Brian Curry
News
I’m Kinda a Big Deal
January 2, 2012
In my conservative upbringing, my brothers and I were bred to blend in. Unless I’m working, I avoid the spotlight. I suspect that’s one of the reasons I rarely get recognized as ‘Hey, aren’t you that magic guy?’ in public – even in Maryland, DC or Virginia where I’ve performed thousands of shows. However, I once was recognized on a date at a restaurant in Arlington, VA, when a couple stopped me as we were walking to our table and said: “Aren’t you Northern Virginia’s Most Popular Magician?” Of course, I knew they were repeating a joke from my show, but my date didn’t. As my date made her way to her seat, I whispered to them that I was on a date, and they just made me look like a rockstar. To help, they started arguing over which of my tricks was the best just loud enough for us to hear it across the room. By the end of the meal, guests had already tweeted and posted a picture of it on Facebook. The moral of this story: If you see me out with a girl…put in a good word for me. SIDE NOTE: The girl on that date and I will be getting married in September.
Magic in Wartime
Magic is a study human psychology. Principles used to fool, distract and persuade audiences used by magicians are sound techniques that can be useful in many other fields. Magicians have been consultants for the military for many years. Maskelyn was credited for making an entire base ‘disappear’ during WWII. Napoleon asked the most famous magician of his day, a man named Robert Houdin, to aid in a conflict in Africa. Over the next few entries, let’s look at some of the techniques that are used and how they might be useful in modern combat.
Magic in War Time Part 1
Misdirection
This is a phrase that is commonly misunderstood. As a magician, my audiences frequently think that misdirection means dancing girls are onstage to keep you from seeing the secret. Or perhaps, that the performer can focus attention on one hand so you don’t look at the other. For a magician, this is encouraging, knowing that they will be looking for the wrong thing. In essence their misunderstanding of misdirection becomes misdirection itself.
Let’s look at misdirection as it is commonly used. Misdirection is the art of giving your audience something more interesting to look at. It has to appear to have real importance to fully direct their attention. Selective attention makes it very hard for a viewer to focus clearly on two different things. The famous optical illusion of a face made out of two cups is an excellent example of this. You can see the face, or the cups but never both at the same time. To successfully misdirect someone as a magician does, you must leave your audience with the belief that they were focused on the important part — even after the trick has ended.
Misdirection is nothing new to military action. Covering ships to look like military ships. Making cardboard cut-out tanks. Misdirection used by the military has and must become more sophisticated with the new technology. In third world countries, I believe that many of these techniques are used to cover secret operations. For example, when planting secret surveillance equipment in a building, have the troops focused on attaching a satellite dish to the top of the building. Certainly the satellite won’t last long, but hopefully you’ve created enough focus and misdirection to successfully protect your equipment.
Magic in Wartime Part 2
Left to Right
People read from left to right. Magicians, actors and painters all are aware of the power of this and use it to their advantage when staging their work. When directing someone’s attention, be aware of the way that his or her eyes move. If possible, choreograph your attacks with this in mind. If you’re setting off explosives (misdirection) have them turning to their right—you’ll find they do this much more naturally.
Magic in Wartime Part 3
Compliance Steps
When getting your audience to think or act as you want them to, it’s important to establish some compliance steps. Marketing supports this technique—people who make a small step are more likely to take a bigger one. If I asked you give me 5 dollars, you’d probably laugh. If, on the other hand, I said ‘take out your wallet’, then say ‘now pull out a 5 and hand it to me’ you’re far more likely to hand over the cash. Once you’ve jumped through a smaller hoop, you’re far more likely to jump through a bigger hoop.
In military operations this would be exceptionally helpful when trying to win the support of local communities. Rather than directly asking them to join your efforts for example, ask them to start by doing small things—please pass out this food. Once they’ve committed to a smaller action, they’re much more likely to accept a larger action responsibility later.
