Misdirection
Nearly everyone has heard about magicians using misdirection to perform their magic. However, this topic is frequently misunderstood by both magicians and laymen. First of all, the term “misdirection” is a misnomer. As the great Tommy Wonder pointed out, you do not misdirect; you direct. If someone points over your shoulder and you look away, then when you look back they’re holding a rabbit, you know something is up. That’s “misdirection.” Direction is when you’re watching the red handkerchief which just appeared out of nowhere, then suddenly realize there is a vase of flowers on the table which was not there a second ago.
Awareness of this concept is important for the average person, because it may help to protect your safety and property. For example: Did you know that pickpockets will often touch you, or have an accomplice touch you, to focus your attention in one place while they steal your valuables from another? When someone bumps into you on the street, they could be working with a guy behind you who is taking your wallet. The concept is used sometimes by carjackers. You’re driving at night in a place where there aren’t a lot of people around. The car behind you at the traffic light bumps your car lightly, and you immediately get out to look at the damage and to see if they have insurance. That’s when they pull a gun and leave you stranded. Now, would you have ever gotten out of your car alone otherwise? Of course not, but the thieves knew how to focus your attention where they wanted it, so you could make their job a lot easier.
Confidence men (con men) will often use emotional manipulation in much the same way. Inspiring greed in a victim makes them easier to scam, because they lower their defenses. I saw a great documentary on cons going on in Las Vegas. One exposed a very clever swindle: A man wanders about in a public place, offering to sell a digital camera for $50. Now obviously, this camera is worth hundreds of dollars. Upon receiving this offer, you are likely to assume it is stolen. If you let your greed overcome your concern for the victim, the shifty salesman places the camera into a box, and the box into a bag, and hands you the bag. Before you can open the box, he is nowhere to be found. Why? Because he switched the bag for one with a rock inside of an identical box.
The point is, a little “inside knowledge” will cause you to see the world in a whole new light. All magicians know this. My goal is to spread these principles a little further, changing the way more people think, so we can all make better-informed decisions about what we believe and do.
