Ian Rowland - Alpha Mentalism Lecture Notes

Pa
Alpha Series
Lecture Notes
a
a
Set 1: Mentalism
Alpha series Lecture Notes

Set 1: Mentalism
by Ian Rowland
Contents
Light Metal ....................................................................................................
Thought Hash ...................................................................................................
12
19
28
36
45
The Subliminal Prediction .................................................................................

Elephant From Matchbox ..................................................................................
The No Method Drawing Duplication ................................................................
Preludes ............................................................................................................
Alpha Series Lecture Notes Set 1:Mentalism

Copyright O Ian Rowland 2003, London, UK
Published by Ian Rowland Limited
All text and freehand line illustrations by Ian
Rowland
AU rights reserved. This publication may not be

copied in whole or in part by any means or in any
manner without the written permission of the
author. Ian Rowland's website is:
These lecture notes are only available from this
website. Please d o not make copies of these
lecture notes. xir304082
Alpha series set 1:Mentalism
Light Metal
As I explain in the lecture, this routine has been part of my shows for as long as 1 can
remember. I often use it as an ice-breaker or an opener. To those of us in the trade, the
method is trivial. However, in my experience:
- audiences love it
- audiences are genuinely baffled and impressed by it

- it is easy and fun to perform
Effect
The theme is that of psychics who give 'test conditions' demonstrations of their amazing
powers. The Performer invites a spectator on stage to help, and to examine some stainless
steel spoons. In a variety of entertaining, humorous and dramatic ways, the spectator
proves that the spoons are genuine and unprepared; there are no 'strange chemicals'
involved; and no sleight of hand or suspicious moves. Nonetheless, the Performer holds
one of the examined spoons, and without any moves or cover causes it to slowly and
visibly bend. Eventually, it breaks completely.
What You Need

A selection of stainless steel spoons (see notes below)
A metal tray
A piece of cloth or silk to cover the props prior to use
Preparation
There is nothing new about the preparation - you put a 'fat frac' (a fatigue fracture) into one
spoon by bending it back and forth until it is almost ready to break. More or less everyone
who has ever used this method has their own preferred way of doing it. Let me just add my
two cents, based on experience.
The Fat Frac

When you fat frac a spoon, it gets hot. Very hot indeed. For this reason, some people
suggest you can prepare the spoon under a cold tap or in a basin full of cold water. This
Ian Rowland Lecture Notes
isn't always practical, it's messy, it slows the process down, and it makes it more or less
impossible to use the correct grip (as explained below). It is simpler and more practical to
just wrap the spoon in a handkerchief or piece of cloth.
Grip the spoon face up (that is, so the spoon could hold soup) between your hands, as
shown. In the illustration, I've omitted the handkerchieflcloth or else the illustration would
be pointless.
Your left thumb rests firmly on the top of the spoon's neck, precisely above the spot where
you are going to 'stress' the spoon. The left fingers are curled around the bowl from below this isn't very comfortable, but you can bear it. The right thumb, also on the top of the neck,
is just a little short of the tip of the left thumb. The right fingers grip the spoon's neck very
firmly from below.
As far as you can, try to get your elbows, your thumbs and the neck of the spoon aligned
straight across your body and parallel to the floor. This is indicated by the dotted line in the
illustration below left.
It is impossible to achieve perfectly straight alignment (at least 1 find it is), but just get as
close as you can. This is your Starting Position. You can now begin to fatigue fracture the
spoon.
As I demonstrate in the ledure, don't just bend the spoon using the strength from your
wrists, hands and thumbs. You will get a better result if you generate the necessary strength
and force using your whole arms, especially the entire forearm area, which you channel
downwards through your thumbs into the neck of the spoon. Using this method, put a slight
bend in the neck of the spoon. In the second illustration, I have exaggerated the extent of
the downward movement for clarity. Keeping your grip perfectly constant, bend the spoon
up again until you return to the flat, level Starting Position. Never go upwards beyond the
horizontal level from which you started.
Alpha series set 1: Mentalism
Repeat this process, using slow, deliberate actions. Keep returning to the Starting Position,
with everything in alignment. Keep your grip constant from the start of this process until it is
completed. It's harder work than you might think, but it does produce good results! If the
spoon gets too hot, you may need to stop for a while to let it cool down. Do this just by
holding it in the Starting Position. Do not let go of the spoon, or put it down, or change
your grip at all.
Eventually, you will have developed the fracture until only a thin 'skin' of metal is actually
keeping the bowl attached to the handle. This is the Ready Point, and it becomes easier to
judge with practice.-You can handle the spoon fairly freely, and it will stay intact. However,
with a little extra persuasion at the stress point during performance, the bowl will break
away completely.
If you pre-stress the spoon correctly, it will still look more or less as it did to start with. There
will be some evidence of the fatigue fracture - most of it on the underside of the neck, but
some on top where it can (in theory) be seen. Don't worry about anyone noticing thii
during the show - they never do. These tell-tale cracks are rather like the marks on a
marked deck: obvious if you know what to look for and where to look, and otherwise
invisible.
Prepare several spoons until you have two good ones that show minimal evidence of the
fatigue fracture. One is for the show, and the other is a reserve in case anything happens to
the first one before your show.
Supplementary note 1: the 'hacksaw' method
Instead of using the fat frac, some deceivers use a fine hacksaw blade to saw through the
neck of the spoon from the back until it is at the Ready Point. The supposed advantage is
that it is theoretically possible to leave the front of the spoon's neck looking more or less
perfectly intact. If you want to pursue this, you can even buy a very fine hacksaw blade,
snap a section off, and carry it around with you. Thus you are prepared to attack any
spoons you want to use for 'impromptu' demonstrations.
I have tried the 'saw' approach in the past, but 1 prefer the fat frac. I happen to believe it
creates a more 'natural' looking break when the spectators are examining the spoon
afterwards (which they usually do). I also don't have to worry about whether or not I have
my 'pocket saw' with me.
Supplementary note 2: clever touches that aren't
This is also a good time to mention several touches which I've heard about or tried over the
years, just so that I can tell you not to waste your time on them. Some clever souls, worried
that the fatigue fracture leaves a few visible cracks, have tried to hide them using putty, wax
or filler. They rub the putty (or whatever) into the neck, then polish or burnish the spoon so
the cracks are concealed and the spoon looks brand new again. First of all - not necessary.
The spectators never notice the cracks. Second of all - doesn't work. You just end up with a
spoon covered in unsightly gunk.
Another fun waste of time is to fat frac the spoon, then get your aerosol of silvery paint and
give the spoon a re-spray, making it look as good as new! It's the same story: not necessary,
doesn't work.
Before You Perform

To actually perform, you will need one of the
prepared spoons and seven other stainless steel
spoons of roughly similar size and shape. These
can be of the same brand as your prepared
spoon, or they can be a variety of different
brands.
For the actual routine, place the gaffed spoon
and seven normal ones on the metal tray, 'head
to toe', with the gaff at one end. Cover the
spoons with a cloth or silk so they are not seen
ahead of time. Place this tray on a table in the centre of the stage, set back a little so that
you can stand in front of it during the routine. During the routine, you will first of all be in
front of the table, a little stage left of the table itself, facing the audience. You will then turn
around just enough to pick up the tray in your right hand, and extend it towards a spectator
standing on your right. At thii point, you will want the gaffed spoon nearest to you, and
farthest from the spectator, so this tells you which way round to place the tray on the table.
The Routine
I am assuming you will have seen the routine during the lecture, so these notes are intended
just to refresh your memory as to the main points, and the sequence in which they happen.
Introduction, silent shout g a g and volunteer
After any appropriate preamble you say
"According to some psychics, to make a spoon bend you have to tell i t to bend in your
mind. So let's have a try - yes, this is audience participation and don't you just love it?
Okay, everyone on this side [gesture to indicate the right-hand half of the audience from
your point of view] when I count to three I want you in your mind to shout the word
'Bend!' really loud, one two three".
Say this clearly but quickly. One or two spectators will misunderstand and shout out loud.
Extract whatever humour you can. Have them all by again, and this time they will all get it
right. Gesture towards one or two people and act as if - due to your telepathic powers you can tell they did not join in. Say
"One or two of you not joining in, which is a shame."
Gesture towards the other half of the audience, and say

"And now your turn. Shout 'Bend' in your mind, one two three!"
It's rare for anyone to make the 'shout out loud' mistake this time. Gesture to this second
half of the audience, turn to the first half and say reproachfully
"See? They can all do it!"
This gets another small laugh.

"Now to prove that this really is a genuine demonstration of mind power, we need a
volunteer to check a few thines
- out. So olease evervone -out -vour hands toeether and
give a warm round of applause for our keen volunteer!".
At this point I simply go into the audience, choose someone and lead them back to the
stage. The fact that there is no volunteering whatsoever gets a mild laugh of its own - and
the use of the word 'keen' or 'eager' adds to the fun. This may not be to your style or taste.
More on this under 'Thoughts Arising' at the end of this routine.
Random choosing, hardness test

Ask the spectator her name. For explanatory purposes, we will assume she is called
Jacqueline. The table with the tray on it is centre stage, and slightly to the rear so that you
and Jacqueline can stand in front of it. You are a little to the left of the table, from your
point of view as you face the audience, and Jacqueline is to your right.
Turn to your tray of spoons and discard the covering cloth or silk. Pick up the tray in your
right hand by the short end. The spoon nearest to you is the gaffed one. Extend the tray a
little towards Jaqueline. With your free left hand, invite her to make a pointing-from-above
gesture as shown in the lecture, moving your pointing finger in small circles as if
randomising your choice.
"In sport they have random drug testing, and in my show we have random spoon
testing. Jacqueline, please take your finest pointing finger and point to any spoon a t all.
It doesn't matter which".
Jacqueline will copy the 'pointing-from-above' gesture. As soon as she does so - and you
know she has understood you - look away from Jacqueline, and directly out into the
audience, to emphasise that you do not care which spoon she points to.
Turn back to face Jacqueline. She will usually be pointing at one of the ungaffed spoons
(we will cover other possibilities later). Invite her to pick it up and examine it. Set the tray
down again on the table behind you.
"Pick it up! Check it out! Have a good look a t it. Now the first thing we need to check is
that these are solid steel spoons. They are not plastic or rubber, and we need to prove
this in a theatrically satisfying manner. So Jacqueline is going to bang the spoon hard
on my heace'.
This practical, if faintly absurd proposal, gets a laugh, and Jacqueline's reaction is usually
good fun as well. Make it dear that you are perfectly serious, and that you really are going
to do this. Make sure Jacqueline is holding the spoon by the handle before proceeding, as
you saw in the lecture.
"So on a count of three, Jacqueline, I want you to bang the spoon on my forehead as hard
as you can. Isn't this great?! You get to inflict violence on a man, and it's perfectly okay!
[To the audience] And if you are quiet, you will actually hear the satisfying sound of
steel on bone!"
Turn to face Jacqueline, lean forward slightly and incline your head down a little. You do
the countdown, and Jacqueline bangs the spoon on your forehead. She will either do this
quite lightly, or very hard, and you can a few laughs either way. If she employs a light tap,
say it was not hard enough to prove the point, you cannot afford to leave doubts, and so
she must d o it again much harder. If she hits you really hard, pretend that you never meant
her to do it that hard, and feign a sense of hurt and alarm as you 'realise' that Jacqueline is
rather psychopathic and prone to violence.
Spoon tossing and the simple switch

Pick up the tray once more, and again extend it towards Jacqueline so that she can repeat
the pointing-from-above action and choose another spoon. Again, she will probably not
pick the gaffed spoon (if she does, see Thoughts Arising). Invite her to pick up her second
chosen spoon and examine it as you say
'You know, we could have Jacqueline randomly choosing and checking spoons all night
very scientific but also extremely boring. The fact is they are just solid, stainless steel
spoons. Jacqueline, the spoons are for real, aren't they?"
Jacqueline agrees. Address the audience and say

"In fact, you can check them out yourselves. I'm going to throw a few of these out so that
you can all join in and try spoon-bending for yourselves. Come on, who wants to
experience the miracle of spoon-bending?"
You are now going to toss spoons out into the audience, and also accomplish a very simple
switch. At the start of this section, Jacqueline is holding the two spoons that she has
randomly chosen and examined. You have six spoons left on your tray. Five are normal,
but the one nearest to you is gaffed.
Pick up normal spoon #I and make it clear you are going to toss it out into the audience to
anyone who wants it. Stir up some interest, much like a market trader promoting a special
bargain - 'Who wants a spoon? Come on - who wants to join?. Throw the spoon out to
someone in the audience. During your patter and byplay with the audience, pick up normal
spoon #2, and throw this out as well.
Throwing spoons out to various members of the audience creates quite a bit of chaos,
laughter and chatter - which is intentional. Increase the pace, pick up normal spoon #3,
and throw it out. Make it an ambitious throw, quite a way back (but d o it safely). Without
breaking pace, turn to Jacqueline, smile at her, take one of the spoons she is holding and
throw that out into the audience as well. Don't ask her or comment on this, just turn to her,
take one of her spoons, turn to face the audience and throw it out. From the tray, pick up
normal spoon #5, and throw that out as well. Jacqueline is now holding one spoon, and
the gaffed spoon is left on the tray. Pick up the gaffed spoon, and set the tray down on the
table.
That's the 'switch' achieved, although it is so simple as to be barely worth the name. In the
lecture, I stress the need to have fun with this, but also to take care and make sure you
don't harm anyone. If the venue is large, I usually have some fun seeing just how far 1 can
throw some of the spoons - but only if I am confident that I can do this safely, and that noone is going to get harmed. I haven't taken any eyes out yet.
T h e 'Finger licking' gag
With any luck the rather dramatic process of hurling silverware around the venue will have
gained quite a reaction from the audience. Allow the audience to settle down a little. You
are about to get a very big laugh indeed..
"Now, people with very suspicious minds sometimes say that spoon bending involves
chemicals on the fingers."
Hold your left hand up flat to the audience, as you saw in the lecture. With your right hand,
gesture towards your splayed left it as you say
"To prove that this is not the case, Jacqueline is now going to lick [pause for a beat] each
of my fingers ..."
The minor pause after the word 'lick' is important, and allows the audience to get ahead of
you and work out the general idea. This will get a big laugh. First the audience will laugh at
the unexpected and outrageous idea. Then they will look to see Jacqueline's reaction. She
will usually either be laughing, or making signs and gestures to the effect that she refuses to
do this. No matter what her reaction, it will get a second wave of laughter from the
audience.
Look at Jacqueline and act puzzled and disappointed at her reluctance. This is a beautiful
dramatic point in the structure of the routine, because the audience have no idea how you
will resolve this apparently awkward moment. If you want to twist an extra laugh out of this,
say
"Come on, Jacqueline, it's for science. Ladies and gentlemen, you all saw her volunteer
for this, didn't you? You all saw her agree to take part?"
Most audiences, even the good-natured ones, generally enjoy behaving rather treacherously
towards Jacqueline and agreeing that she volunteered, even though she did no such thing
(assuming you have followed my practise of simply choosing someone and leading them on
stage). Pretend to have second thoughts as you gallantly decide you could not possibly
expect Jacqueline to go through with this action. Say
"Okay,just to prove the point, I'll do it".
Lick each of your fingers, on both hands, as you saw me do during the lecture. On the
printed page, this may read as rather distasteful. It doesn't have to be. Many spectators
watch this 'licking' process very carefully, just to check there really ore no chemicals.
The high and low display

