope madto lis way precrsely 10 lhe correct reClpHmI • wun this. he spreads the envek)peS more widely , revealing lhat every envelope bears Ihls address ,
am
0 111 Good"-Il' The P~lIn1brI HOld ::641 South J Strfft OJn.vd C"A 930) 3-4469 All , tnal;s, except for the envelope In the founn pcsntoo. whICh bears a mOdified address ' Gonlo_ B<2n c/o
8,11 Cood~lR
The Ptn umbnl HOld .1641 Sow.h J StTt'tt CA 93 03 J-4~9
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Consldenng the mu'Urnal proparatlOn required. It1ls toullne generates a surpnsJIlgly strong Impact ~ you may nave guessed. the method In...elves multiple outs However, as only two are reqereo. the y are t>Qth qUI!O log.c;al and stra,gt'll(orward . and are construc ted such thaI each essentially cancels oul the o thet, mmung the ou tcome seem uniquely planned As desct!bed above, frve of the envelopes bear your address. and rem alOlng one IS addressed to lhe spectator. care of you {Ttus, of course. presumes you Will know In advance the name of your parhcipan t It lhat IS not an option. don't war • an ahemanve win be expla trled presently) The envelopes cao-tndeea. shou l~me from a vanely of leg rtlfT'l818 sources The specraJly add ressed eo~ eJQpe .s, of course, genet
There IS another brt of preparaoon One of the (pIaM1ly addressed) envelopes Conta ins a PIece of paper. while the others are empty. A standard eece of leUer-slzed paper must be fOlded In thirds 10 fil Inside a ~ 10 envelope. bUI II ts besl 10 tnm the papet down so thai It will fil when f~ded m naif ElmloalJng ltle one layer of paper serves 10minimize the bulk. so thel In Ihe fifty percent 01 performances \'w hen I.tbS paper IS nOlll1troduced. Us plcsence Wl4 nOI be neueed As for wh at's on Ihe paper. rt Is ttns ~,&U
P4<." /0"""; Ik4 yo."",,-.y
..........,
""f''¥''"''4
flow"". 3..,.; 1iJ - ee, ObvKxJsIy. thiS tS another personalized outcome And yes. for those cccasicne when the partiCIpant's name Is net known ahead of tene an atremanve WJII be offered later In nus wnte-up The eese method should be reascoetay clear by now The malenals are arranged so thai one of lhe prepared envelopes ~ POSItioned fourth from Ihe TOp. and the other IS posuroned fifth. After Ihe Inlroductory patter. Ihe set of envelopes IS Introduced. and fanned lOla a Wide display Almost tho en we addtess on each envelope ts Visible. except of course for the one With the extra text, wtlich has Its opper secbon hlOden beneath the bottom edge of the enve lope above It ThIs condluan appears to be haphazaI'd. and me au(hence will not perceive 11'l31 anythWlg IS belng deliberately obscured The person IS asked 10 name a number "between one and SiX." In lrme-honored fashion. ttns fastncls the Ch01GC 10 two. three. four or flve. If fOUr or five Js named. count down from !he IDp enVelope to the named POSItion. If two or three IS named . count from the letl end of the fan . Either procedure appea rs fair , iJnd WIU enable yOU 10emve on one of the prepared envelopes as the "chosen" one Hence, It remains only to display the 3pp10pnate oulcome Either the designated eovecce IS the only one thai IS addressed to the spectator. or It IS the on ly one that contains a message If the latter. allow the person 10look Inside each of the unchosen envelopes to vent)' Ihal they are all empty, then have the paper removed from the chosen envelope. opened and read aloud (Dunng thIs. It Is quite easy 10 ceotnve the necessary handlrng 10 prevent the audience from seemg the extra text on Ihe other prepared envelope. WIthout It seemng as If you are exet'ClS'"9 any specat cauuon ) F,~y. If you WISh to do thlS ronoe ", a crccnsteoce Where you cannot flOCl out a paruopanrs name III advance, there are several opucns I SUgge51 be the ''''lOWIng address message Bill(Iood\l,1n IS ""Illn Ihlt ~
'All1 sdt'Ct uus
tn\dopc. ObVlOUSly. wlttl tms layoul yOu would need 10 fan Ihe envelopes 10 reverse oremeton, so thai only 1M lOP line (with the perlormer's narne) IS III view on that envelope. FOI" Ihe no n..eponymous message letter, I suggest ttns ~ :&Jt
.J/.r,... _ ~.~
JJJ IJOM ~ (,~
/ko ".. ... ....,JJ """ :4, --'''P
The effecl IS. of course. slronget with lhe personalized oulcome. all lhe more so if II IS prlnled ralher than handwmten . There are many possIble variatIOnS For example. nus makes a very mce lmpressMlfl when used fot a bll'lhday Of anniversary. w ith Ihe messeqes appropnalely mOdified (u nSoIiCllfJd plug It 's wonh notmg that the existence of The Penumbra D$ a hotei may be cuestlOnable. OtJt as a magaZine il,s very mUCfJ a resl periodical. edited by Gotdon Beon end &, Goodwin. tn Wl)/Ch the precedmg routIne WI" soon be PUbliShed If you're IIlteresred In subScnbing. t/1e s.)
