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Department of Connections

Magic Tricks and Markets

By Steven Ellison

My daughter got a magic set as a birthday present. She has mastered a rope trick, in which she apparently cuts a rope in half and then restores it to its pristine uncut state (by looping the rope behind her hand, in which is also a stub of rope that she actually cuts). She knows a disappearing quarter trick, in which she apparently drops a quarter into a cup of water (but waves a magic handkerchief in front of the cup at just the right moment so that the splash heard by the audience is actually a piece of clear plastic). Of course, professional illusionists perform much more amazing feats. Part of their technique is patter which serves both to entertain the audience and draw their attention away from the sleight of hand maneuvers.

Since the magician deals in deception, might the magician's techniques contain insights useful for markets?