With the 'licking' gag out of the way, face
Jacqueline. Arrange yourself, her, and the spoons
as shown, so that one is 'high' and the other is
'low'. You hold the spoons by the necks, near the
bowls, and she just holds the tips of the handles.
The gaffed spoon can be in either position. Let us
assume it is the upper spoon, in your right hand.
Your right thumb covers any fatigue cracks or
evidence of tampering. Try to achieve a very
clean 'high' and 'low' display, to give the
audience the best possible view.
"Okay, let's focus on the spoons. Now, Jacqueline, tell me, do you feel any slight psychic
tingle in either the upper spoon or the lower one? Anything at all?"
It doesn't matter whether the spectator says she can feel anything or not - this line is pure
opportunism. Sometimes, she might come up with quite an imaginative response. On
occasion, she will say she can feel some strange kind of sensation, and this deepens the
mystery and makes the routine more baffling. At other times, her response might be quite
amusing. The next step is to give use equivocation to make sure she ends up with the
normal spoon:
"I want you to choose one, so it's up to you. Upper or lower?"
Let us assume the upper spoon is the gaffed one. If she says 'Upper':
"The upper spoon. Okay, the spoon you choose is the spoon we use. Watch...".
You let her keep hold of the other (normal)spoon, while you take the gaffed one and turn
to the audience, holding the spoon in the Presentation Position shown at the top of the next
page - one hand rubbing the neck between finger and thumb, the other lightly holding the
handle. Invite Jacqueline, and everyone in the audience holding a spoon, to hold their
spoon this way.
If she says 'Lower':
"The lower one? Okay, your choice, take it and

hold it like this."
You demonstrate the Presentation Position using
the spoon that you have been left with (?) and
you get Jacqueline, and anyone in the audience
with a spoon, to d o the same.
So far, the mopd has obviously been rather lighthearted with several laugh points. You now
change gear, and adopt a perfectly straight,
factual delivery.
"Now all of you with spoons, just hold it like this - you too, Jacqueline - and gently stroke
the spoon. Remember a t the start you practised saying 'Bend' in your mind? Now is the
time to do that. Just stroke the spoon, no force or pressure, and in your mind, tell it to
bend, ask it to bend, believe it will bend."
As you deliver these lines, you are holding the gaffed spoon in the Presentation Position.
Rub the neck of the spoon with your thumb and forefinger. At the same time, add just
enough up-and-down stress via the handle to encourage the fracture to develop. Show that
the spoon is beginning to 'melt' a little.
Continue to apply slight pressure until you can feel that the spoon has fractured completely,
and the bowl is now actually separate from the handle. Keep this fact concealed. Maintain a
tight grip with your thumb and forefinger, so there is no obvious sign that the spoon is
already in two pieces.
Hold the spoon in an elevated position with one
hand, as shown. By gently relaxing the pressure,
allow the bowl to 'bend' sideways v e y slowly.
With a little practice, you can make it travel
slowly as if from '12' on a clock dial to '4' or
even '5' before it is ready to fall away completely.
This is a beautiful visual illusion - enjoy it and let
your audience enjoy it. Focus your eyes, your
attention and your body language on the spoon
while the bend is in progress.
y
i;
During the visual bend, you say:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've had some fun with spoon bending this evening, but it
really is a striking phenomenon. You may have seen it on TV,you may have read about
it. However, this is the only demonstration you have seen in which a member of the
audience [nod towards Jacqueline] is invited to freely examine the spoons a t the start; in
which we checked the spoons are solid, stainless steel; in which there are no chemicals,
and no strange moves or sleight of hand. In short, ladies and gentlemen, the only time in
your lives when you will see, first-hand in full view, the miracle that is mind ... over...
metal ..."
Without taking your eyes off the spoon, ask Jacqueline to kindly pass you the metal tray.
Take it in your free hand, and hold it underneath the spoon, as far below as your stretched
arm can allow. finally, let the bowl of the spoon fall away completely, landing on the tray
with a nice, loud crash. This will generate spontaneous applause.
Take your time with this visual bend and break - 40 or 50 seconds is not too much.
Some members of the audience are holding spoons. See if any of them report their spoon
has bent. If so, let them have their moment of glory, and let people work out how you
managed to make that spoon bend as well! People often report all sorts of weird
phenomena after this routine. Take some of the credit for yourself, but be generous sharing
it with the individuals concerned.
Thoughts Arising
Anyone wishing to be disparaging about this routine has plenty of ammunition! The
'method' is childishly simple. One canchoose to react with supercilious disdain to the
vulgarity of the 'bang on head' and the 'finger-licking' gags. And if you think mentalism
must always be solemn, then this routine will be high on your l i t of 'No Hope Mentalism
Routines From Hell'.
I'm not remotely defensive about it, because I can tell you - having performed it for 15
years or so - that audiences love it. They have fun, I have fun, and yet there is a strong
mystery involved. Fun stuff aside, it does seem as if the spoons were examined, the
spectator decided which ones would be used, there were no false moves... and yet the
spoon visibly melted on command. I hope you enjoy amending it to suit your own style,
and get some mileage out of it.
W h a t if t h e spectator p o i n t s t o t h e gaffed spoon?
During the pointing-and-choosing phase, what if the spectator happens to point to the
prepared spoon? This is not a problem. You just need to adapt the routine slightly. Consider
the spectator's first choice. If she points to the gaffed spoon, just pick it up yourself and, in a
very matter-of-fact voice, say, 'and we need one more... choose another". Whichever she
nominates, invite her to pick it up. Set the tray to one side. You are holding a gaffed spoon,
she is holding a regular spoon. You can now go through the 'banging on the head' gag, and
the 'chemicals on the fingers' gag.
When it comes to distributing the spoons throughout the audience, you do not even need
the simple 'switch'. With your free hand, pick up the remaining spoons off the tray and toss
them out. You can now truthfully point out that you had some spoons on a bay, the
spectator freely decided which two spoons would be used for the demonstration, and all the
others have been handed out for examination:The same is true if she chooses the gaffed
spoon on her second choice. You pick it up. She's holding a regular spoon, you are holding
the gaffed one. The others can now be thrown out into the audience.
The 'volunteering' o f the spectator

In the Routine described here, I suggest that you make a joke of referring to 'a volunteer'
when in fact you simply go and fetch someone up on stage to help you. Thii may or may
not suit your style, but let me expand on this.
In my earlier performing days, I used to spend quite a chunk of time getting someone up on
stage to assist. I droned through a lengthy 'no stooges or confederates' disclaimer, then I
promised not to embarrass anyone, and then I mentioned a few other bits and pieces
before I finally invited volunteers and picked someone. Yawn.
Eventually, I began to appreciate that good pacing is important in any kind of magical
performance. Although 'pace' does not mean 'speed', it is generally wise to keep things as
dynamic and flowing as possible. Houdini advised performers to d o everything at the
briskest possible pace - consistent with the need for clear delivery, clear exposition, and
good dramatic form.
So one day I dispensed with the all the tedious preamble, and just took someone out of the
audience as described in the Routine. It didn't diminish the routine one iota, nobody
thought it objectionable, and it got a minor laugh.
Personally, 1 always choose a woman to help. I find that women respond better, are more
fun on stage, and are almost always better turned out and hence nicer for the audience to
look at. I don't think that's a sexist comment - it's just true. Most women have at least a
modicum of good dress sense. Most men, myself included, exhibit the dress sense of a
chimp let loose in the 'Extra Dull And Shapeless' clothes shop.
Thanks and Credits

This is a very simple metal-bending routine. If you want to learn the really good stuff, refer
to Banachek's gxcellent video, 'Psychokinetic Silverware'. Banachek has the best metalbending moves I've ever seen. And if you ever get a chance to see him perform his metalbending routine, take it. You will see entertaining deception taken to its psychological and
visual zenith.
My friend Massimo Polidoro, based in Milan, also does some excellent metal-bending work.
All I know about his moves are that they work beautifully, and I can't do any of them
justice. I'd also like to mention Scotland's finest mentalist, Drew McAdam, who bends so
many spoons he gets banned from restaurants. The nice thing about Drew's work is not so
much the moves - good though they are - as his very relaxed and fluid style, allied to a
deeply natural and plausible presentation. When he bends a spoon, it just looks like the
most natural thing in the world.
Thought Flash
In essence, this is a Polaroid camera trick which you can perform without the trouble of
having to carry round a Polaroid camera, or indeed any sort of camera. It can also be
adapted to keep up with any changes in camera technology. I have used it as both a stage
and close-up item, and it has proved a reliable crowd-pleaser. It's so simple the cat could do
it, but audiences don't know this. As far as they are concerned, you can catch thoughts in a
photograph. Which is quite something.
Effect
A spectator's thoughts are captured on a blank piece of photographic film. More specifically,
a spectator freely chooses one movie star celebrity from many possible, and concentrates
on her. You project an image of this randomly (?) chosen movie icon on to what was
previously a blank piece of photographic film.
What You Need

The main things you need are:
- a Himber wallet
- a way of generating two photographs (or things that look like photographs) roughly the
same size and shape as a genuine Polaroid photo, but small enough to fit in your Himber.
In other words, square or square-ish, measuring about 3 to 3 112 inches (8-9cm) to a
side.
Create these photos any way you want. I mention a few possibilities during the lecture.
some flash paper

some blank card stock and some roughing nuid
a good photo of whichever famous movie star you want to feature in the routine
a cigarette lighter which is visually unusual, distinctive or notable in some way. Note that
it is not enough for the lighter to operate in an unusual way. It has to look distinctive or
eye-catching in some way. For many years I used one of those novelty cigarette lighters
that resembles a hand gun. Just look around 'novelty' shops until you find something
suitable.
Preparation
First of all, you need to create your two photographs.
The first has a solid black back, preferably with a white border (this is what a real Polaroid
photo looks like from the back, but that's not important). On the face, this photo shows
solid, empty blackness.
From the back, the second photo looks identical to the first. It has to, because you are going
to switch one photo for the other (as if you hadn't guessed). On its face, it bears the image
of the famous movie star whose name you are going to force. For this explanation, I'm
going to suppose it's Jacqueline Bisset. At the time of writing, she's possibly not the most
famous actress in the world, but she's a firm favourite with me! You should choose a movie
star whose name and image will be well-known to everyone in your audience.
You want this image to be clearly recognisable, yet also slightly hazy or distorted in some
way so that it looks like the result of paranormal thought projection. When I first prepared
such a photo, I just got a poster of the movie star I wanted and played around with lighting
and blurring until I got a Folaroid of it that I liked. These days, I have the luxury of a digital
camera and computer magic. Use whatever resources are available to you, and have some
fun doing it.
You have your Empty Black photo and your Movie Star photo.
Take your Himber wallet. I expect that you have already added a small secret mark to the
outside of your Himber so that you can readily tell Side 1 from Side 2 before you open it. If
you haven't, it's a darn good idea.
In Side 1, tuck the Empty Black photo face
down. Trim some flash paper into strips roughly 1
inch (3cm)wide by 3 inches (8cm) tall. Tuck three
strips into the wallet as shown. May I suggest you
add some other bits and pieces to make the
wallet look like your regular wallet - currency
notes, credit cards, Jacqueline Bisset's phone
number... that kind of thing. I haven't included
these bits and pieces in the illustration.
In Side 2, do exactly the same so it looks identical - photo face down, flash paper strips,
same bits and pieces. The only difference is that it's the Movie Star photo.
Put the Himber in your inside jacket pocket so that you know which way round it is, and
can take it out and flip it open at Side 1with confidence.
Next, you need to make a rough and smooth forcing deck that will force the name
Jacqueline Bisset (or whichever less talented, less beautiful actress you prefer to force upon
your audience). Take a stack of 20 blank cards. Write the name of a different well-known
movie star on each one, in clear black capitals. Write them so clearly that someone who
normally reads with glasses could read them without their glasses - it might happen! Rough
these on their backs. Take 20 more blanks, and write 'Jacqueline B i t ' on every one.
Rough these on their faces. Assemble your deck of cards, rough to rough.
Make sure your novelty lighter works, and stash it in your outer left pocket.
The Routine
Intro and N a m e Force
I am assuming you have seen me present this at the lecture so you know what happens.
You force the name. You show the Empty Black photo. There's a bit of byplay and you
sneakily switch it for the Movie Star photo. Miracle accomplished.
Here are the main points of the routine.
"There are some-psychic powers that everyone's heard of, such as ESP or spoon-bending,
but others are less well-known. I'd like to share with you something that is truly very
strange, and that you have probably never seen before. It's called thoughtography, and
in the 60s a guy called Ted Serios caused quite a sensation with it. I'd like someone to
help with this - it's very easy, involves no heavy lifting or nudity, in fact you don't even
need to come on stage".
Choose a suitable volunteer. This routine is one of the few for which I usually choose a man
rather than a woman. Let us assume he is called John. Have John stand up in the
audience. Pick up the packet of cards.
"First of all John, we need to select a target a t random. These are all names of famous
people, and I'm going to take names off the top, one a t a time. All you have to do is to say
'Stop' whenever you like. It's up to you. When you do, the very next card off the top will
be yours - no question.
Some people say 'Stop' quite quickly, some people wait a long time, for others it's
somewhere in between ... I don't care, it's up to you. Okay?"
Hold the packet of cards in your right hand, in an

