Math, Magic and Testing

I was out walking, catching up on podcasts when I came across this episode from BBC’s More Or Less. Its focus is math and statistics issues that come up in the news and (unsurprisingly) a lot of that has been about statistics surrounding COVID 19.

I was surprised when the episode contained a magic trick!

The trick in question is a math/mindreading trick which is quite old. It’s not uncommon to find it in children’s math sets. It’s most commonly known as the “Age Cards”. The way it works is that the magician has six cards with a bunch of random numbers printed on them, usually from one to sixty-four. You think of a number and look at the cards one by one and say “Yes” or “No” depending on whether or not you see your number. And that information is enough to determine what number you’re thinking of.

What’s really cool is that this concept is being applied to the technique of “Pool Testing” which is a method of grouping together multiple virus tests so you only have to run the test once but can still sort out who (probably) has the virus.

I was at convention some years ago with the legendary British magician Paul Daniels (who probably performed more magic on TV than any other person in history). He said that it was performing the “Age Cards” for someone randomly on a train led to his first TV show.

Free Giveaway: Socially Distanced Magic

For the past several years, the highlight of just about each and every week has always been performing magic in front of a live audience and that’s been taken away. As we work to find creative ways to get together, particularly online, I’ve been getting used to performing for people virtually.

The last few months have been difficult for everyone and some people are feeling the stress from distancing more sharply than others. So with that in mind to give people a chance to connect with friends and family they can’t meet in person, get distracted and have fun, we’re doing a free giveaway. Every week from now until the end of October we’re giving away a free virtual magic show.

The Prize

A forty-five minute interactive magic show on Zoom for up to six households. This is a new format, close-up on camera with brand new material, totally different from the live shows I’ve done in the past.

One name will be selected at random at the end of each week on Sunday night from all of the entries received. (Meaning you do not need to enter again every week and the earlier you enter, the more chances you have to win.)

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Enter the contest:

The Fascinating Fine Print:

Limit of one entry per household. Scheduling subject to availability. Not recommended for children younger than twelve. Viewers who are not wearing pants need to be seated at a desk or table. You’ve spent too much time reading the fine print. Nobody reads the fine print. What’s wrong with you? Stop now before someone notices.

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For more information about a virtual magic performance for friends, family and workgroups, please feel free to contact us.

The Allan Slaight COVID-19 Relief Fund

This morning I received this incredible notice from David Ben, the Artistic Director at Magicana. In this time of uncertainty, many industries have been put on hold and this is a reassuring light to brighten the day of many magicians in the country:

“And just like that, the Canadian magic industry has vanished.

In response to difficult and devastating times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for magicians who work in the gig economy, the Slaight Family Foundation has pledged to help.

To contribute during these trying times, the Foundation has established the Allan Slaight Relief Fund of $150,000 to help defray cost-of-living expenses incurred by professional Canadian magicians. The Slaight Family Foundation has partnered with Magicana to administer the payment of funds to applicants who meet eligibility.

The relief fund was initiated to help with monthly household costs, such as telephone, utility and grocery bills, up to a maximum of $500 per application. Because of the uncertainty of how long we must maintain strict social distancing, applicants can reapply for assistance thirty days after receiving a prior payment, until the fund is depleted.

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, living in Canada, working as a full-time professional in magic with at least three years of experience, you are eligible for funding assistance.

We understand that many magicians are semi-professionals. We would, however, ask that applications at this time be reserved for those who rely on magic as their sole source of income.”

— Magicana / www.magicana.com

Speaking from personal experience, the Slaight Family have been unwavering supporters of both healthcare and the arts. For me in particular, that intersection of interests led to an extended opportunity to teach magic workshops for children in hospital and rehabilitation settings with a program called My Magic Hands which was fully funded by the Slaight Family. So reading this announcement, I found my self at the same time deeply moved and also entirely unsurprised.

The months ahead are going to be very difficult for the field. Even as some of the social distancing restrictions begin to relax, large gatherings of people are going to take much longer to return. In particular, anything where people are asked to sit together in rows of seats in close proximity will be off the menu for a while.

Even though most magicians are not pickpockets who are sneakily grabbing your wrist to remove your watch, the heart of magic is its interactive nature. The audience is an integral part of the show. “Examine this.” “Take this card.” “Squeeze this in your hand.”

Close-up magic, which I did a fair amount of, is about creating personalized experiences for small groups of people; maybe even one person. And then you repeat the process sharing the same tiny miracle to new groups of people over and over again, possibly for years. Needless to say, that doesn’t translate well to video online. Not only do you not get to experience what’s going on first hand — there are multiple layers of glass in the way, the camera and your own screen — but it also only needs to exist once and then it’s there online forever.

So live magic will be scarce and possibly a bit weird for the next year. I don’t mean to say it will be changed forever. All signs are pointing towards being able to develop and deploy a vaccine which would render this much more analogous to the seasonal flu and life will start to look more like what we think of as “normal”.