E Two oacks of specet cards are used One consists of the twenty-SlX letters of the alphabet. tne other contains lists of assorted words Thete are tweoty-Irve cards III this latte! pack, each hsoog etghl words. malung for a total of two hundred o\"OI'ds ,n all The words ere diverse. but each uses exactly four dlfferenlletters. Hawlg meed both packs . the specta10r freely removes one card from the second deci<. and thKlks of one of the assorted words thereon , The parucspant shuffles thai card back Into its deck From the fast pack, the person removes the four letters used to form the thoughl-o! word. and pockets them. (The performer's bacJo: can be turned dumg IhiS ) The perfonrter points out that even if he had looked over the parhc!p8nt's shoulder wtten the wOfd~1S1 card was chosen , he could not be sure which word was thOught of If he were 10 looJ( througn the alphabe( decl( he cou ld. w ith lime and etfort determIne whlCh Ietrers were miSUlg However. as some of the WOI"d$ trom the other deck are anagrams mat use the same letters. even tabcetOUSly galo'"9 thai tnformalJOn WOUkI nol assure success IJ1 frgunog ccnne word being thought of ThercJore . If onty for the sake of etr)Oency. he must rely on straIghtforward telepathy. ThIS proves 10 be a flOe plan. for (he perlonner prompUy names the spectator's word
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I'v e been wresUln9 w,lh versions of ttus test for several years The follOWing IS the most recent (Circa 1993), and the teast complex In order 10 determme whIch of the two )lundred words Is Ihe one beIng thoughl of. two mrorma1I0oal efemems. when crcss -rereeocec, w~1 crcvee the answer
You 'Mil need 10 make two decks as aJ.
eescreeo
ready The alphabe( pack ccntams one card tor each teuer The word deck ceotams lists of won;1s, 3S shown on tne next page Each card In the word deck has Its lower
Jan corner tnmmed short Throe' of Ihe cards In Ihe lettel deck are also phys~ly prepared The cards beanng the letters A. E and S are edge-marll;ed In Ihe posloons stlown 81 nghl
~
r - - -,
A E s t
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I
IDfA
BEAM G.'.SI' YOGA FUSE CHEF RISk
ALSO
-
Gu.D EROS BONE UPS DIRT "'FE
HYMN
PLfA IlASk MATH
DOES GIVE SOlJL QUIZ ERAS
FfAR RATS llANO
MUSE BELT
I
STOP WHIZ "'GE
,
FAn , SAID GOAT ISLE DEFY
SHOW LION
EXAM
DARE
lAST
JAWS
HULA MESH LOVE TOYS OUCH EARS
PEAS
BASE
WAKE SlAM AaD ROSE MaT PLUS VOID SAME
APEX WJ>SP BANG NEWS ENVY FISH YOLK VASE
HEAD FAST COMA
CAFE MASK TAXI
fACH XMAS WAlk ICES HELP SCUM
NAME
Kffi
EVIL THIS
ONLY
RUBY
AXES
CASE
SElf
ZERO COST DlJCj(
APES
STAR ON1N SEXY MEOW PUSH IODL EASY
CHAT PESO JERK BUSH kNOW "'LE
MEAN SAlT JAIL REST DK:E
HOST BLUR ACES
,
~
ZN
GAME
AMEN
DEAl
SOAP
VAST OkAY UES POEM GOSH CULT
OATS DIAL
DRAG USED OMEN DOGS
HOLY fAST
",ve
WEST TRUE LUST INCH SEAM
YEAR CASH DIVA
BARE PAST ATOM
LACE GASP HALF ElKS InM UST CORk
MYTH
SfAl
TEAS
JEST
NEXT CUSP
HOSE
VEIL WISH BIRD MESA
ABlO IlASP DRAB LOSE
I
ETCH DISC VOLT
EATS
HEAL BASH ARCH DESk LIVE SPIN CLUB SEAR GAZE SCAR ANkH
BEGS ClOF OPUS DRUG ....E
BETA SWAP COlA l\JSE DUPE GIST MOTH AWES
Begin by displaYIng the packs, each of whICh may be shuffled by the spectator 31 the outset Had the word deck face down, the shortened comers at the lower nght (from }«It onentation) , Fan tho
deck and allow tho partICipant to wundrew any card. The person IS told 10 look over the wards on thai card, and 10 mentally choose one While they arc occupied With thrs task, close up the tan and loweI 1110 the table. and In SO dong rotate IJle cards SO that the shortened comers aro now ar the cuter nghl Spread the pack on the lable and ask that the seiectee card be pushed IOta the pack, anywhere The spectalor lS now tokl to galhcr up the eatds and reshuffle them Of course, the selected word-card Is reversed. 