elevated position as shown. The point is to give
everyone a very clear view of what's going on.
With your left hand, take cards off the top of the
deck one at a time - actually, thanks to the rough
and smooth principle, it's two at a time, but the
audience don't know this.
Hash the face of each card (actually a pair) as

you remove it, so everyone can see there's a
different name every time. Make the process
slow, clear, deliberate, ultra-clean and ultra-fair. This is one instance when the need for a
slow, 'fair' action over-rides the usual imperative to maintain a snappy pace.
When John says "Stop", you say,
"Fine. Let's see who you got."
Very s-I-o-w-I-y, and fairly, remove the next top card, actually separating the rough and
smooth pair so that the card you show says aacqueline Bisset'. Show this very clearly
around the room, and take your time.
"Remember the name. I t doesn't matter if I see what it is. Just remember the name you
chose."
As you show the card around the room, briefly tilt it towards yourself so that you can
glimpse it, and then carry on showing it slowly around the room. You are not performing a
secret glimpse. You are openly taking a quick look at the card, ostensibly so that you can
see who was chosen - because remember, it was chosen at random. Once everyone has
seen the name, you can set all the cards to one side.
Photo Display and Anti-Climax
You address John and say

"John, earlier I said that to help me with this part of the show wouldn't involve nudity
or coming on stage. Well, I lied. [This gets a minor laugh]. But only about the last part.
Please, join me on the stage".
John joins you.

"Okay, keep thinking of your chosen name. Now, here's the really strange psychic thing I
was talkingabout. Here in my wallet is an actual photograph, taken some time ago, of
the very person you're thinking of. Don't you think that's amazing?"
Take out the Himber. I will assume that John is to your right, and you are turned slightly in
his direction. Your left side is nearest the audience. With your right hand, flip open the
Himber. With your left hand, extract the Empty Black photo, face down. Hold it so that
neither John nor anyone else can see what's on it.
This is a nice moment in terms of dramatic structure. The audience will be in two minds are you bluffing, or have you really managed this rather impressive feat? They are also
interested to see John's reaction when you ask him if he's impressed. Say
"Seriously, this really is a photo of the person you're thinking of, Jacqueline Bisset
[name your Movie Star]. Isn't that extraordinary?"
As you have still not shown the photo, and proved your claim, there is plenty of scope for
byplay here. You can act a little hurt if he seems unimpressed, or a little surprised if he
seems astonished too easily! Moving on, you raise the photo up as if to display it for all to
see, but time the revelation with the following words,
"Well, it is a photo of Jacqueline Bisset, but the... [pause for two beats] flash didn't
work."
Time the words to establish the appropriate build-up, and then puncture it with the
intentionally pathetic anti-climax. The empty black void of the photo should only become
visible as you say the words 'flash didn't work'. The audience will feel a palpable sense of
disappointment at this stage, because the blank photo is such a poor joke. Act as if you
really have nothing to offer except this dull and unimpressive joke. Be sure to ask John
what he thinks about this.
"It's just a joke. You don't think it's funny?"
You are still holding the Himber in your right hand. With your left, replace the photo in the
wallet in exactly the same position it had originally. Flip the Himber closed. With your left
hand take out the novelty lighter from your left jacket pocket, say "Do you know what this
is?" and hand it to John.
This provides the perfect moment to adjust the Himber so it will now open at Side 2. John
will identify the item as a cigarette lighter. It should now be clear why you use some kind of
'novelty' cigarette lighter that is unusual or visually interesting:
- the audience's eyes and attention always focus on what is new in a scene, and this effect
is heightened if the 'new' thing is (a)moving and (b) visually interesting in its own right
- because the lighter is visually a bit strange, each spectator's mind goes into 'analyse and
identify' mode, during which time it cannot pay attention to anything else
- because it looks a bit weird, you aren't insulting John's intelligence by asking him what he
thinks it is
All in all, lots of misdirection. John replies to your question, and you say
"Absolutely correct. It's a lighter, and we're going to use it to create some flash."
Flash Paper and Finish
Flip the Himber open on Side 2. To the audience, everything looks exactly as it did before.
With your left hand extract the photo but keep it face down (you don't want anyone to see
that it bears the image of Jacqueline Bisset). Invite John to extend hi right hand, palm up
and flat, so that you can rest something on it. Place the face down photo on his hand, and
then place the lighter on top of it. Take out one strip of flashpaper, and put the wallet away.
... This is what we use to create the flash. It's called flashpaper. You get it from
theatres, and they make it by soaking tissue paper in nitroglycerine. I am not making
this up, it's true. Nitrogylcerine. And when you set fire to it, i t goes up in a 'flash', hence
the name."
"
This is a fairly accurate description of what flashpaper is. Fold or scrunch the flashpaper up
into a ball which you hold in your left hand. You now d o two things in a single action. With
your right hand, pick up the cigarette lighter, and with your left hand place the scrunched
ball of flash paper on the back of the photo. With your right hand, pick up the photo by its
nearest corner and position it - still face down of course - on the outstretched palm of your
left hand. As far as John and the audience are concerned, it is just the empty black photo
they saw before. Hold the photo, with the flashpaper on top, fairly close to John's face.
"Piece of paper. Nitroglycerine. And I'm going to set fire to it. Very near to you."
John might be smiling at this point, but he will be feeling some anxiety as well. It is a nice
moment dramatically, as the audience are aware that something is going to happen, but
they are not quite sure what. Position the cigarette lighter so that when you operate it, it will
set fire to the flashpaper. Act as if you have a certain amount of trepidation about actually
doing this, and as you gradually 'steel' yourself to actually set the paper alight, offer John a
series of quasi-humorous fake reassurances ...
"Might take your eyebrows off a bit. But it's all for the sake of entertainment, so I know
you won't mind."
"Possibly a little bit of partial, temporary blindness. Clears up in days. Nothing to worry
about, all for the sake of entertaining the lovely ladies and gentlemen".
"Worst case scenario, perhaps 90% scalding around the face. But, hey, it's all good
entertainment and that's what we're here for".
Before you actually set the flashpaper alight, you get a little more serious.
"John, do you believe in the power of visualisation? That by visualising something in
your heart, you can maybe cause it to appear in your life? Well, I believe in it, and this is
just a small illustration of what visualisation can achieve. Earlier on, we had lots of
famous people to choose from and you chose someone a t random ... who was that? [John
says the name of the forced Movie Star]. John, I want you to visualise Jacqueline Bisset
as hard as you have ever visualised anything in your life. I will work with you, and
something very special will happen."
After all this preamble, move your hand a little away from John's face, so that there is no
risk whatsoever of him actually coming to any harm. Set the flash paper alight and move
your left hand once up and down rapidly, as if catching a thought. Allow yourself a few
seconds of absolute stillness and dramatic tension. You say nothing, and d o nothing. Turn
to John.
"Who was it again?"
John confirms that he was visualising Jacqueline Bisset.
"John, this is just a little demonstration using a simple target, but I hope you will
always remember the power of positive visualisation, because it really works. Here's the
proof. Your thought, Miss Jacqueline Bisset, captured, on film."
Slowly, and with as much dramatic grandeur as you can muster, turn the photo over and
show it - first to John, and then to the rest of the audience in a slow, broad arc so that
everyone gets a good look.
Thoughts Arising
-
I make no apologies for the extreme simplicity of thii effect. There are at least 10,000 skilled
dose-up workers out there who could execute a much better switch, without the need to
resort to a Himber wallet. Nonetheless, having performed this routine almost everywhere
for almost everyone over the past ten years, I can tell you it can get actual gasps of
astonishment from audiences. Actual dumbfounded, drop-jawed 'Oh my God!'
bewilderment. That's why I do it, and that's why I like it.
Preparing the H i m b e r wallet
In the 'Preparation' section, I suggested that when you have loaded the Himber with the
bits you need for the routine, you add extra bits and pieces so that it looks like an actual
wallet. May I just repeat that I think this is a good idea. It's a shame to see a magician or
mentalist take out a wallet which is totally empty except for the card or envelope or
whatever he needs for the trick. A wallet is supposed to have things in it. If it doesn't have
things in it, you are announcing that it's not really used for anything except the trick. You
may as well stamp 'Magic Prop' on the outside.
About showing a few more cards
There is a point in this routine where 'John' has just said 'Stop' and you have shown the
force card. At this point, I sometimes like to run through a few more cards, just to casually
demonstrate that if John had carried on he would have arrived at a different choice. It only
takes a second or two, and I think it's an appropriate convincer.
Versatility
It should be clear that thii routine is extremely versatile. It can be themed around any
people you want: movie stars, sports stars or even people in the company who have hired
you as the corporate entertainment. Also, it doesn't have to be about people. It can be
about any group of items that are visual and which can be named: famous landmarks,
famous paintings, famous composers... any theme that is of interest to you or to your
audience.
If you don't want to make your own R&S deck to force a person, place or thing, you can
use a regular R&S deck, so the routine is about choosing a card and then the card appears
in the photograph. This is very pedestrian.
The W h e n You Say Stop' patter

There's a point in this routine at which you are going to take cards off the top of the deck
and invite the spectator to say 'Stop'. As you will have seen at the lecture, I suggest that
you say something along the following lines:
"All you have to do is to say 'Stop' whenever you like. It's up to you.
Some people say 'Stop' quite quickly, some people wait a long time, for others it's
somewhere in between ... I don't care, it's up to you."
There is certainly no need to say anything quite this long-winded. However, over many
years of shows and performances, I have found this verbal formula to be extremely
disarming.
Whereas most spectators are co-operative and relatively easy to work with, there are a small
number who occasionally want to 'challenge' the performer in various ways. On a 'Stop'
trick, it can be rather unhelpful if someone is determined to say 'Stop' very quickly (such as
insisting on the top card) or to wait a very long time. What's more, if you are using a rough
and smooth deck of any kind, you are running out of cards twice as quickly as normal, so
you really d o not want the spectator taking forever and a day to say 'Stop'. All 1 can tell you
is that the wording 1 have suggested above tends to eliminate any such extremism, and
ensure that the spectator behaves co-operatively. That's why I'm passing it on. If it's not for
you, then it's not for you.
Thanks and Credits

If you currently lack a Himber wallet, may I suggest you invest in one. They are extremely
useful tools, with countless applications in magic and mentalism. Personally, I use one made
by Roy Roth, and I don't really think it could be bettered.
This routine is based on a real paranormal claim. In the 1960s a chap called Ted Serios
claimed he could project his thoughts on to unexposed film. If you like to bolster your
presentation with a little knowledge, you can read all about Mr. Serios in books devoted to
paranormal research. Two good ones are 'Pseudoscience and the paranormal' by Terence
Hines, and 'Him-Ham' by James Randi (but please don't ask me where to get hold of
them).
Please don't make copies of these Lecture Notes. It has taken one heck
of a lot of time and money to produce them. If you know someone
who is interested in these notes, please don't just run off a copy.
Instead, please play fair and refer them to my web site:
www.ianrowland.com . I will sell a copy to anyone with a bona fide
interest. For the work that went into them, I'm not charging over the
odds. Thank you. - Ian
The Subliminal Prediction

Two of my favourite examples of brilliance in magic are the 'Viewed ESP Prediction', from
Richard Osterlind's 'Dynamic Mysteries', and 'Hasterix' from 'Person to Person' by Lewis
Jones. They are both prediction effects in which the prediction is shown or read first, and
then choices are made which are seen to fulfil it.
This 'Subliminal Prediction' routine is not in the same league as either of the above.
Nonetheless, it contains one cute twist which I think you will have fun with: the prediction is
in full view right from the start, and you even point it out several times, yet no-one ever
sees it.
This is a very versatile routine, and in the lecture itself there isn't time to explore all of the
variations and options ... so you're going to get them now.
Effect
The Performer shows a &splay board featuring sixteen famous celebrities. A spectator
chooses any one of the sixteen via a process of elimination, and her choice is found to
match the Performer's sealed prediction. So far, so normal.
The Performer then proves that in fad this was an experiment in guided subliminal
persuasion: the predicted outcome was actually stated on the display board, in full view yet not a soul in the audience noticed it!
You Will Need

