All of the cards have changed! When most people try this trick, they look at the first deck and the brain registers a general fact like, "a collection of cards. So when the second deck is shown, the brain again registers "a collection of cards. This same phenomenon allows a magician to saw a person in half.
When the person is placed in the box, her head sticks out one end and her feet stick out the other. The magician then spins the box, and when the feet are pointed away from the audience the assistant retracts her real feet and replaces them with a pair of fake feet. The lady is a contortionist, so she folds her legs into the upper part of the box and the magician "saws her in half. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close.
Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. As it turned out, however, it was the black Nines that were chosen the least. Of the selections people made in our experiment, these cards were only chosen four times. Several other common beliefs were also disproven.
For example, magicians often say that when asked to name a card, women choose the Queen of Hearts more than men do. In our sample, we found the opposite: men chose the Queen of Hearts more than women did, and women chose the King of Hearts more than men did. Other results appeared to be completely new. For example, people detected most cards equally well, except for the Six of Hearts and Diamonds, which seemed to be misreported more than any other cards.
In other words, people saw red Sixes that were not there. Also, women seemed to prefer lower number cards, and men preferred higher ones. A final interesting result was that the exact wording of the question seemed to influence which cards people chose.
A full list of cards and their frequencies is also available. But when asked to visualize a card, people seemed to choose the Ace of Hearts more often. Perhaps something about the visualization process makes people more likely to think of this particular card.
Systematic studies such as these can help form the basis of a psychology of card magic. Magicians can improve their tricks by knowing which cards people like the best or choose the most.
Meanwhile, psychologists can follow up on unexpected findings to understand why people may misreport seeing red Sixes or why the wording of a question may bring different cards to mind. And this is only the beginning. Applying these results, we can uncover the mechanisms behind the principles of card magic. Why do people still feel like they have a free choice? Answers to these questions could provide new insights into persuasion, marketing, and decision making.
Ultimately, we hope to develop a science of magic, where almost any trick can be understood in terms of its underlying psychological mechanisms.
Such a science can keep the secrets of magic, while revealing the secrets of the mind. Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? He can be reached at garethideas AT gmail. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science.
Think of a playing card. Got one in mind? Get smart.
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