Michael Close - Workers 5.pdf - M - animga

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1

ASSUMPTIONS ........................................................................................................................... 3

THE LIE DETECTOR................................................................................................................... 7

YOU HUE .................................................................................................................................. 16

A TRICK FOR O'BRIEN ......................................................................................................... ....21

FORTUNE SUGAR .................................................................................................................... 25

VENUE ...................................................................................................................................... 28

REVERSE LOGIC...................................................................................................................... 30

TOO AHEAD.............................................................................................................................. 41

PERSONALITY.......................................................................................................................... 55

ON SLEIGHTS........................................................................................................................... 59

RENALDO THE GREAT ............................................................................................................. 70

PINK FLOYD.............................................................................................................................. 78

THE TAMARIZ RABBITS ............................................................................................................ 85

RED BLUE MAMA FOOLER....................................................................................................... 88

ROCCO RETURNS .................................................................................................................... 93

RING FRIGHT ............................................................................................................................ 98

FLOURISHES .......................................................................................................................... 101

THE UNREALITY MACHINE..................................................................................................... 103

STUPID TRAVELERS ..............................................................................................................110

TO JAY ....................................................................................................................................120

ON THE MEMORIZED DECK....................................................................................................122

THE WISHING TRICK ..............................................................................................................126

TWO FOR SIMON.....................................-...............................................................................131

MYOPIA ...................................................................................................................................134

MEMORIZED STANDARDS......................................................................................................138

JAZZIN .....................................................................................................................................160

MAGIC AND MEANING.............................................................................................................164

GOODBYE................................................................................................................................166

ASSUMPTIONS

Assumption lies at the heart of deception; in fact, I'm not sure deception can exist without it. When we

perform we offer sensory information to our spectators. Most often this is visual or aural information. The

spectators process this information and they make assumptions. Whether or not these assumptions become

convictions depends on our skill in concealing the truth of the situation. Most of the time we lead the

spectators toward the assumptions we wish them to draw:

I false shuffle a deck of cards. If the shuffle simulates a real shuffle then the spectators will assume that the

deck has been mixed. If I hand a prop out for examination the spectators will assume that it must be free from

guile, otherwise, why would I allow it to be examined?

Notice, however, that there are levels of assumption. We can destroy the benefits of assumption by

overemphasis. If I draw attention to the shuffle, assumption becomes suspicion. If I say, "I have here an

ordinary piece of rope," the same situation occurs. Assumption works best when we simply offer the

information to the spectators without any undue emphasis. Another example: as I patter I undo the cellophane

and break the seal on a deck of cards. This action is observed and an assumption is reached: this is a brand

new deck of cards.

Assumption is a vital tool to deception because spectators use their assumptions as their basis for attempting to

unravel the method of a trick. If an assumption is false (and the spectators do not realize this) then any logical

attempt to reconstruct a method is doomed to failure. As the spectators go through this process they may begin

to doubt the validity of some of their assumptions. Most often these will be the assumptions which were

overemphasized by us. The more we can turn assumptions into convictions, the less the spectators will be able

to doubt their validity, and the more likely we will be to achieve a result for which the only explanation is

"magic."

There is an aspect of assumption which intrigues me a great deal: are there assumptions which the spectators

bring to a performance without even realizing they are doing so? If there are, and we could set up a situation

where these assumptions were false, then we could produce profoundly amazing magic, because the spectators

road to reconstruction would be headed in the wrong direction without them even realizing it. If the best

assumptions are those which are under emphasized by us, then having the spectators adopting a false

assumption without us doing anything must be the most diabolical use of this tool.

But do such subconscious assumptions exist? Yes they do, and you are already aware of some of them,

although you may not have considered them in this way. Before I give the list that I have come up with, take a

Workers Number 5

moment, close the book, and think about this: what kinds of tricks have methods which are absolutely

impossible for the spectators to reconstruct (regardless of their analytical or observational powers)? There are

two types which should be very familiar to you. They are the first two on my list. Please take a moment to

consider this before you read on. You may come up with answers which differ from mine, and that would be

great.

This is the Way the Trick Works

First on my list is the "Unique Procedure" assumption. Spectators assume that the trick they are watching

always proceeds the same way. The trick moves from point A to point B to point C, and if you watched

repeated performances it would always do so. This is certainly a valid assumption. But what if the trick didn't

have a linear structure? What if we had multiple possible branches which we could take depending on certain

circumstances? Then reconstruction of the trick would be impossible, because not only was the spectators'

underlying assumption false, they didn't even know that they had made this assumption.

The above situation occurs in any trick which involves "outs." If we have more than one way to end a trick,

then discovering the method becomes very difficult. The most famous multiple procedure effect is Dai Vernon's

"The Trick that Can't be Explained." In this routine we make a prediction and then we improvise a procedure

for causing the spectator to arrive at the predicted card. If our improvisation is logical and convincing then

there is no explanation, since the only assumption made during the entire trick is subconscious and false.

I discovered that I have used the idea of multiple procedures in many of my routines; and in unobvious ways.