- an extendable pointer, of the type used by lecturers
- the display board of 16 celebrities
- a large photo of whichever celebrity is to be your prediction
- some blank card stock and some roughing fluid, and a marker pen
Let's take these one at a time.
The extendable pointers are widely available from places that sell office or educational
supplies. The one I use was actually a free gift with some office supplies.
For the display board, all that really matters is

that:
(a) it shows 16 names arranged in two columns
of eight, as per the illustration
(b) it contains the hidden 'acrostic' that gives the
routine its surprise ending
As you know, an 'acrostic' is a message spelled
by initial letters on consecutive lines. In this
example, there are 16 names on the board and
the one that will be forced is 'Julia Roberts'.
Hence the first letters of each line, apart from
some random letters, spell out
'J-U-L-I-A R-0-B-E-R-T-9.
This is the basis of the surprise twit that gives the routine its climax.
At the lecture, you will have seen the display board I use (or at least the one I use when I'm
travelling around giving lectures). It's quite colourful, with photos or historic illustrations of
the 16 people featured. You can make yours as fancy or as simple as you like. See
'Thoughts Arising' for more options.
Get a large photo of the celebrity whose name you are going to force. Write the celeb's
name in bold letters across the bottom, so that even if someone doesn't recognise the
picture they know who it is. You can seal the prediction any way you like - even bake it in a
loaf if that kind of thing rocks your world. I suggest for this routine you keep it simple. I use
a piece of black cartridge paper twice the size of the photo, folded in half. Just slip the
photo inside, and close with a paper clip. Decorate it with a mystical design if you wish.
Finally, you need a packet of 'name' cards that will force the correct name. Take 32 pieces
of blank card stock. On 16 of them, print the name of the force celeb. On the remaining 16,
print the 15 non-force names from your display board, and duplicate one of them. In other
words, pick any one of the 15 non-force names on your board (preferably one you think is
least noticeable) and print it on two of the non-force cards. For this explanation, let's
assume we have two Queen Victoria cards.
Rough the 16 force cards on their faces. Rough the 16 non-force cards on their backs.
Assemble in roughed pairs. You have a set of 16 roughed pairs, two of which say 'Queen
Victoria' on the face and none of which say 'Julia Roberts'. Set the two duplicates (Queen
Victoria) aside for a moment. Arrange the rest in any mixed-up order, specifically not the
same order as the names on the display board. Put one 'Queen Vic' card on top of the
face-down stack, and the other tenth from the bottom.
The Routine
Many mentalism routines are all about the Performer demonstrating what he can do. Where
possible, I prefer to turn things around so that the routine is about the spectator achieving
something they didn't realise they could do. The Subliminal Prediction starts off in this vein.
"I believe everyone has some kind of intuitive gift - some call it the power of intuition,
others say it's positive visualisation. I think it's just a case of learning how to tap into it.
I'd like to try a n experiment along these lines. It's kind of fun, but a t the same time I
hope it will show just how powerful intuition can be."
Have a spectator come up to assist. Just for the sake of example, let us suppose she is
called Jacqueline. Hand her the marker pen and tell her she'll need it later on. Call attention
to the display board.
"Jacqueline, here are 16 famous people. Take a good look. There's quite a variety. Some
men, some women, some historical figures and some who are still with us. In here [pick
up the black prediction folder] is one of these 16 people. But you don't know which one,
do you?"
Jacqueline agrees she has no idea.

"There's no way to work it out, by reasoning. And if you tried to guess, you'd probably
guess wrong. But you're not going to use reasoning or guesswork. You're going to let
your intuition guide you."
Isolate the prediction folder by placing it somewhere prominent or entrusting it to someone

in the front row. Pick up the packet of cards. They are actually 16 roughed pairs of cards,
but I will refer to them here as if they were single cards. Show them face up, and casually
spread through them. Do not systematically show the face of every card. Just show enough
to convey the general idea, and point out that they are in a random order. Hold the cards
faces towards yourself, and mix them up a little more.
"Jacqueline, I'm mixing these up a little, and it's important that you just relax.
Remember, you aren't going to have work anything out, or use any reasoning, or make
guesses. Just rely on your intuition, and you'll be fine. Trust me."
All you have to do is to make sure that one of the duplicate cards (Queen Victoria) stays on
top, and the other stays around tenth position. I'm referring to 'cards' meaning roughed
pairs of cards. Hold the cards face down. Vey openly, thumb off eight cards so that you
have eight in your left hand and eight in your right. Either packet contains one of the
duplicate Queen Victoria cards. Hold the two packets wide apart, like a bragging fisherman.
You are now going to use an elimination process involving 'left' and 'right' choices. Your left
and right is of course distinct from the audience's left and right. Thii provides scope for
confusion and ambiguity, so it is very important to be absolutely clear, and totally
unambiguous, at every stage.
"Jacqueline, eight names in my left hand [look a t your left hand, raise it up and down, as
you saw me do a t the lecture], and eight cards in my right [likewise]. Don't reason, don't
guess. Look a t the display board. Take your time, rely on your intuition, and then
nominate left or right."
Let's suppose she says 'Left'.

"Left? That's these names here, in my left hand. Jacqueline, you tell me, do we carry on
using these [look a t your left, gesture with it] eight names in my left hand, and get rid of
the ones in my right [look and gesture for clarity]. Or do we get rid of these [left] and
carry on using these [right]. It's up to you".
Jacqueline makes her choice. In the lecture, I talked about the need to show 'appropriate
feeling' at these moments in mentalism routines. You should appear to look slightly relieved
or pleased, as if you know that Jacqueline has made the right choice. If you don't show this
feeling or expression, you are undermining the logic of your own routine. And if you don't
believe it, you can't expect anyone else to.
give it to her to hold face down for a second
Whichever packet Jacqueline wants to h,
(she's not allowed to look at the faces). Take the remaining packet of eight cards, and
briefly display their faces to show a few different names. Do this fairly quickly -just to show
that a few different names at random have been discarded. Just take care not to flash the
duplicate 'Queen Victoria' card - it's near the vey back of the face-up packet, so it's easy to
hide. From this point on, there is no more duplication to wony about. Discard this packet.
Take back the eight remaining name cards. Thumb off four, so that you have four cards in
either hand. Repeat the very fair elimination process. Be sure to make Jacqueline look at
the display board and use her intuition. She makes her choice, and this time you can show
the discarded names as clearly as you like.
21
So the eight names get whittled down to four, and the four become two. Here's the
handling for the final two. You have one in either hand.
"Jacqueline, it's your final choice. I don't want to say too much, but let me reassure you,
you're doing fine. Now, take one last look a t the display board. Use your intuition. I have
one name in my left hand, and one in my right. You are going to tell me to put the left
card on top, or the right card on top."
Make the appropriate gesture, as you saw me do at the lecture, of bringing your hands
together and miming either putting the left or the right on top. Separate your hands again,
so Jacqueline can make her choice. Bring your hands together slowly and carefully, so
everyone can see you aren't cheating. Place left on right or right on left, as Jacqueline
prefers, and extend you hand to Jacqueline so she can take her marker pen and write her
initials on the back of the card.
'You have finally committed yourself to one choice. Sign it for security"
Separate the roughed card, hand it to Jacqueline but don't let her look at it yet. Casually
flash the other name (actually a roughed pair with a single extra card at the back) as you
add it to the ditched pile. Retrieve the black prediction folder.
"Jacqueline, I'm confident you have done very well. [Addressing the audience a s a
whole]. Ladies and gentlemen, this experiment is interesting on two levels. Let me show
you what I mean"
For the first time, let Jacqueline look at the name she selected. She reads out 3ulia
Roberts'. Make sure everyone in the room sees this and hears it. Take the name card from
her, while you hand her the black prediction folder. Hold the name card so everyone can
see it, and have Jacqueline open the prediction. Everyone sees she is absolutely right as she
holds up the photo of Ms. Roberts.
This will win your customary round of applause, and eueyone will now believe the routine
is ouer. Enjoy this. Set aside the name card and the photo.
"I said this was interesting in two ways... but you have only seen one of them.
Jacqueline's intuition managed to find Julia Roberts. But to make this work, I tried to
help Jacqueline, to influence her, without her even realising it. You may have heard or
read about 'subliminal persuasion'. But it's very rare to see it demonstrated. Believe me,
it can be frighteningly powerful stuff. You will notice that I asked Jacqueline - and
indeed all of you - to look a t this display about a dozen times or more. There was a
reason. That reason, is subliminal persuasion."
Take out the pointer. Extend it dramatically. Tap out the letters:
"Jacqueline, every time I made you look a t the board, you were taking in a message
whether you realised it or not. It's all about the first letter on every line. Some are
random, just to hide the secret. But look... J - U - L - I -A, R - 0 - B - E - R - T - S. And
that spells, Julia Roberts. And that is the power of subliminal persuasion".
If you sell this correctly, you should now earn yourself an audible gasp of realisation,
followed by one of the strongest rounds of applause you have ever enjoyed.
Thoughts Arising
The forcing p r o c e d u r e
The routine as described uses a special packet of cards to force the name. If you think this is
too crude, by all means substitute a force you like. All I suggest is that it should at least
resemble a process of elimination, as opposed to just a straight 1-from-16 shot. For
completeness, here are some forcing suggestions.
Alternative #I: name cards, but n o R&S

Take 16 blank cards, roughly the size and shape of blank Jumbo cards. On the backs, put
big, bold numbers 1-16. On the faces, write your 16 display board names in a random
order - not corresponding to the order on the display board. Take the card bearing your
force name (in this example, Julia Roberts). With the card face up, cut out a half-moon
shape from the lower edge, about two inches in from the left. Shuffle the other 15 cards
thoroughly. Arrange all face-up, force card at the bottom.
To use. Pick up the packet and display the names casually, being careful not to reveal the
bottom card with its secret cutaway portion. Square up, and say (but don't show) that the
names all have numbers on the back, but they are randomised - there's no way of knowing
which number is which name. Say you will mix them up a bit more. Do so, and you can
even briefly turn away from the audience for a second if you like. Turn the cards face down,
so the numbers are showing. Pretend to mix them, or mix for real, but just make sure the
force card is on top.
These illustrations are from your point of view.

The 3ulia Roberts' card happens to have '12'
on the back (it could be any number) and is
on top of the face-down stack. The half-moon
cutout is now on the edge nearest the
audience, so you must hold the packet with
the top angled slightly up and away from the
audience, just enough to hide the cutout from
view.
You now appear to remove cards one at a
time from the top, showing each card to the audience as you d o so. In fad, you are
performing a sort of second-deal each time. Your left thumb comes over exactly as it would
to take off the top card, but thanks to the cutaway it actually moves away with the next-totop card. Show this card, and then repeat the same action.
Someone says 'Stop!' whenever they want. At that point, change your grip so that your
hand conceals the cutaway (illustration below left). Show the number that was stopped at.
Take away the rest of the cards, fan or spread them slightly with one hand and give them
out. You can then turn the card around - it only takes a little care to keep the cutaway
concealed - and show the name 'Julia Roberts'.
This contravenes my own earlier suggestion that the force should be an elimination process,
not a single 1-from-16 shot. This is a glaring lack of internal consistency, but I'm too old to
worry about it. As Walt Whitman once said, "I contradict myself? Very well, then I
contradict myself. I am vast. I contain multitudes".
Alternative #2: as above, with a minor tweak
You can modify the cutaway gimmick card so that the cutaway half-moon is not removed
entirely, but is attached to the card with a hinge (invisible Scotch tape works well). When
you want the cutaway for the 'second deal' process, it's there. When you want to straighten
the card out for display purposes, you can fold the cutaway part down and it therefore
bears more scrutiny.
Alternative #3: still with the name cards, but no gaffs or fakes
You could achieve the required force of 1 from 16 purely by equivocation (also called
"magician's choice" and several other names). Several people have written about good
equivoque technique, Max Maven being among the most lucid and authoritative. Another
great source of expertise is David Berglas, who probably got more mileage out of skilled
equivoque than anyone else. David Britland's superb book, 'The Mind and Magic of David
Berglas', contains much wisdom on this subject. Equivoque is fast, neat and direct. Its only
demerits are that (a)in less then expert hands, it can be less than convincing, and (b) some
people, in some audiences, can smell it a mile away.
Alternative #4: n o name cards, 'X' marks the spot process
Here's another forcing option. You create your 16 names so that a series of binary choices
can lead to the force name. For example, 8 names are male and 8 are female. You force
'female'. 4 of the female names are historical (a euphemistic way of saying 'dead') and the
other 4 are living. You force 'living'. 2 of them are singers and 2 are actresses, you force
actress. You're left with 2 actresses, and force Julia Roberts. How to achieve each binary
force? In each case, you have two cards (file cards or blank card stock). On the first, you
write the word 'Male' and on the other you write the word 'Female'. The spectator takes
these behind her back, mixes them up so she does not know which is which, and marks a
cross on the back of one of them with the pen you give her. In reality, the cross is already
on the back of the one you want to force, and the pen is non-writing. The non-writing pen
ruse has been used many times in mentalism. If you like it, you will love Basil Smith's
'Xoteric Forces' which takes this principle to new deceptive heights. I cannot give details
because it is a marketed dealer item, but I promise it is devastatingly clever and well-worth
investigating.
24
Alternative #5: name cards or bidets, and a final switch device

