Just a couple of days ago I had to share the facts about magic with my 4 year old son who was extremely intrigued by a magician / mentalist he had seen on YouTube.
Like most young viewers, my son fully believed the magician was making coins disappear, changing wands into flowers and pulling rabbits out of hats.
I wasn?t excited about bursting his bubble of hope and amazement, but I?m not partial to having my children ?fantasizing about lies?.
To me, the art of illusion is a skill that is most respected by those who understand the truth.
In fact, one of the first realizations that a professional magician or mentalist has to accept is that it?s 100% up to the performer to create a mind-blowing magical experience for their audience.
And when my son finally agreed the tricks were, well? just cool tricks, you probably have an idea what his next question was, ?How do magicians do their tricks, Dad??
I didn?t have a detailed answer for him at the time, so I spouted out the only statement I?ve ever heard about magic tricks, ?It?s the magician?s secret!?
Well that didn?t go over to well with him and now I?m on a mission to get answers.
I?ve always enjoyed watching David Blaine perform his street magic and wow his audience with mentalist tricks. But until now I?ve never asked, ?How do mentalists do their tricks??
Thanks to my son, I now have the answer!
How Do Mentalist Do Their Tricks? Here?s The Answer?
As it turns out, many of the well-known beginner mentalist tricks deal with mathematical probabilities and subconscious suggestions.
These type of mentalist tricks give the illusive appearance that the magician has special mind reading powers, but actually the success of the trick is a matter of controlled probability.
For an example let?s examine a popular mentalist trick called the Gray Elephant From Denmark.
Please participate as l run through this trick so you can get first-hand understanding on how mentalists do their tricks.
First I need you to pick a number between 1?10. Multiply that number by 9. Afterwards add the numbers together and subtract 5.
Next you need to match your number with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. (Ex: A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4, E-5, etc.)
With your letter in mind, think of a country that begins with that letter. And now think of an animal that begins with the second letter in the name of your chosen Country.
Lastly, think of the color of the animal. Was it? Gray? And was the country Denmark?
This is a classic mentalist trick that uses isolated variables to reach the most probable answer. Let?s take a look?
First, picking a number and multiplying it by nine always returns an answer of 4. Most participants won?t realize this and would be astonished if the trick were to end here.
Next, since the answer is 4, the only letter to match would be D. And since there are few Countries that begin with D, Denmark is the most common answer.
Now the mentalist trick just goes down a predetermined funnel by asking the participant to think of an animal beginning with E. An Elephant is the first animal people come up with in a hurry. And it?s gray!
Although this mentalist trick makes the magician appear to read minds, it?s just a well planned use of numbers, letters and probability to get to a predetermined answer.
This is just one of the ways mentalists do their tricks. If you?d like to learn more mentalist tricks that will blow the minds of your friends you should check out Master Mentalism.
Master Mentalism is a revealing course that can show you how to perform simple mentalist tricks that will make jaws drop.
You?ll no longer have to ask, ?How do mentalists do their tricks??, because now YOU can become the magician.
