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The Trick That Tricks You Too: Why “Name Any Card” Might Be Less Fooling Than You Think
It’s the magician’s dream: no force, no cues, no hesitation — just a spectator naming any card their heart desires. It sounds like the...

alicepailhes
5 min read


Do Magicians Really Understand Their Audience? A Look at the “Insight Hypothesis”
For over a century, magicians have been hailed not just as performers but as intuitive psychologists, masters of attention, misdirection,...

alicepailhes
4 min read


What Magic Taught Me About Finding My Voice
I’ve stood in front of all kinds of audiences over the years. Not always on big stages or audiences like TED, but sometimes in dim-lit...

alicepailhes
2 min read


Perception Is a Prediction: What a Grey Illusion Reveals About Perception and Reality
Look at the picture above. At first glance, it feels obvious: the top block is lighter, the bottom one is darker. That’s just how it...

alicepailhes
3 min read


The Magic of Leadership: 3 Magic Principles to Elevate Your Leadership
Imagine a moment of pure astonishment—watching a magician defy logic and make the impossible happen right before your eyes. That spark of...

alicepailhes
4 min read


Is Exposure Really Bad for Magic?
‘Some magicians have never tipped to the fact that pretty much everyone knows a certain amount of magic. It is a developmental stage we...

alicepailhes
7 min read


A psychological classification of forcing techniques
The psychology behind different types of magicians' forces. Over the last 7 years, I have tried to bridge the gap between the field of...

alicepailhes
8 min read
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