The 16 names are written on cards or folded slips of paper. These are whittled down to one,
either by a straight 1-in-16 shot, or a binary elimination process. You find a plausible reason
to place the final card or billet into something that can switch it for a duplicate bearing the
force name. Himber wallet? Card box? Double envelope? You pays your money, you takes
your choice. The very finest such device, in my view, is the Teleport Envelope invented by
Ted Lesley and described in his book 'Paramirades'. However, Ted has refined the idea
since Paramiracles was published, and he now sells the Professional Teleport Envelope Kit.
This is well worth the small extra investment.
Alternative #6: the clear vinyl forcing bag
Another option is to use a two-way clear vinyl forcing bag. The first compartment contains
black disks or counters, the second contains white. Your assisting spectator makes a series
of 'test' selections to show that she gets black or white at random each time (you just vary
the compartment she's dipping into each time). This having been demonstrated,
Jacqueline's first choice is between male and female names. You let her (or the audience)
decide whether black will stand for male or female. Jacqueline then reaches into the bag
and pulls out one counter in her closed fst. With a dramatic build-up, she reveals whether it
is black or white, thus nominating either the male or female half of the 16 names. And so
on. This is clean, direct, fair and free, and achieves the necessary sod. Whether a clear
forcing bag is too much of a 'magic prop' is up to you to decide.
Alternative #7: the Diceman option
The relentlessly ingenious Andy Nyman, who happens to be one of my favourite
performers, has released a superb effect called The Diceman. I can't share any details
because it's a marketed dealer item. Suffice it to say that if you know the principle involved,
you will see that it could be applied to this routine to achieve a force of 1 name from 16 in
a way which seems fairer then fair. You'd have to make up 16 laminated name cards, but
that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Alternative #8: the impossibly clever Matsuyama Force
Perhaps you have read all the foregoing options, but your soul yearns for something else something which is open, fair, sure-fire, does not involve equivoque, and uses no props.
Well, there is such a method. You can use the Matsuyama Force.
For this, all you need is a stack of blank cards. These are used purely to count with. Place
these on a table in front of Jacqueline.
"Jacqueline, in a moment I'm going to face away so that I can't influence you. I will ask
you to reach forward and pick up a small packet of cards. Let me show you. [Pick up
about 12 cards] This is too many, and will take too long. [Pick up 2 or 31 This isn't
enough, and won't look fair. So, just a small packet, not too many and too few. Okay with
that?"
Turn away from Jacqueline. She picks up a small packet of cards. Turn around, and pick up
about half a dozen cards yourself. Say,
"Jacqueline, no-one knows how many cards you picked up, or whether it's a n odd or even
number. But I believe your intuition will have worked, and will help us find out who's in
thatblack folder."
Hold your packet of cards out in front of you, ready to count them. Tell Jacqueline you will
demonstrate what she is going to do. Say,
"Jacqueline, I don't know if you ever played 'loves me, loves me not' as a kid, but this
works the same way."
Take the top card of your packet, say "Female name" and openly and cleanly transfer this
card to the bottom of the packet. Take the next card off the top of your packet, say "Male
name" and discard it on to the table. Repeat this process. Now get Jacqueline to join in
with her packet of cards. Top card, she says "Female name", transfers to bottom. Next card,
she says "Male name", discards. Say
"It's the last card that counts... let's see if you end on male or female".
You stop your counting procedure, but Jacqueline continues with hers until she gets to the
end. She will end on "Female". If you haven't met the Matsuyama Force before, you might
suppose the outcome depends on whether she's holding an odd or even number of cards.
In fact, it makes no difference. Whichever value (e.g. male or female) is assigned to the
cards transferred to the bottom, as opposed to being discarded, will always be chosen. Try
it for yourself. You say to Jacqueline
"So, if your intuition is correct, the person inside that folder must be female. Okay, now
if we look at the Board we see eight female names, so it must be one of those. How can
we eliminate some more... oh, I see, look, some are historical figures no longer with us,
while others are very much alive".
You now repeat the process: Jacqueline picks up a random number of cards, and you help
her through the counting procedure. However, you can add a minor difference. Even
though Jacqueline is now familiar with the procedure, give her a quick demonstration again.
This time, take your first card, discard it on to the table, and say, "Hitorical" (or you can
use the word 'dead' if you don't think it will offend anyone). Take your second card, say
"Living" and transfer it to the bottom. S o whereas previously you started with a transfer to
the bottom of the packet, this time you start with a discard. To the audience, it should look
like a little variety for variety's sake.
Jacqueline follows the procedure, and ends up on 'Living'.
"So far so good. According to your instinctive choices, the person inside the folder must
be female, and someone still very much alive."
By repeating the Matsuyama Force procedure as often as required, you can force any result
you like - male or female, living or dead, actress or singer, Julia or another actress. This
force is clean, direct and deceptive. Its only demerit is that with repetition it can feel a bit
slow and long-winded.
Creating the display board

The real joy of this routine is its versatility. You can change the 16 names on the display
board to appeal to any special group, or to reflect any special interests - sport, science,
business, the arts, famous Belgian cellists etc. For a corporate gig, you can include the
names of company personnel if their names fit the underlying acrostic.
Devising a Board for your own purposes is not hard. Start by choosing your force name. It
must be someone you are sure your audience will all recognise, and whose name spells with
more than 10 letters but fewer than 15. Draw up a small grid on a scrap of paper - two
columns of eight slots. Write the name out, one letter to each slot, but start from the 16th
slot and work backwards. It's okay to have some empty slots at the top of either or both
columns. They just make it harder for anyone to see the hidden acrostic before you want
them to.
Then fill in all the slots with names that fit these initial letters. If you are going to use a
simple 1 in 16 force, it's a fairly easy task. If you want to use a force that involves binary
elimination, you need to work out your three- or four-stage elimination process, involving
pairs of choices, that will lead to your force name. A typical scheme might look like this:
- the 16 names will be 8 male and 8 female
either group of eight will consist of 4 dead and 4 alive
either group of four will consist of 2 actors and 2 singers

Once you have your list - the force name and 15 other names - you just need to create the
display board itself. I made my display board using my computer and lots of fancy photo
and graphic design software. You can d o something similar, or something even more
elaborate, or something much simpler. It's entirely up to you. If you want, you can simply
take a marker pen and write the names out on a flipchart, whiteboard, pad or paper frame.
The Subliminal Prediction also works as a nice close-up item. I prepared smaller versions of
the display board printed on good quality paper measuring roughly 6 inches by 4 inches
(16cms by IOcms). Folded once in half, this fits easily into my wallet. If I use the Matsuyama
Force, all I need are items to count with: beer mats and torn pieces of newspaper work well.
Thanks and Credits

1 have already credited my two sources of inspiration for thii effect - Richard Osterlind and
Lewis Jones. Lewis also told me about Mitsumatsu Matsuyama's binary elimination force,
and shared with me some correspondence about its possible applications. He in turn came
across it in Karl Fulves's book 'My Best Self-working Card Tricks'.
I think I was also inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Purloined Letter' - the first story to
feature something being concealed by not being concealed at all. I thought I'd mention this
because my friend Rory Raven, who is not only a splendidly stylish mentalist but also an
expert on this kind of literature, would quite rightly tell me off if 1 didn't.
Thanks also to Banachek for expressing hi interest in thii idea and thereby encouraging me
to develop it.
Elephant From Matchbox

Effect
The Performer suggests that everyone has psychic faculties, and introduces an
experiment intended to explore this theme. He invites a spectator to hy a simple
psychic challenge - guessing the outcome of a purely imaginary coin toss. On a normal
writing pad, the performer writes down whether this imaginary coin lands heads or
tails. The spectator makes his guess, and is 100%correct. This is not very impressive,
because it's just a 50-50 chance. However, the performers then presents four more
challenges of a similar nature. The spectator is correct every single time - and has no
idea how he is doing it.
Introduction
'Elephant From Matchbox' is a general principle with many applications in mentalism.
It enables you to offer any one-from-two choice, and to write down the answer
beforehand, such that you can always control the outcome. If you want the spectator
to be right, he will be right. If you want him to be wrong, he will be wrong. It does not
use psychological techniques, nail or band writers, cues or prompting. If you use the
spectator-as-psychicroutine, he has no idea how he is achieving his successful results.
What You Need

A lined writing pad with 'comb' binding down
the long edge (also called 'spiral' or 'wiro'
binding)
A black marker pen

Scissors, spray adhesive
Learning the principle

The writing pad must be of the type illustrated, with what is known as 'comb' or
'spiral' or 'wiro' binding down the long edge, so that it opens flat. It must also be lined
or ruled, with pre-printed horizontal lines across every page. I haven't included these
28
horizontal lines in any of the illustrations, so please just imagine them. The pad should also
have reasonably stout cardboard covers.
To learn the basic handling, turn to the 10th page of the pad and write 'Heads'. Hold the
pad up in your right hand as illustrated, as if you were displaying it to an audience. Note:
I'm left-handed, so by all means swap left-for-right as you work with these notes.
The cover is closed, but your thumb marks the page on which you've just written. With a
gentle flick of your forearm and wrist, but very little movement, it's easy to make the pad
swing open at the page marked by your thumb.
Try it a few times to find the most natural position for you to hold the pad in this fashion,
and note whereabouts your thumb tends to grip the page. For most people, it is just a little
less than halfway up. Look at the knuckle of your thumb. You are using a 'lined' or 'ruled'
pad, with horizontal lines on every page. Find the line nearest to the knuckle of your thumb.
We'll call this the thumb line.
Open your pad at the 10th page. With your scissors, cut along the thumb line for a couple
of inches ( 5 4 . More specifically, this slit only needs to go as far as your thumb extends
across the page.
Having done this, turn to the 11th page and
write 'Tails'.
Turn back to the 10th page. Hold the pad as
shown, with your thumb half inside the slit.
Specifically, the lower part of your thumb is
resting on page 1 0 ('Heads'), while the tip of
your thumb has passed through the slit and is
resting on page 11 ('Tails'). Retaining this grip
with your thumb, close the pad and again
hold it up as illustrated above. We'll call this
the Display Start Position. You are now going
to open the pad in two slightly different ways.
First, with the pad still closed, slide the tip of your
thumb down a little, so it passes back out of the
slit. Then slide it back up a little, this time passing
over the slit and covering it up. (The illustration
shows a 'cut away' view of what is happening
under the pad's closed cover.) Your thumb is now
gripping the pad at page 10. Swing the pad
open, and the audience see 'Heads'.
Now try the alternative. Get back to the Display
Start Position. The pad is closed, and your
thumb is half inside the slit. Slide your thumb up
the page a little, so that even more of your
thumb passes through the slit. When you d o this,
the lower half of page 1 0 comes free, and is no
longer held by the lower portion of your thumb.
When you now swing the pad open, it opens at
page 11 and the audience see 'Tails'.
The necessary thumb adjustment is tiny, and can
be accomplished in a split second. This is the
basic handling.
Refining the handling ways of opening the pad

You may find there is sometimes a problem when you swing the pad open at page 11
(Tails).Sometimes, the slit in the first page (Heads) can announce itself as the pad swings
open. To solve this problem, you can open the pad in two other ways.
The Book O~eninq.Hold the pad in the Display
Start Position, with your thumb in the slit page as
usual. To access the second page (Tails),perform
the small secret move with your right thumb.
Raise your left hand to grip the lower corner of
the pad. Keep your right hand motionless, and
slowly open the pad with your left hand like
opening a book. This is gentler than the 'Swing'
opening, and securely hides the secret slit.
The S ~ i n Crack
e
Opening. Hold the pad in the
Display Start Position as before. Execute the
secret thumb move. With your left hand, grip the
pad fairly tightly at the spine as illustrated. You
can then open the pad with a kind of flexing
action, pressing from the back with your left
fingers to cause the pad to open. This is another
way of opening the pad without any chance of
the secret slit being revealed.
Refining the h a n d l i n g avoiding show-through

Most 'comb' bound pads use fairly thin paper. Hence if you open the pad at the 'Tails'
page, to some extent you can see 'Heads' through the back of the opposite page. This will
ruin the trick, so you must make the first page of the pair a double thickness page, simply
by gluing two pages together. You can do this easily with some spray adhesive (available at
any art and crafts supply store).
Getting two pages of the pad perfectly aligned and glued can be harder than it sounds.
Here's a little trick that helps. Hold the pad by one long edge, and let it fall open at the
page that is gdng to be double thickness. Spray the adhesive, paying special attention to
the outer edges of the page. Let the next page of the pad fall down, and give the pad a
gentle shake as you d o so. Gravity does the work for you! The second page will fall down in
perfect alignment with the first. Press the two
pages lightly together so they adhere. You can
then lie the pad flat, press the two pages together
properly, and let them dry. This double-thickness
page will be the first of your pair (the 'Heads'
page, so to speak), so it will be the page with the
secret slit.
You now know all there is to know about the
Elephant From Matchbox principle, and can start
using it in an actual routine.
Five Challenges Routine preparation

Start with a fresh, blank pad. Open it at the 10th page. You may be wondering why we start
at the 10th page. The reason is that the principle works best when the part of the pad that
you swing open is lighter than the part that stays put. S o we always work with pages in the
upper half of the pad's thickness. However, a few blank pages above the slit page also help
to disguise the secret. The 10th page is roughly the right place to start, but by all means
vary this to suit yourself.
In the routine, the first challenge will concern the imaginary coin toss. S o your first job is to
create a pair of pages that will enable you to reveal either outcome.
Convert the 10th page into double-thickness page, as explained above. Leave it blank.
On the next page down, draw an H and a T as shown, standing for 'Heads' and 'Tails'
respectively. Put a bold tick against the T.
Turn back to page 10. In faint pencil draw an H
and T in exactly the same position. During
performance, these faint pencil marks will not be
seen. You will go over them with your black
marker pen, thereby matching the 'H' and T'
you have already drawn on the page beneath.
Cut the necessary secret slit in this page.
That's the preparation for your first challenge.
Pages 1 0 and 11 are all set, and you will be able
to make the coin toss challenge come out either
way.
The second challenge in the routine is going to be about whether an imaginary roulette spin
lands on red or black. So you need to create two more pages.
You have just prepared pages 10 and 11. Leave a couple of blank intermediate pages, and
then start preparing your next pair of challenge pages. It's the exact same procedure. Create
the double-thickness page. Leave it blank. On the next page, draw Rand B, and put a large
tick against the B. Turn back to the double-thickness page. Use your fine pencil to draw
your guideline R and B. Remember, in performance you will go over these fine lines with
your marker pen, so that the Rand B you draw will match the ones you have already
drawn on the pagebeneath. Make the secret slit, and you're done.
The third challenge will be about a choice between two shapes - a square and a triangle. So
you create a pair of pages accordingly. Same process... leave some intermediate blank
pages. Make your double-thickness page. On the next page, draw a triangle and a square,
and tick the square. On the double-thick page, put in the faint pencil guidelines, and cut the
slit.
The fourth challenge will be about whether a thought-of number falls between 1-50 or 50100.Prepare the two pages in the usual way, but with a slight addition. On the second page
of the pair, as well as ticking the 50-100 option, add a small '68?.
The fifth challenge will be about whether a thought-of famous person is male or female.
Prepare the two pages in the usual way, so that you can show either M for Male or F for
Female. As with the 'number' challenge, there is a slight addition. On the second page of
the pair, as well as ticking F for female, add a small 'Marilyn?.
You're all ready. You just need the pad and your black marker pen.
Five Challenges Routine - performance

