Misdirection

(magic)

In Bosch's painting The Conjurer, the figure on the

left steals an item from an audience member who is
intently watching the performance of a magic trick

Misdirection is a form of deception in

which the attention of an audience is
focused on one thing in order to distract
its attention from another. Managing the
audience's attention is the aim of all
theater; it is the foremost requirement of
theatrical magic. Whether the magic is of
a "pocket trick" variety, or, a large stage
production, misdirection is the central
secret of all magic. The term is used to
describe either the effect (the observer's
focus on an unimportant object) or the
sleight of hand or patter (the magician's
speech) that creates it.

Though it is difficult to say who first

coined the term "misdirection", an early
reference was made by an influential
performer and writer, Nevil Maskelyne: "It
consists admittedly in misleading the
spectator's senses, in order to screen
from detection certain details for which
secrecy is required."[1] Around the same
time, magician, artist and author Harlan
Tarbell noted, "Nearly the whole art of
sleight of hand depends on this art of
misdirection."[2]

Henry Hay describes the central act of

conjuring as being "a manipulation of
interest".[3]

There are two basic ways to "misdirect"

an audience. One is to encourage the
audience to look away for a fleeting
moment, so that the sleight or move may
be accomplished undetected. The other
approach has much to do with re-framing
the audience's perception, where the
minds of the audience members are
distracted into thinking that an
extraneous factor has much to do with
the accomplishment of the feat, whereas
in reality it has no bearing on the effect at
all. Dariel Fitzkee notes that "The true
skill of the magician is in the skill he
exhibits in influencing the spectators
mind."[4] Additionally, sometimes a prop
such as a "magic wand" is used to aid in
misdirection.[5]

Use
In The Encyclopedia of Magic and
Magicians, author T.A. Waters writes that
"Misdirection is the cornerstone of nearly
all successful magic; without it, even the
most skilled Sleight of Hand or
mechanical device is unlikely to create an
illusion of real magic."[6]

Misdirection takes advantage of the

limits of the human mind in order to give
the wrong picture and memory. The mind
of a typical audience member can only
concentrate on one thing at a time. The
magician uses this to manipulate the
audience's ideas, or, perceptions of
sensory input, leading them to draw false
conclusions.
The audience's attention may be directed
in various ways. In the book, The Secret
Art of Magic, authors Eric Evans and
Nowlin Craver posit the theorem that
magic is directly related to warfare, and
relies upon the same principles for
success. Sun Tzu's Art of War is
referenced in showing how deception is
essential to any successful campaign.
Craver goes on to illustrate, through the
36 strategies,[7] how they form a
blueprint for every known method of
misdirection. In World War II, British
military intelligence employed stage
magician Jasper Maskelyne to help
devise various forms of misdirection
such as ruses, deception, and
camouflage.

Among the magicians who have

researched and evolved misdirection
techniques are John Ramsay, Tommy
Wonder, Derren Brown, Juan Tamariz,
Tom Stone, Tony Slydini[8] and Dai
Vernon.

Definitions
In his 1948 book, Principles and
Deceptions, Arthur Buckley questions the
accuracy of the term.[9] Since that time,
magicians have debated the use of the
term "misdirection", creating a great deal
of discussion about what it is, and how it
works. Buckley drew the distinction
between misdirection and "direction".
One being a negative term, and the other
a positive one. Ultimately he equates the
two as the same thing – "If a performer
by some means has directed the
thoughts of his audience to the
conclusion that he has done something
which he has not done, he has wrongly
directed them into this belief, hence,
misdirection."

Jacobus Maria Bemelman, under the

stage name "Tommy Wonder",[10] has
pointed out that it is much more
effective, from the magician's point of
view, to concentrate on the positive aim
of directing the audience's attention. He
writes that "Misdirection implies 'wrong'
direction. It suggests that attention is
directed away from something. By
constantly using this term, it eventually
becomes so ingrained in our minds that
we might start to perceive misdirection
as directing attention away from rather
than toward something."

See also
The Conjurer (painting) by Hieronymus
Bosch (c. 1502)
Magic (illusion)
Optical illusion
Secrecy
References
1. Our Magic, page 117, second edition
copyright 1946
2. Harlan Tarbell, The Tarbell Course in
Magic Vol. 1
3. Henry Hay, The Amateur Magicians
Handbook, pg. 2, copyright 1972
4. Dariel Fitzkee, Magic by Misdirection,
pg. 33, copyright 1975
5. Lantiere, Joe (2004). The magician's
wand : a history of mystical rods of power
(Rev ed.). Oakville, CT: Olde World Magick.
ISBN 9780962769559.
6. The Encyclopedia of Magic and
Magicians, pg. 232, copyright 1988
7. The 36 Strategems
8. Ganson, Lewis. The Magic of Slydini,
Harry Stanly Publishing, London, 1968.
9. (copyright 1948, page 27)
10. The Books of Wonder Volume I,
copyright 1996

External links
Misdirection Resource Center
Misdirection methods

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