Michael:
I enjoyed the portions of the David Blaine program that I caught, and I
hope that the amateur and not-so-amateur magicians in our midst will
enlighten us on ways to incorporate such magic into psych lectures. Such
demonstrations help keep students' interest levels up near the end
of a 3-hour evening lecture.
I believe that the levitation stunt involved Blaine leaning, rocking
forward and balancing on a long stick he had hidden upon his person, thus
moving his feet up off the ground for an instant. He asked the viewers to
stand close together behind him, so he must have been shielding something
from view behind his legs. Great illusion, if you ask me! I don't think
it would work in a class room, as the lines of sight are too wide.
I'm sorry I didn't videotape the show for later replay and freeze-framing,
as I'm wont to do with televised magic shows. I know, it takes all the fun
out of it if you know how it's done, but scientists are supposed to be
curious and seekers of "reality", aren't we?
I also enjoyed the "I know what card (or number) you picked" trick, and
may use it to demonstrate base rates (most commonly selected cards or
numbers) in class. I think that the "odd number between 10 and 50..."
stunt has been discussed on this list (37 most commonly chosen). As well,
we of course only saw the participants for whom the correct choice was
made by Blaine; I could easily put together a video wherein I correctly
guess a number of people's card, name, favorite color, or astrological
sign. It would, of course, involve leaving a lot of (incorrect) guesses on
the cutting room floor...
Magically,
- Max the Magnificent ;-)
On Mon, 18 Sep 2000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to levitate from the
>ground he
> stood on.
> I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give demonstrations in
>class.
> Please send advice.
>
> Michael Sylvester,PhD
> Daytona Beach,Florida
>
> "Seeing is
> believing"
>
>
Maxwell Gwynn, PhD [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Psychology (519) 884-0710 ext 3854
Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 Canada