You will have gathered from the lecture that I don't think mentalism always has to be either
solemn or serious. However, I believe this routine deserves to be played straight. With a
little acting, you can persuade the audience they really are witnessing something bordering
on ESF: or at least some very weird and subtle form of influence. I am assuming you have
got the gist of the presentation from the lecture, so I will cut a few corners here. You
introduce the theme and get your volunteer (let's just assume she's called Jacqueline).
"Jacqueline, if I toss a coin and ask you to guess heads or tails, you might guess right or
you might not. [Take out the coin and toss it] The odds are fifty-fifty. But I believe you
can be right a t least five times in a row. And we're not even going to use a real coin. [Put
the coin away] This will all take place in your mind. Here's what I'd like you to do.
Listen to my voice, and try an exercise in mental visualisation. It's like I'm running a
movie in your mind. I'm tossing a coin. You see it in slow motion. I t goes up, up, high
into the air... spinning, turning, high in the air... and it's starting to fall."
Pick up the pad and get ready to open it at the first double-thickness slit page. This is the
top page of the two which you prepared to deal with the coin toss challenge. It appears
blank to the audience, but actually bears very faint pencil traces which copy the H and T on
the page below. Casually flash this apparently blank page.
"All we know is that this coin is going to land heads or tails."
With your marker pen, write in H and T o n the blank page, following your pre-drawn pencil
guidelines. Show the audience the result, standing in the Display Position, and explain that
H is obviously for 'Heads' and T for 'Tails'. Turn the pad back towards yourself and say that
you are going to tick one of them. Disguise your writing actions however best you can, so
that no-one can tell where you put the tick. In fact, you tick H. Replace the cap on the pen.
Put your thumb into the secret slit, and stand with the pad closed in the Display Start
Position.
But then ask her if she had a specific number in mind. If she happened to choose 37 or 68,
which is psychologically likely, you have an extra climax. If not, show that she was right
even though you had a different number in mind.
The fifth and final challenge works in a similar way. You say
"Jacqueline,you've done brilliantly well. We've worked with coins, roulette, shapes and
numbers. For your final psychic challenge, let's work with people. I'm going to imagine a
famous person walking into this room, and you're going to guess whether this person is
male or female. I'll tell you this person is no longer with us, but their name and image
will live forever. It's someone that everyone has heard of, a star, an icon of the twentieth
century. He or she still has millions of fans."
You pick up the pad and use the final pair of prepared pages. The audience see the blank
page. They see you write in M for 'Male' and F for 'Female', and you show these. Then,
with the pad towards yourself, you tick M for Male, and also write 'Elvis?. The other
prepared page takes care of the 'Female' option, and has 'Marilyn? added. With a little
luck, Jacqueline will come up with one of these names.
You take care of the outcome in the usual way. However, there's a strong chance that
Jacqueline will also get the exact name - Elvis or Marilyn. Here's an additional presentation
point. As soon as Jacqueline mentions her choice - male or female - mention the opposite
example that she could have picked. So if Jacqueline opts for 'Male', say
"Male? Good choice! You could have thought of... oh, let's say, Marilyn Monroe. She's
actually the most common choice. But you went for male, yes?"
and show that she was right. If she also got 'Elvis', then she gets added kudos. If she opts
for 'Female', say
"Female? Good choice! You could have thought of ... oh, let's say, Elvis Presley. He's
actually the most common choice. But you went for female, yes?"
and then you conclude the routine.
Thoughts Arising
Elephant From Matchbox can be more or less any kind of mentalism routine you want.
If you want to be a super-mindreader, ask a spectator to just imagine tossing a coin and
seeing if it lands heads or tails. You focus on him, divine his secret thoughts, study his body
language and so on (depending what kind of patter you prefer) and write down your guess.
He announces whether he was thinking 'heads' or 'tails', and you show you guessed
correctly. You can d o the same with any 50-50 choice, and you can d o it as many times in a
row as you want - depending on how many pages you prepare in advance.
If you want to show you can predict the future, then you apparently write down 'heads' or
'tails' ahead of time, and then get the spectator to toss an imaginary coin or a real one, and
you can show that you predicted the outcome correctly. Again, this works with any 50-50
event, and you can d o it as often as you like.
If you want to build a routine around the psychic prowess of a spectator, you can use the
sort of 'five challenges' presentation I have already described. If you want to show that you
can out-guess the spectator, you can challenge him five times (maybe with a bet) and make
sure he guesses wrong every time.
Instead of one spectator facing five challenges, you can have five spectators who try one
challenge each. This is useful if you like to involve more people.
I don't think Elephant From Matchbox would be easy to use when working close-up.
However, it is suitable for any type of platform, stage or cabaret work, and you can work
34
with spectators either joining you on stage or simply staying where they are - seated or
standing. You can even d o this on TV, and read the mind of a viewer at home who is
phoning in to the studio.
Thanks and Credits

Derren Brown has popularised an effect in which he correctly guesses in which hand a
spectator is biding a coin, five times in a row. Charles Gauci's 'Eye To Eye' enables the
performer to present similar kinds of routines. Neither of these has any direct bearing
on Elephant From Matchbox. However, while watching Derren's routine I thought how
nice it would be not to use an actual prop, such as a coin, and d o the whole thing as a
thought experiment. I just imagined writing the 'right' answer on a pad, and then
revealing what I'd written with no moves... just by letting the pad swing open. After
banging my head against a brick wall for a long time, which is something I d o a lot, I
came up with the routine you've just read.
Another influence was Max Maven's 'Khan Artist', from Volume 3 of his Videomind
series. There is no resemblance in terms of plot or method. However, a major
deceptive feature of 'Khan Artist' is that it seems to use very simple, innocent-looking
home-made props. This, I think, was an influence when Elephant From Matchbox was
taking shape in my head.
You will be wondering about the name. Some time ago I was in a pub in Bristol with
Derren Brown having an enjoyably stupid conversation. We were talking about magic
books, and how the names of the tricks are often rather dull. For our own puerile
amusement, we started thinking up silly names for tricks, such as Torn And Restored
Statue Of Liberty, Signed Card to Pancreatic Duct, Levitating Fog, Poker Deal From
Silk and so on. Elephant From Matchbox was another example, and I just thought it
was time someone actually used it.
The No Method Drawing Duplication

There are essentially three situations in which you might attempt a drawing duplication.
The first is a formal show, where you are all set to use your preferred method, whatever this
happens to be.
The second is an impromptu situation. You are not prepared, nor d o you have any special
props with you. However, you riffle through your mental checklist of impromptu drawing
dupe methods, and hope that one will work:
- psychological forces
-
glimpses and peeks
- the centre tear

- naturally-occurring reflections and shiners
- naturally-occurring impression devices, such as the shiny paperback cover
- pencil reading, or (more ambitiously) sound reading
All of these methods have at least two things in common. They can all be devastatingly
effective. And they can ail can be spiked by a reasonably intelligent lay person who isn't
wen trying to be particularly awkward or unhelpful. There will always be despicable people
who make sure you can't see or hear anything, can't peek or glimpse, and that everything
they use - paper, pad, pen - stays well-guarded until the experiment is over.
This brings us to the third possible situation: an impromptu setting in which you'd like to try
a drawing dupe, but none of the usual impromptu methods will work. For all such
situations, I here offer the No Method Drawing Duplication.
The Basic Ingredients

The No Method Drawing Duplication uses four ingredients:
- educated guesswork based on experience

- visual ambiguity
a small number of outs
- acting
There is an excellent book called 'Psychology of the Psychic' by David Marks and Richard
Kamman. sub-titled A
' wnetratina scientific analysis of claims of psychic abilities'. In the
~ ~ ~ e n dthe
i xauthors
,
provide a list of the most common things ihat people draw when
invited to make a simple drawing.
The illustration below is derived from the list in the book, with some additions based on my
own experience and suggestions from other mindreaders. Marks and Kamman sorted their
list by frequency, whereas this list is sorted by theme or visual similarity. From the top:
- the two commonest drawings: stick man, house

- the basic geometrical shapes: circle, square, cube
-
the triangle motifs: boat, star of david
-the circle motifs: sun, flower, apple, smiley face, spiral, circle with a cross in it, eye
- pets: cat, dog, fish
- tree, ladder
- modes of transport: car, horse
Twenty one items in all. (I'm actually a brilliant freehand artist, and I could have drawn all
of these items with remarkable flair and skill. However, since most spectators draw fairly
crude scribbles, I've deliberately simulated this lack of talent for added realism. I trust this is
absolutely clear.)
You do not really need to memorise this list. Nevertheless, if you intend to be dabbling in
mentalism for any length of time, there is nothing to lose and lots to gain by committing this
list to memory, and it helps to memorise the items in the groups presented here. Now let's
look at the actual routine.
The Routine
Let us suppose you are working with a young woman called Jacqueline (just to pick a name
at random). First of all, it helps to present the item as a demonstration of her abilities, not
yours:
'You know there's more and more research these days suggesting that we all have some
kind of ESP. I mean, sure, there's a lot of nonsense talked about it as well, and if we all
had these amazing powers of ESP we wouldn't need telephones, would we? But leaving
all the nonsense asipe, it's surprising how many people can train themselves to kind of
'tune in' to some thoughts and impressions. Let me just try something with you. It's very
easy, and I think you'll do well".
As you say this, take whatever pen and paper is to

hand, and make a simple sketch of a cube and a tree,
as shown. Show this as you continue:
"Please make a simple drawing. Anything simple that
you can visualise in your mind for two or three
minutes. It can be just a shape [gesture to the cube], it
can be something natural [gesture to the tree], but
don't make it complicated. Try to avoid anything
totally abstract or surreal, because that just makes it
harder for you.
Do you understand?
Oh, and don't draw a 'stick figure' or a 'house' because
everyone picks those."
This opening spiel has spiked four possibilities: cube, tree, stick figure, house. Get rid of the
sheet on which you just drew a cube and a tree.
You now need to make sure that you are left with just one piece of paper on which you will
make your own drawing later on. This is an important part of the method, for reasons that
will become clear later. S o if you are using a pad of paper, rip one sheet out for yourself
and give the pad to Jacqueline, saying "I'll just keep one piece for myself". Similarly, if you
are using loose sheets of paper, just take one that you say is for your own use, and make it
clear that you will have nothing to do with the rest. It is important that you end up with just
one piece of paper, and everyone knows this is the only piece of paper you will use.
Jacqueline now makes her drawing under whatever conditions of secrecy she desires. For
once in your life you are not trying to control her actions, glean any clues or accomplish any
trickery. Enjoy this moment. Savour the delicious feeling of being able to relax, with nothing
to conceal or worry about, and wear your halo of authentic innocence with pride. If there
are others present, some of them may be scrutinising your actions carefully, hoping to catch
any sign of trickery. Enjoy the fact that there is nothing for them to notice except your
sincerity and innocence.
When the gracious Jacqueline announces that she is ready, you can attempt your drawing
duplication.
Go through the usual 'Look at me and concentrate' rigmarole with Jacqueline, inviting her
to mentally focus on her drawing in her mind and to 'send' it to you. As far as possible,
arrange things so that no-one can see what you are drawing.
Step 1.Along the top of your piece of paper, draw a

simple spiral shape. Then, next to it, draw two
triangles as shown. Note that the triangles overlap
but are not very well-aligned, and that the lower
triangle has a slightly flattened base, although this is
not very obvious. Write 'Z?'.
Step 2. Pretend that what you have just drawn was

your initial impression, but you're not happy with it
and you want to try harder. If you are playing to the
gallery, you may want to actually say some words to
this effect. Alternatively, just act it through your
mannerisms, expressions and gestures. Fold the top
part of the paper down, so that you conceal what
you have just drawn, and give it a good crease.
Step 3. Write the words 'cat? pet? somewhere

towards the upper left of the remaining page area,
not too large. Cross them out with a single line.
Step 4. Draw a large circle more or less in the centre
of the remaining area. Do this in a single, continuous
line. Note that at the top it does not quite connect
with itself, and features a small dip or indentation.
Step 5. Around this, draw what a cartoonist would

call 'bright' or 'shine' lines. Draw the first so that it
emerges from the indentation at the top of the circle,
much like the stalk of an apple. Draw two more at
what you might call the 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock
positions. Add just one or two more, without being
tempted to overdo it.
Step 6. Add two dots in the upper half of the circle,

one left of centre and the other just right of centre.
These could be eyes, drawn a little off-centre, or
they could just be dots. Add a third dot off to one
side.
Step 7. Add a curved line running around the lower

right arc of the circle, quite close to the perimeter,
and add a shorter arc which intersects.
Step 8. Add a slanted V shape to the lower left and

