Second Helpings #2
/The Second Helpings feature is one of the forms of free advertising here on the Jerx where authors and magic creators can get word of their work out, simply by offering what they consider the second best thing from their release for me to post here.
This month we have an older release from Bill Cushman called Subliminal Squares. This is a manuscript about the Magic Square effect, but rather than being a demonstration of the magician’s needlessly complex addition abilities (and thus, in turn, his late-onset sexual development), Subliminal Squares presents the magic square as an example of the spectator’s ability to pick up on subliminal messaging. The spectator is flashed the completed magic square then they name a number, and it’s seen that the magic square adds up to that number (in all the various magic square orientations).
This is probably the only way I can ever see myself doing the magic square. The traditional way, where they name a number, and you quickly write up the square, is not a demonstration of any particular skill I’d ever want to express.
The ebook ends with a trick called Crosseyed! I’m not writing it like that because I’m excited about it. Crosseyed! with the exclamation point is the name of the trick. This is sort of a kid-brother version of the magic square. I like it. It doesn’t require any memory work and it’s completely impromptu. It’s still an exhibition of semi-extraordinary math skill, but it’s simpler than the traditional magic square in a way I find appealing.
Here’s how i would present it. I’d draw eight line on a piece of paper like this.
I’d tell the person I’m performing for that I’m going to go and stand in the corner with my back to them. While I can’t see, I want them to write four 2-digit numbers. One in each slot in the vertical column.
As they do this I’d bounce back and forth on my feet. Like I’m prepping myself for something difficult. When they tell me they’re done, I’d ask them to turn over the paper so I can’t see anything.
I’d go to turn around and stop myself. “Sorry. I’m not ready yet.” I’d do a little more deep breathing and then jump back to the table. Quickly sit. Turn over the paper. And immediately write four numbers down in the horizontal row. (I’ve used different colors here just to clarify.)
Then I’d turn the paper back over and slap it down on the table. During this I would probably let out a low groan the whole time. As if I was trying to lift up something heavy.
I’d catch my breath. “Okay… that either worked or this will be profoundly embarrassing. Do you remember the numbers you wrote down?” They may or may not. It doesn’t really matter. “Okay, and off the top of your head do you know the sum of those numbers?” They probably don’t. “Me neither. But I’ve been learning these exercise related to something called IMU—Innate Mathematical Understanding. The concept… and I’m not sure how much I believe it… is that we’re born with a complete understanding of math. And it’s actually the process of breaking down math into steps and processes to learn it that disrupts our innate understanding of it. It sounds kind of crazy, but think of it like this: When you’re shooting a basketball, you’re calculating trajectories. Your’e calculating arcs and parabolas and vectors and power. And you’re doing it all in a split second subconsciously. If you were to put it down on paper and try to run those calculations that’s the type of thinking that would end up screwing up your shot. So perhaps there is a built in instinctive understanding of math that we can tap into.
“Alright, I probably should have checked to see if this worked before explaining all that. But let’s take a look.”
I’d turn over the page. “Let’s add up the numbers you put down. Check my work.”
I would then verbalize the adding of the numbers in the vertical column. Dragging it out as long as I can without sounding idiotic. “67 plus 44. Okay, so 60 plus 40 is 100. Plus 7 and 4 so that’s 111. Yes?” I’d continue on through until getting a full total of 181.
“Okay, so when I first turned the paper over, my goal was to just absorb the numbers you wrote down, somewhat subconsciously, and view them as a whole. I didn’t really consciously understand that they added up to 181 at that point. But I didn’t see them as individual numbers either. I just tried to sense them holistically. So my target number was 181 even though I didn’t realize that yet.
“Now, it’s hard to explain this, because there are a lot of visualization exercises you need to do to get to this point. But I allowed the total of your numbers—which I genuinely did not know—to crumble into four different figures in my mind. And I just wrote down whatever came to me. So if it worked, these numbers I wrote down should add up to the random total you established.”
We’d add up my numbers to see if they totaled 181. And of course they would.
“Okay, now here’s where it goes beyond my rudimentary understanding. So 181 was the target number that you established without even knowing it.”
I’d put 181 in the center of the cross and then draw two circles, creating an actual target-looking thing on the paper.
“So, if you asked me to take four random numbers that you wrote, add them up, and then come up with four other numbers that came to the same total, I could do that using the math I learned in school. It would have taken me a lot longer than doing it instinctually, like I just did. But I could have done it.
“But I wouldn’t even begin to know how to do is this next part. And what I’m talking about is that not only do your numbers add up to 181 , and my numbers add up to 181. But our numbers when put together also add up to 181. Check out this outer ring of numbers… that’s 181. And this inner ring of numbers is also 181. That’s where I become completely lost on not only how I did it, but how I would even go about doing it consciously.”
There you have it. I will give it a go and see how it plays. Is it still a show-offy thing? Sort of. But since I’m playing it off as something I don’t fully understand (just in the same way you don’t fully understand all the calculations you make when shooting a basketball) I don’t think it will come off that way. I think it will be seen as something a little weirder. But we’ll see.
The explanation of Crosseyed! from Bill’s book is in the link below. You can buy the full ebook from Bill by writing to him at wcushman@bellsouth.net or sending him a paypal payment directly to that address. It’s $40 for Jerx readers (down 20% from where you can buy it elsewhere).
A few notes:
It’s not a trick I would use on someone who is super strong with math.
You’ll understand this more when you read the explanation. But you don’t have to use 3, as Bill does. You can use whatever you want. In the write-up above, I used 14. Doing it with a larger number wouldn’t be hard for me, and it would make my numbers potentially seem even more different than the first participants. It may kick me into 1-digit or 3-digit numbers. But that’s okay. I never said I was going to stick to two-digit numbers.
The example Bill uses in the book isn’t great, because the way it works out is that 2 of the 4 numbers are repeated in the horizontal and vertical slots. That obviously makes it look much less deceptive. But that’s just the way it happened to work out with the numbers he chose. Don’t get confused by that. In practice you should usually have 8 different numbers.
Okay, have fun. Here’s the pdf.
If you’re interested in a full magic square routine, consider reaching out to Bill for his ebook.