"The Pothole Trick" uses an out. If you are familiar with the new ending to "Dr. Strangetrick" (explained on

Workers - The Video) you may realize that whether or not you restore the card at the end is an "out." Several of

the effects in this volume concern multiple procedures; several of them involve placing the out somewhere other

than the end of trick, which is where it normally occurs.

The Show is Starting

A second assumption is the "This is The Beginning of the Show" assumption. When we walk out on stage or

when we walk up to the table the spectators assume that we are beginning the show. But what if the show

actually began earlier? Pre-show work preys on this assumption, and makes possible effects which defy

explanation. After all, how can you begin to reconstruct a method if part of the show happened before you

began to watch?

The Show is Over

Closely related to the previous assumption is "The Trick is Over" assumption. When the climax of the trick is

reached, the spectators assume that your work as a magician stops as well. But what if it doesn't? In a well

constructed multi-phased routine this assumption and the previous one work in tandem. What appears to be the

end of a trick is not; it's really the beginning of the next trick. And what appears to be the start of the next trick

is not; for the trick actually began much earlier than was assumed. Check out "Reverse Logic" and "Too

Ahead" to see how I exploit these assumptions.

Another way to use "The Trick is Over" assumption is to begin to cover our tracks at the end of a trick. We

alter important data and distort memories. I don't believe that this approach has been utilized to any great

Assumptions

extent, and it is a fertile field for further exploration. "A Trick for O'Brien" is a simple application of this idea.

The Loner

A fourth assumption is "The Magician Works Alone" assumption. This assumption is what makes the use of

stooges effective. The spectators assume that the magician and the audience are on two different teams, and

collusion is against the rules.

Some absolutely amazing effects are possible using secret helpers, but stooges are a double-edged sword. If the

spectators begins to suspect that your audience helper is a stooge, then everything else you do loses credibility.

But it's possible to use helpers who are not actually part of the show. In a restaurant, the waiters and

waitresses can be invaluable assistants - especially when it comes to the next assumption.

We just Met

The "No Prior Information" assumption is a valuable one to exploit, and it is related to the pre-show work idea

explained above. When you walk up to a table of strangers to perform for them they assume you have no prior

information about them. But if you have used the waiters and waitresses as your secret eyes and ears, then you

can accomplish some miraculous things. It is also possible to "scope out" a table furtively and pick up

information which can be used later on. Take a look at "Fortune Sugar" for an example of such an approach.

Too Much Trouble

I think that spectators also unconsciously embrace the "Too Much Trouble" assumption. My postulate here is

that most spectators think there is a limit to the amount of trouble someone would go to just to fool them. What

brought me to this conclusion was the few times when I have explained the memorized deck to laymen friends

of mine. The thought that I would actually take the time to memorize the order of a deck of cards was

inconceivable to them, consequently, such a method would never occur to them. I think another trick of this

nature is Tommy Wonder's third method for the Nest of Boxes (explained in the Books of Wonder).

My final example is "The Magician Doesn't Rehearse Mistakes" assumption. Spectators assume that a

performer rehearses his effects in order to produce a smooth, polished performance, free from the tiny,

annoying screw-ups which plague us in everyday life. If a tiny, annoying screw-up occurs during a

performance, it must be a genuine mistake, for why in the world would anyone purposely do such a thing?

Since the spectators make this assumption subconsciously, we can exploit it to our advantage. An excellent

example of this is Juan Tamariz' "Double Crossing the Gaze Switch." The switch is based on a tiny, annoying

screw-up: the performer has forgotten in which pocket he has placed a necessary prop. Responding to this

mistake provides the cover for the switch. Miscalling cards is another example of how to exploit this

assumption. (If some of this sounds familiar, it is because "The Magician Doesn't Rehearse Mistakes"

assumption is the idea behind my corollary to the Too Perfect Theory. See Workers #3 for details.)

Workers Number 5

I should point out, though, that this assumption is very sensitive to overemphasis. A small screw-up can be

convincing and believable. A major screw-up almost never is. ("Oh, my goodness! I've accidentally burned up

your twenty dollar bill! Whatever will we do now!")

Your Mission, Should You Decide to Accept II,.

I am positive I have only begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities available to us when we turn

subconscious assumptions to our advantage. One of the big problems is discovering what these assumptions

are. It's like analyzing your own breathing. Once you start to pay attention to it, it's no longer normal. But the

more people who start thinking about this, the more examples that will be discovered, and the more powerful

the magic which can be developed.

Sometimes the assumptions are not general, but are trick or move specific. I recently discovered a

subconscious assumption that relates to the MC Spread Double Lift when it is used as a force. You can read

about it (and a trick which I developed from it) in the chapter "On Sleights."

Unfortunately, theory does not excite magicians; tricks excite magicians. For that reason, most of the routines

in this book use as their underlying method the exploitation of subconscious assumptions. I suggest that you

learn a few of them, perform them for laymen, and observe the result. If they stoke your fires then we all may

be embarking a new era of discovery.

Michael Close - Workers 5.pdf

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