scribble the word 'bright'.
That's all. It may seem like quite a lot, but that's because we've gone through it step by
step. In actual fact, it's very simple. It's easy to memorise, and you could draw the whole
thing in about 20 seconds or less if you wanted to. How long you actually take over it
depends on your presentational style and the mood of the moment, but in general I think
you can 'sell' this for at least 1-2 minutes, and the longer the better (within reason).
You now invite Jacqueline to reveal her drawing so that you can compare what she was
sending with what you received.
Circular themes
In about 75% of cases, there will be some correspondence between Jacqueline's drawing
and the central circular motif that you have drawn. If she has drawn a sun, flower, apple/
fruit, smiley face, spiral, circle with a cross in it or eye, or anything else with a circular aspect
to it, you can credit her with a hit or a partial hit. All you have to do is find and emphasise
as much similarity between her drawing and yours as possible. In discussing the outcome,
don't be afraid to go over your sketch with your pen to strengthen the bits that correlate
well, and thereby diminish the importance of the bits that don't. It's quite amazing how far
you can push thiiidea, and revise the evidence, without detracting from people's
acceptance of the effect.
Where there are strong similarities, give Jacqueline credit and say those were the elements
that came through most clearly. Where the two drawings differ, or some elements don't
agree, blame yourself and say "Oh, those bits... 1 shouldn't have added them. 1 wasn't
paying close enough attention to what you were sending me".
Note that I d o not say you, the Performer, can claim a hit. Not at all. You make it dear that
this experiment is all about her abilities and psychic talents, and it is up to you to give her
as much credit as you can.
Spiral or triangular t h e m e s
In another 15%of cases, you will need to work a little harder to make Jacqueline look like a
success. If she has drawn a spiral, a boat based on a 'triangle' shape, a star of David or any
triangle-based motif, then you need to exploit the small drawings you made at the top of
the paper, before you folded the top section down.
Do not simply unfold the top part to show that you the drawings match or partially match.
It pays to be a little more subtle than that. Lay your piece of paper down, with the folded
over portion nearest Jacqueline. Act as if you are disappointed in yourself. Say, "Oh, this
sometimes happens. I've failed. I'm so annoyed with myself. You were fine, you did really
well, but it's my fault. I've got to learn to trust my first impressions. I d o wish I'd just stuck
with the first impressions 1 got from you."
At this point, give a half-hearted gesture towards the folded-over portion of the paper,
without over-selling it. You can guarantee that Jacqueline will now be very keen to see what
your first impressions were, as will anyone else present. She will reach for the paper and
unfold the top section to see what you drew. As before, your job is to find ways to give
Jacqueline as much credit as you possibly can. The bits that are right are the "clearest
impressions I got from you", and the bits that aren't are just down to your own mistakes
and your lack of concentration.
Pets
If Jacqueline has drawn a dog, cat or fish, then once again you must act as if you are
disappointed with yourself for not having concentrated more on the clearest impressions
you were getting. Point to what you wrote in the upper left section of the page. "You know
something? That's what I wrote first of all, and then my concentration just wandered, 1
didn't think it was going to be that simple so I started making it more complicated. I'm
sorry, you were fine but 1just didn't do well here".
The claim that this is what you wrote first is true (forgetting about the 'folded over' part
which you rejected when you started again). It is supported by the fact that these words
appear in the upper left portion of the page, which is, presumably, where you would start
your writing or drawing.
O t h e r possibilities
If it's a car or horse, or something else entirely, you don't have a satisfactory 'out' and you
will just have to take the blame for it not having worked. However, you can at least take a
chance and ask Jacqueline, "Did you honestly not think of something else first? Was that
really the first idea that came to you?"
There's a fair chance that she will say she did think of something else, at least momentarily,
and hopefully this 'something' will have some correspondence with part of your drawing.
If her drawing has no connection with yours, and the 'Was that your first thought? ruse
hasn't worked, then you have one last chance. You can identify one of the commoner
motifs that are in your drawing, such as a flower or a cat, and ask Jacqueline, "Tell me
something. I didn't do very well here and I'm sorry I failed, but is there any reason why
flowers / a cat should be on your mind today, or recently?".
Should she give any sort of positive response, you can try to massage this into a partial
success if you think it's worth it. For example, perhaps she owns a cat. If so, ask her if there
was some incident involving the cat recently, some little story or something unusual. You are
almost certain to unearth some sort of incident or story, in which case you can claim that
you tuned in to her feelings, her emotions, and for some reason the 'cat' came through so
that's what you wrote.
It's up to you how much mileage you try to get from this. You can say that it's quite
amazing when someone does a drawing and they manage to send it to you, but how much
more amazing when you manage to tune into something that hadn't even been drawn! With
luck, this story will improve in the re-telling, and you will be credited with having managed
to reproduce someone's thoughts even though nothing was written down. On such slender
supports are many mighty and miraculous reputations made.
And that is the No Method Drawing Duplication.
Thoughts Arising
Pipe d r e a m o r practical?
If you said you entertained a certain healthy skepticism about this item, I would understand
your point of view. Let me give you a cast-iron assurance that yes, I have used this many
times in real life, and yes, it does work. If I hadn't tried it out in real life, I wouldn't publish it
here. In fact, although the NMDD started out as a kind of 'emergency life saver', these days
1 often use it in non-emergency situations. I am not referring to formal shows, where of
course I prefer to take a more sure-fire route. But in all relatively informal situations, I often
try out the NMDD even if I happen to have a more sure-fire method available. For one
thing, I find it interesting and exciting precisely because the outcome isn't guaranteed.
Secondly, I find that over time I'm getting better at making it work - both in terms of subtly
constraining the spectator's choice, and also in terms of improvising during the climax so as
to make it look as successful as possible. Of course, there are times when it fails completely.
So long as it's not the only thing people ever see you do, I think occasional failure is an
acceptable price to pay.
Re-statement of aims
Secondly, let me repeat what this is, and what it is not. It is a possible route to success, or
partial success, when you have no formal method to hand, and the standard 'impromptu'
methods are not going to work. 1 am hammering this point to death for a good reason. I
once gave a lecture where I presented this item, and afterwards I heard someone say, "Why
take such a chance when there are so many reliable methods around, like dipboards or..."
and luted several dealer items that facilitate drawing duplication. This same point was then
echoed on various internet forums. "Why rely on such a chance approach when there are
so many sure-fire methods around...". Excuse me while I step outside and scream.
Boosting the chances of a hit

There are two further thoughts that I'd like to pass on. First of all, there is a very simple way
to boost your chances of success to near certainly: ask two people to make a drawing
instead of just on:! If two people d o a drawing, you can be virtually certain that either (a)
there is a strong correspondence between either of their drawings and some element of
yours, or (b) there is some correspondence between their two drawings. Either way, you
can credit someone present with a degree of telepathic ability.
Custornising the 'most likely' list

There is nothing set in stone about the l i t of 21 'most likely' drawings I present here. I think
it's a good lit, and I've had a lot of success with it. However, with this routine as with
anything else in magic, I hope that you read it only as a springboard for your own ideas
and thoughts. I'm sure there are many social, cultural and personal factors which play a part
in the development of a list like this. It is more than likely you would want to drop some of
the 21 drawings suggested here, and to substitute others which come up quite often in your
own experience.
For example, I discussed an early draft of thii routine with mentalist Drew McAdam, who
finds for some reason that he gets the 'car' coming up far more often than I do. He has
therefore adapted his version of the NMDD to accommodate this possibility. Why does it
come up very often for him, and very rarely for me? Who knows. There could be lots of
reasons or none.
A final thought
Here's one final thought. If you are working one-on-one, with nobody else present, then
there is no need for Jacqueline to actually draw anything at all. You can take her through
the same preamble, but invite her to just think of her 'drawing' without actually drawing
anything on paper. It obviously makes no difference to the 'method'. You just draw exactly
what you would draw in the normal No Method Drawing Dupe routine. You take the risk
that Jacqueline might lie to you, but it's up to you judge if you can trust her.
This 'nothing written down' approach is worth trying occasionally, just in case it works and
you get a strong hit (which is bound to happen from time to time). If it does, encourage the
person concerned to tell everyone about your astonishing experiment, and how she
successfully transmitted her thoughts to you even though she wrote down nothing.
Thanks and Credits

As far as I'm aware, Banachek was the first to publish a 'universal drawing'. It appears in his
book, 'Psychological Subtleties', which is absolutely required reading for anyone interested
in mentalism. The drawing I present here is an amalgam of all sorts of ideas and small
refinements which I built up over many years, starting long before I saw Banachek's
wonderful book. However, this version does incorporate Banachek's idea as well, and I
readilyacknowledge this. When I first lectured on this item, Banachek was gracious enough
to allow me to refer to his own 'universal drawing' in the lecture. I thanked him at the time
and I thank him again now.
I would also like to thank Mike Hutchinson for introducing me not just to the Marks &
Kamman book, but also to co-author David Marks! Mike has been an invaluable friend for
many years, and is very good at introducing me to interesting books and people that I
doubt I would have met otherwise.
I said that the NMDD started out as a kind of life-saver, which reminds me to mention that
Michael Weber's superb book 'Life Savers' is well worth reading. It is packed to the brim
with good ideas for 'emergency situations', and although it's not a mentalism book as such
it contains plenty for any mentalist to enjoy.
Lecture Notes Thanks and Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my many very good friends in magic and
mentalism who have helped in various ways while I was putting
these Lecture Notes together. There are really too many to list
here, but you know who you are.
I recruited Lewis Jones and David Britland to wade through
early drafts, and they both provided invaluable notes and
corrected many errors. The errors that remain are entirely my
fault. Drew McAdam also gave me the benefit of his views and
experience after reading an early draft, which resulted in a few
major tweaks here and there. Thanks also to Banachek for his
influence and interest, and to Alan Jackson for sustaining me
with much delightfully entertaining correspondence while I was
putting these notes together.
I would also like to thank all those who have encouraged me to
give the occasional lecture, including Marc Paul, who first
proposed that I should lecture at the Magic Circle, Duncan Trillo
who founded the very enjoyable London 'Mind Magic'
conventions and encouraged me to participate, and Spyros
Melaris who organised the superb 'Escape From The Asylum'
day and suggested I present a few bits and pieces.
Preludes
'Preludes' is not a trick or routine. Preludes are just an idea that I have found to be
tremendously useful, and which you might find useful as well. Put simply, Preludes are four
double-sided picture cards which you can make and cany with you at all times. They have
a least three uses:
- they serve as an excellent prelude to any close-up mind magic

- they are useful when you want to entertain a small group but do not want to actually
perform any mind magic tricks or routines as such
- they'make excellent promotional give-aways

I will describe the cards I use (but you can make your own variations), and then 1 will
explain how you can use them.
The Cards
My set of Preludes consists of four double-sided cards. These yield seven different images to
talk about (why not eight? You will see why in a moment). Most of these images are
colourful, and contain a photographic level of detail. As these lecture notes can only indude
black-and-white line illustrations, I can't convey the appearance of the cards very well in the
illustrations on the next page. However, I usually have some actual examples with me at the
lecture, so I hope you have had a chance to see them. Failing that, if for some reason you
want to know what my set of cards actually look like, you can always contact me via my
website (www.ianrowland.com).
The seven images are as follows:
1. Marilyn Monroe illusion. Viewed upside down, it seems like an easily-recognised photo of
Marilyn. Viewed right way up, it is seen to be grossly distorted.
2. Clown 1 Circus illusion. The 'Clown face' rotated 90 degrees becomes 'the whole circus'
3. Skull illusion. From a distance looks like a skull, but it's actually a lady in front of a
mirror.
4. Twin circles illusion. Stare at the dot in .the middle and move your head backwards and
forwards. The circles seem to rotate in opposite directions.
5. Cow's head puzzle picture. Seems to be meaningless jumble of splodges. When viewed
correctly, is a photo image of a cow's head.
6. The Adelson 'chequer board' illusion. Features two squares, marked with an X, which
seem to be differentshades but which are exactly the same colour. You can prove this by
placing a 'mask' over the image so that only these two squares show through.
7. Hour Youth Income. My own invention. A written phrase that seems to make no sense.
When spoken out loud, the words suddenly form a suitable message.
I created the artwork for the cards as a single page in my computer graphics program (the
mighty Corel Draw). I print this page out on to one sheet of 8 transparent, self-adhesive
inkjet labels. I applied the labels to double-blank Bicyde card stock and trimmed the
excess. This gave me four double-sided cards:
1.Marilyn / Clown
2. Skull / Circles
3. Cow / Chequerboard
4. Hour Youth / mask for chequerboard illusion
On the fourth card, 1 took a sharp modelling knife and cut out two diamond shapes. This
means this card can act as a mask for the Chequerboard illusion (thiipoint will become
clearer later on). These cut-outs do not affect the 'Hour Youth' message on the other side.
I cany these four cards around with me in my wallet at all times. They take up next to no
room, can last forever and are easily replaced even if I lose them or give them away. Now
let's look at how to use them.
Using the Cards

What I d o not suggest is that you simply show one of the cards and say 'Look at this
interesting optical illusion'. This misses the entire point of the Preludes.
Instead, I suggest you use each of the images as a way of introducing themes pertaining to
the mind, perception, mind magic or positive thinking and mind motivation. It only takes a
little imagination, and some presentational experience, to exploit the illusions in thii
manner. You will have your own preferred themes, and hence your own preferred way of
exploiting the cards. The crucial point is to give each illusion a context, and to use it as an
introduction (a prelude) to something your audience can relate to. I'm going to give you
some examples based on my own work, and the kinds of subjects that I like to talk about
when I'm performing. Adjust them to suit yourself.
In the examples that follow, let's assume I am in a relatively informal close-up or social
setting, chatting with a small group. I am either going to perform some close-up mind
magic, or I at least want to entertain people for a short while. I almost always start with the
Marilyn illusion, so I'll discuss that one fust.
The Marilyn illusion

With my right hand, I hold the card directly in front of the spectator's face, but I cover the
card with my left hand so he can't see what it is yet. The photo is in the 'upside down'
position so that the distortion is non-obvious.
"I think you'll find this fascinating. In a moment I'm going to show you a photograph of
a very famous person, and then I'll ask you who it is. This is not a trick question. She
must be one of the most recognisable people of all time, and I promise that if you think
you know the answer then you probably do! So I'll give you three seconds and then you
can tell me the answer. It's upside down to make it a bit harder, but trust me, I'm sure
you'll get i t right".
1 then take away my hand for three seconds, counting out loud "One second, two seconds,
three seconds" and then I cover the image again. The spectator will say it's a photo of
Marilyn Monroe.
"Well done! Absolutely right. Now your mind has just done something absolutely
remarkable. Out of all the millions of faces you have ever seen, your mind has just
instantly located the correct label... in this case 'Marilyn Monroe'. And scientists still
aren't sure how the mind can do this. But there's something even more fascinating. You
have just managed to 'recognise', or stick a label on to, a n image you've never seen
before in your life."
I then take my hand away, and slowly rotate the card 180 degrees so that people can see
how distorted the image appears. Turning the card very slowly is important, because it gives
the spectator a nice 'surprise' moment as the 'recognised' face becomes the 'hideous' face. I
then give this a 'positive thinking' spin, like this:
"I talk to people all the time about how the mind works, and how you can harness your
mind's potential, and this [the illusion] actually illustrates a n important point. We often
stick a label on a situation that we think we recognise. We say That's something I'd be
no good at' or 'I could never achieve that', and we're sticking mental labels on to
situations we think we recognise. But we could be mistaken, just like with this.
By changing the label we stick on a given situation, we often change how we approach
it, and this can open the door to achieving things we didn't realise we could achieve. So
next time you find yourself sticking an unhelpful label on, such as 'I recognise this kind
of challenge - it's the sort of thing I could never do', realise that the label might not be
accurate. Try sticking a different label on it, one that says, 'This might be quite a tough
challenge, but I'm pretty sure I can wpe with it' ."
If the 'positive thinking' spin isn't appropriate, then 1 might just use the Marilyn illusion as a
prelude to a favourite close-up mentalism item, like this:
"My field is the magic of the mind, and this [the illusion] illustrates some of the ideas
that I play with when I entertain people. You see, you look a t it one way and your mind
sees something fairly normal, fairly ordinary: a picture of a famous movie star. Look a t it
another way, and it's very --ordinary!
And my job is to explore that gap, where the
ordinary becomes the extraordinary, and it all happens here, in the mind. For
example ..."
And then I segue into whatever close-up mentalism I want to perform.

