On 2012-02-24 14:11, targetintellect wrote:
I have been using my MD in my corporate show for a while now, and I can say that is has proven to be one of the best investments in magic that I have made. I will share my routine, which I believe makes the effect even more amazing for educated audiences.

First, I remind them of the statistics at play. To GUESS the right color, one time, you have a 1 in 6 probability. To GUESS two times in a row, you have a 1/6 x 1/6 or 1 in 36 chance. To GUESS correctly three time in a row you have a 1/6 x 1/6 x 1/6 or 1 in 216 chance. Nearly Impossible.

So.... instead of revealing what a spectator chooses, I tell the audience that I will attempt to use my words to lead them to a color I have ALREADY predetermined for them. I show a small white board with the the colors hand-written in list format. Then I turn the board to myself and announce that I am writing an "x" next to the color I will try to lead my spectator to. I hand the spectator the cube and tell him, "everybody picks blue, so I doubt you'll select that color . . . or maybe now you will bc you recognize my feeble attempt at reverse psychology - please don't let me influence you. Of course, what MAN would pick yellow? But hey, I don't judge" And I continue with this kind of patter so that the audience truly believes I'm trying to mess with the spectator's mind. FInally, he makes his selection and I ask - "would you like me to show you first, or would you like to show me first?" Invariably the spectator wants me to reveal my color first. I turn the board over and I have an "x" next to "green" and of course, he has selected green. The routine is so rewarding, bc people begin speculating about your words, how you said this, or mentioned that. Indeed they all want a turn to see if they can catch your attempts to influence them. They BUY IN.

Obviously MD does all of the work. The white board is simple: Purchase a small 12" white board - the kind that college kids hang on their doors. Make sure it is MAGNETIC. Write the colors in MD order in PERMANENT black marker. Buy thin black magnetic sheets and cut out a very thin X that looks just like you would write it. I tuck the "x" under the boarder of the white board, so I can show the colors to the audience. You now use the the erasable marker and PRETEND to write an "x". I then slide the magnetic X to the color I think they are most likely to pick. When MD tells you what color they actually picked, you slide the magnetic X to the appropriate color. It's nice when they pick what you picked because you simply turn the board around and show them. It gets stronger as you repeat it. (tip - put the whiteboard face down after you "select" their color, and only pick it up whey you are ready to reveal their color)

Caveat: This presentation plays very strong for intelligent, well educated audiences because they think they SEE some type of psychological manipulation occurring, but they can't quite grasp it. They will tell you that this will make them lose sleep. HOWEVER, for a less educated audience the fact that you "influenced" your spectator to the right answer actually detracts from the magic.

For example, after my show, a top software engineer said to me: "the most amazing thing you did was the color manipulation because you used words to make us pick what you wanted us to pick, even though we did everything we could to avoid your mind game." After performing for a more "rough around the edges" group, I got this comment: "Yeah the color thing was cool, BUT I could SEE how you manipulated them to pick your color. My favorite was card through window, because that's impossible."

This sentiment continually echos after I perform for different types of audiences; so now when I do MD, I only use the above routine for a more cerebral audience, otherwise I do it as straight magic trick - ie. I pick a color and it matches with yours every time. No word play, no psychology, just straight magic. As it is always, we must know our audience.

Enjoy the routine!

P.S. Where can I find the "I love my MD" bumper sticker?

On 2012-04-02 13:40, Paul Fitzgerald wrote:
The excellent Ben Harris routine "Remote Control" would have my highest recommendation when performing MD.
This effect utilises MD in a totally impromptu way and demonstrates "remote viewing" with a twist and a supeb kick (serial number revelation)!!
Just beautiful - well done Ben on creating something so special!
Cheers,
Paul.

On 2012-02-25 17:26, saysold1 wrote:
This fascinating article from today's L.A. Times might provide some cool ideas angles for MD - Regarding Synesthesia:

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-syne......71.story