Mark Mason

Magic and the art of lying

What tricks can teach us all

  • From Spectator Life
[Alamy]

Talking to a former politician about lying felt very appropriate. It was during one of my ‘Magical Thinking’ sessions, a corporate team-building event I run in which I perform close-up magic tricks and the participants try to work out how they’re being done. Among those at this session was Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who had initially been baffled by a particular mentalism effect. She thought of a day of the week, then a month of the year and finally a playing card, and my guesses on all three proved correct.

Every possible route by which I could have cheated seemed blocked off – but Anne-Marie was brilliant at responding to my hints (part of the process, of course), and gradually she led the team towards the solution.

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