3 sduatlon that WIll not be altered by any normal shuffling . Extend yoUr flghl fkMld. SIlentlyrequesbng the return 0( the pack . When IllS gIVen to yOU, lrBnsfef II to your left hand. rotating II as you do. so lhal the shortened comers of the unchosen cards are now at the tonef nght Tell the partlclpam 10 pIck up the alphabet deck. and 10 remove from It the letters used to form the Ihooght-of word As thIS Inslrucllon Is gillen, run youl Iell thumb down the oulm left corner of lhe WCJ(d deck. unld you feel the Short comer clICk pasL Ca$UaHy cui the deck at that IocallOn, and table 11 face down {ThIS has Its ob vIOUS roots In (he Bcseacte or StriPper Pack, whd'1 surfaced JO the g8m ~ bhng world In the mld-181h century The Idea ot an aU-Corner-Short deck was. gIVen SignifICant study by J G Tt\ompson Jr In ree 1970s. blJI the fnl 10 propose the Idea .... as probably Will Goldston , """'" eoghly ye... ago )
You .....&11t1a'JE! cornpjeted these acucns by toe urne me spectator has pIcked up the aJphabel dec~
Anf\OUf1Ce that you wdl lum )'OUt back rc allOW the person 10 remov e the necessary cards 10 secret Do so . and ten the person pocket reese four eatdS Inen to set the re lit of tile decA onto the table face down When tOld thai tnlS has bee" done, retu rn to face the parliC1pani 0 0 not IITlmedla!el y too.. toward the aJPtl3btU aeck. tnsteaa.loOk dtleclly at the persot''I's face as you say, -You afe tntnklng of a 'NOfd lhal oNV you know" Allow ltus to be Conflsmed ContInUe. -Vou have removed the letters to ~ thai 'Word from thIs deck. so thai your thought can later be verified ' As thiS 1$ said. look down at tne alphabet deck Most people will have tabled the pack so thaI a end pomts tow-drd you. In fhat case. no adju stment 1$ necessary If the pat'" IS has a lon g edge (oward you , srmp1v push the deck as If lor emphasis In such a way as to move a nar -
"arrow
raw end Into View Along that narrow end yOu will see up 10 three of the edge--marXed oots 'these are converted into a number from one 10 e'9hl uSIng 8 binary system " A dol lowatd lhe nghl1J8S a value or one. a dot al the center has a ~ ue of two, a dot toward the ~I has a value of four, (The value progresSIOn eevances from nght to left. as 1$ cus w mary lor binary notatIOn ) The vertical poslllOn of a dol nas 00 meanmg here. thai IS only an ll'ldlCBhon of an edge.markeo card 's pos1ll on in Ihe deck , WhICh eces no l concem US Here are tlle esght possble comblOahons As II IS dlfhcult to poslhon zero on a ftSl. we'll f eaSSfgn a value of 8J9ht 10 the combination whereln no (O ~O,," 1) ; 1 (0 . 2 + 0}= 2 edge-marks are seen Thus. each com bination proVides 8 value from • one 10 elQhl This value corresponds • 10 Ihe pcsmen of the thooght-o l word (4 + 0 4- 0) =. 4 (0+2+1}=3 on lis list And of course, Ina\ list IS located on the card !.hal IS now on [ • • lhe bottom of the word deck. •
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FollOWing the preseoraucn out-
--:-:--,-:--;;---;:-(4 + 0 + I) - 5
lined ea rlier. you now state. "Even If 1'0 lOOked over YOUI shouldef when you cocse 3 bunch of words from tne dect.. , coWd nOl be sure wt"'ch (4 - 2 + 1} = 7 word you thOugtll 01 As Lt'llS IS saId. PICk up Ule word deck With the ngn t hand from 8OOve (fingers at rne outer coo , Ihwnb ar the Inner end). and raee It In what seems 10 be no more than an dluslrallve gesture In lh~ 3C1I0tl lhe tland rotates forward. IJllmg Ule pack so that the bOttom card comes Into your line of VlSIOn The pnntlng Is oriented propet1y. and you know 1'1 advance the POSition of Ule word on the IIs l, so II will take but an '"stanl for you 10read Ihe deSIred IIlformallOn ano set the deck back. down This acaen shOUld be dono If'l a casual. offlland manner, 50 thaI the audience ettacnes to Imporlance 10 It Later. most Of ine audience wIn mlsremember lhat you ne ver touched elther deck Even e snarp Observer wN"1 not see how ttus bnef contact co uld have prOVIded you Wltt\ an)' InfOfTT1atlOO An d now. lhe work ISOWN You know tne lhOught-ol w ord Make the most of 11.
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