The William W. Larsen Memorial Library

Designing Miracles – Creating the Illusion of Impossibility

Author/Editor: Ortiz, Darwin

Foreword by Whit Haydn

Introduction
Magic as Craft
Designing the Effect

Chapter One – Picking the Best Method
Cleverness
Creativity
Difficulty
Efficiency
Whether It Fooled You
Novelty
The Trick with No Method
“It Doesn’t Matter”
Design

Chapter Two – The Magical Experience
The Magical Experience
Deception vs. Illusion
Puzzle vs. Miracle

Chapter Three – Causality
No Way
Making Causal Connections
The Design Bonus
Analytical Tools
Inner Reality vs. Outer Reality

Chapter Four – Temporal Distance
The Critical Interval
Case Studies
The Magician Mentality
Forward Time Displacement
Time Misdirection
Time Displacement and Acting
Time Displacement and Magic Gestures
Time Displacement Convincers
The Time Displacement Device
Case Study: Carlyle’s Homing Card
Forward Time Displacement Methodology
Double Time Displacement
Time Displacement and Presentation
Backward Time Displacement
Psychological Surrender
Case Study: Carlyle’s Homing Card
Case Study: Oral Hygiene
Backward Time Displacement Methodology
Backward Time Displacement and Intensity Misdirection
Time Displacement and Sleights
Where the Dirty Work Happens
Where the Move Happens

Chapter Five – Spatial Distance
Positioning Effect and Method in Space
Time and Space
Removing the Evidence
Secret Transfer
Shifting Location of Revelation
Isolation
Producing a Distant Duplicate
The Two-Out-of-Three Rule
The Vanish and the Production
Subverting the Timeline
Creating False Proximity

Chapter Six – Conceptual Distance
Physical Barriers
The Hole Container
Information Barriers
Case Study: The Trick That Can’t Be Explained
Information Barriers and Conservation
Creating Information Barriers
Case Study: Note Under Cup
The Veils Principle
Barriers to False Explanations
Eliminate Suspicion Before It Forms

Chapter Seven – The False Frame of Reference
The Straight and Narrow Path
The “Too Obvious” Theory
Method as Effect
The Method/Effect Shift
The Final False Solution
Frame of Reference and Kickers
The Crooked Path

Chapter Eight – Visual Magic
Defining Visual Magic
Visual vs. Mental Components
Laying the Groundwork
Strengthening Visual Magic
Momentary Delay
Time Displacement in Visual Magic
Conceptual Barriers in Visual Magic
Limitations of Visual Magic
Exploiting Visual Magic
As a Time Displacement Device
As a Validating Phase
As Part of a Visual/Covered Design
As Incidental Magic

Chapter Nine – Correlation: Making and Breaking Patterns
Conviction
Repetition
Elimination Pattern Clues
Method vs. Technique
Complete Time Displacement
Combining Different Methods
The Composite Perfect Method
Case Study: Carlyle’s Homing Card
The Rule of Three
Thematic Misdirection
Creating False Correlations

Chapter Ten – Manipulating Memory
The Fallacy of Deep Motivation
Telegraphing Motivation
Ruses
Incidental Actions
Accidental Actions
Extraneous Actions
Altering the Final Picture
Final Points

Afterword

Appendix One – Darwin’s Laws

Appendix Two – Glossary