Clown
/ Circus illusion
If I have shown the Marilyn illusion, I generally follow it up with the clown illusion on the
other side. I present it the same way, by covering it up and revealing it for three seconds.
Here's the kind of presentational patter I use:
"Let's try just one more. This time, I'm asking you what job this person does. So I'll show
you the picture, and if you think he looks like a doctor then you'll say 'Doctor'; if you
think he looks like a n acrobat, you'll say 'Acrobat'. It's dead easy. Honestly, I've never
known anyone not get this right. Here we go..."
After the three seconds the spectator will say 'Clown' and I cover the image again.
"Absolutely correct. It's a picture of a clown. Where does a clown work, or where would
you expect to find several of them?"
The spectator says 'Circus'.

"Correct. And here's a picture of a circus".
I take my hand away and very slowly rotate the image through 90 degrees, so that the
'clown' becomes a 'circus'. I hold it in the circus position for a while, because it takes most
people a few seconds to perceive the new picture. Here's my typical positive thinking spiel
about this:
"This illustrates a really important point. Sometimes, we only see part of the whole
picture, here represented by the clown. It can be really useful to train your mind to look
a t things in a different way, so that you see the whole picture, or a t least a more
complete version. This is represented here by the circus.
However, it does sometimes work the other way round! There are times when we're less
effective than we could be because we take in too much - the whole circus - and we need
to focus on the part or the detail that really matters - here represented by the clown.
It's a matter of learning to look a t things in the right way, the appropriate way, to get
the results you want. Sometimes, we need to re-train ourselves to see the whole picture
[circus], and sometimes we need to screen out the larger picture and focus on the
specifics that matter [clown]. This is all part of using your mind effectively".
Or you can simply segue into a mind magic effect.
I hope these two examples give you the basic idea. Each illusion can be used as a
springboard either to talk about various aspects of the mind, positive thinking and mind
training, or just to set up various themes and faux-explanationswhich we tend to work with
in mind magic. Now that you have the basic idea, let me deal with the remaining illusions
more briefly.
This illusion is more well-known than some of the others. Nonetheless, it is still a delightful
image which most people tend to like seeing. The fact that it seems to be one thing, and
then on closer inspection is revealed to be something quite different, provides scope for any
number of different presentational possibilities.
I have adopted the artwork slightly so that the image incorporates a small card, the two of
spades. This tends not to be noticed until it is pointed out. The presence of thii card means
you can perform Chuck Smith's stunning effect called 'Imagination' from his book 'What
if?'. It's a great piece of mental magic, and.worth buying the book for.
Circles
This is the best example I know of apparent motion generated from a static image. All you
have to do is hold the card up, stare at the centre dot and move your head back and forth.
The circles not only seem to rotate, but they do so in opposite directions.
As with all of the Preludes cards, this lends itself to several presentational themes - learning
to see a different way / seeing what isn't there / not seeing what is there / the same
opportunity being viewed two different ways / the results you see being changed by the way
you choose to see... and so on.
Cow's Head
This is a 'puzzle picture'. If you don't know what it's a picture of, it can look like random
splodges. After a time, your brain does its magic and fits the splodges together to make a
cow's head. Once you do know what it is, it's impossible not to see it.
All you do is give the card to the spectator and ask him if he can see what it is. It's up to
you whether you help him by at least telling him the correct orientation.
I sometimes perform the reveal like this. I hold the card in the correct orientation and say
"Behold, one two three! [snap fingers] The amazing appearing cow! Look, it's a cow and
she's turned her head to the side to look straight a t you. Here's a n ear, here's another.
Here's her eyes, the front of her face, her dark nose."
Once you point everything out in this way, most people will see the cow's head straight
away. You just made a cow appear from nowhere right in front of their eyes! This is quite a
piece of dose-up magic. If I were you I would encourage people to tell their friends about
the amazing performer who made a cow appear from nowhere! It's the kind of story that
enhances one's reputation.
How you use this to segue into some mind chat or mind magic is, as ever, up to you. My
usual line goes something like this:
W e are all swimming in a sea of great opportunities all the time, but most of us just
don't see them. The difference between successful people and the rest is not that the
successful people get opportunities that the rest of us don't. It's that they train
themselves to see these opportunities. And the funny thing is that opportunities can be
as big and a s obvious as cow, standing right in front of us, but we just don't notice them!
So... that's the secret of success... keep your eyes open for cows!"
Adelson illusion
Also known as the chequerboard illusion. Invented by Edward Adelson, whose website (at
the time of writing) is:
http://www-bcs.mit.edu,/people/adeLson/ade1son.html
I simply show the picture to the spectator and let her look at it for a while. She will not see
anything very strange about it. Then I explain that the two s q u m marked with an X are
exactly the same shade and colour. I generally try to encourage a certain amount of healthy
debate and discussion about this, before I provide the 'mask' card to prove that this is h e .
Most people instinctively want to try it for themselves several times - without mask, with
mask - before they can bring themselves to believe it.
I find this illusion generates a lot of discussion and interest. The way I generally 'tweak it' is
to my,
'The important thing here is not just that your mind could make a mistake. The point is
that your mind can see it both ways. You can still see how the squares look as if they're
different, and yet with just a little help [the paper or cardboard mask] you can see
they're in fact the same. Sometimes, that's all the mind needs to see things in a new and
more accurate way. It can be a business problem, a fresh challenge... whatever. When
you face something that looks daunting or difficult, you can often help your own mind to
see it differently, And when you see differently, you think differently, and when you
think differently you can achieve different - and more positive - results."
Or in a more magic-related style,

"I specialise in magic of the mind, and I don't mean 'magic' a s in tricks so much as
'magic'as in wonder, amazement. Because the mind really is amazing. This [the illusion]
is a simple example of the way that your mind can perceive the same thing in two ways,
'different' or 'same'. In my work, I explore a similar difference between 'possible' and
'impossible'. Very often, what might seem impossible is possible if you just look a t it a
different way... and I've had lots of practice a t looking a t things in a different way! Let
me show you what I mean ..."
and I'm away into my next close-up miracle.

H o u r Youth Income
I made this up some time ago for a lecture on critical thinking and problem solving. All I do
is say to someone, "I'm interested in your opinion. Please read this to yourself and tell me if
you agree or not."
The aim here is to get people trying to read it to themselves silently, using their inner mental
voice, rather than reading it out loud. Most people will try to make sense of it and get
absolutely nowhere. Indeed, so long as they concentrate on the words as words, it remains
utterly incomprehensible. They only need a little coaxing, however, to read it out loud and
to hear the words as sounds, which yield the message, 'How you think makes a difference
to what you think'. Which is a lesson in itself.
Thoughts Arising
I said at the start that I find the Preludes have three uses. I'd just like to elaborate on this
point.
Rrst of all, they are a good way to get people in the right frame of mind for some close-up
mind magic. When you show the cards and start demonstrating the different illusions, you
are doing a number of useful things.
1.You are making yourself the focus of attention, and getting the people near you into the
habit of listening to you, following instructions, responding to cues and otherwise doing
as they are told! In other words, you are conditioning them to be good spectators.
2. You are raising your status, since you are the provider of the interest and you are talking
knowledgeably about the mind and how it works (or at least pretending to d o so).
3. You are giving people fun that they can share. I find Preludes are very good for building
up a small, intimate audience because people usually want to try the illusions on their
friends.
S o in all of these ways you are creating ideal circumstances for launching into some of your
favourite pieces of close up mind magic.
Preludes are also very useful in social and informal circumstances where, for whatever
reason, you don't want to perform any tricks but still want to provide some interest or
entertainment. This can often happen. For example, perhaps the circumstances aren't really
suitable for performing mentalism - such as in a busy restaurant or an overcrowded party.
Or you may feel that there are one or two undesirables present who would only make life
difficult if you were to start performing (sometimes, even though you can deal with such
people, it's nice not to have to). Or maybe you've been working too hard, this is your first
night 'off' in a long while, and you want to give yourself a break from performing! With the
Preludes, you can still entertain people for a few minutes, and use the cards as a way of
making your mark and letting people know the sorts of things you're into, without actually
performing any tricks.
Finally, Preludes make great promotional give-aways. In my own case, I don't give the cards
away very often. Normally, I just give out my regular business card. However, if I happen to
meet a very important contact, and I want to make absolutely sure that they will remember
me, then I give away one of the cards and point out that my contact information is written
down the side. They always keep the card and show it to other people, thereby creating a
chain of publicity and awareness. Once I'm home, I just print out another sheet of Preludes,
grab a blank card, replace the card I gave away and my set is complete again!
If you give away the Skull card without having pointed out the small two of clubs/spades,
you can perform an effect so strong it should be illegal. You can phone the person you gave
51
it to at some later date, check that they have the card with them, and then perform Chuck
Smith's 'Imagination' routine with them Qver the hone. Thii will knock them into the
middle of next week.
A Word About Tact

It should be clear from the examples I've given that I am very tactful when I present the
Preludes. When presenting the Marilyn illusion, for example, it is very important that the
person you are addressing feels reassured that it's not a trick question, that the answer is
easy, and they do not need to worry about feeling embarrassed or stupid. L i i i s e , after
the 'reveal' 1take a moment to make it clear that the person who said 'Marilyn Monroe' is
not stupid or gullible. I usually say something like, "By the way, John [whatever hi name
is], everyone always gives the same answer that you did! So you did just fine, and thanks
for your help!".
Customising the Preludes
This set of Preludes features seven illusions that I happen to like, and which I could create
on my computer and printer. I encourage you to find your own illusions to be used in the
same way. You can find them in books and on websites, and there are many to choose
from. The important thing is to find ones that you personally find interesting, so that your
own enthusiasm infects the audience. You also want ones that are just a little unusual, as
opposed to ones that most people have seen a hundred times. In my set, only the 'Skull'
illusion is familiar to most people, but I've included it because I like it so much and because
it makes the Chuck Smith routine possible. The Adelson chequerboard illusion is becoming
quite well-known now, because it has 'done the rounds' by email. I first came across it years
ago, in 'The Magic Show', an amazing book by Mark Setteducatti and Anne Benkovtii
which actually performs tricks on the reader!
The others are a little more unusual, and most people I meet haven't seen them before.
Over the past five years, ever since I started carrying these things around with me, I have
found them to be tremendously useful. I hope you find them useful too.
tan Rowland Lecture Notes

Ian Rowland - Alpha Mentalism Lecture Notes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ian Rowland - Alpha Mentalism Lecture Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pa

Alpha series Lecture Notes

Thought Hash ...................................................................................................

The Subliminal Prediction .................................................................................

Alpha Series Lecture Notes Set 1:Mentalism

AU rights reserved. This publication may not be

Alpha series set 1:Mentalism

- audiences are genuinely baffled and impressed by it

What You Need

The Fat Frac

Alpha series set 1: Mentalism

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

Before You Perform

Gesture towards the other half of the audience, and say

This gets another small laugh.

Random choosing, hardness test

Spoon tossing and the simple switch

Jacqueline agrees. Address the audience and say

The high and low display

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

If she says 'Lower':

"The lower one? Okay, your choice, take it and

During the visual bend, you say:

The 'volunteering' o f the spectator

Thanks and Credits

Alpha series set 1: Mentalism

What You Need

some flash paper

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

Alpha series set 1:Mentalism

Hold the packet of cards in your right hand, in an

Hash the face of each card (actually a pair) as

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

Photo Display and Anti-Climax

You address John and say

John joins you.

Alpha series set 1: Mentalism

John confirms that he was visualising Jacqueline Bisset.

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

The W h e n You Say Stop' patter

Thanks and Credits

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

The Subliminal Prediction

You Will Need

Alpha series set 1:Mentalism

For the display board, all that really matters is

Jacqueline agrees she has no idea.

Isolate the prediction folder by placing it somewhere prominent or entrusting it to someone

Let's suppose she says 'Left'.

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

Alternative #I: name cards, but n o R&S

These illustrations are from your point of view.

Ian Rowland Lecture Notes

Alternative #5: name cards or bidets, and a final switch device

Alpha series set 1: Mentalism

Creating the display board

either group of eight will consist of 4 dead and 4 alive

either group of four will consist of 2 actors and 2 singers

Thanks and Credits

Alpha series set 1:Mentalism

Elephant From Matchbox

What You Need

A black marker pen

Learning the principle