Is There Magic in Your Life?
Do you believe in Magic?
Pick a card, any card.
Who doesn’t love a card trick? Or any magic trick.
But what is it about the magic that we love?
Is it wishing that magic existed? Maybe we’re looking for something exciting in our world.
Dr Dave Verhaagen, a psychologist, says we’re hardwired to make sense of the world, so when something happens that we can’t logically explain, we get a thrill in the same part of the brain that gets thrilled by roller coaster rides or scary films.
Years ago, my partner and I got into card tricks. There’s a wonderful little magic shop tucked in the eaves at Charing Cross station.
It’s packed with tricks. And if it’s a quiet day, the assistants will demonstrate magic for you.
The shop has everything from a pack of cards to a machine that chops someone in half.
We started with gaff packs. You set up these packs of cards to perform the trick. The downside is that once you finish the trick, you must reset the pack to do it again.
So we graduated to tricks with real cards. We bought a book, The Royal Road to Card Magic, but it was tricky. Get it?
