Prepare to be amazed! “Astonishing Essays – Joshua Jay (Vol. 10)” unveils secrets behind magic’s allure. Discover insights from groundbreaking research and captivate your audience! A must-read!”
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Discover the Secrets of Magic in Astonishing Essays – Joshua Jay (Volume 10)
Do magicians truly understand their craft, or are they deceiving themselves just as much as their audiences? Joshua Jay’s groundbreaking essay, Magic by the Numbers, challenges long-held beliefs in the magic community with eye-opening research. This final installment of the acclaimed Astonishing Essays series peels back the curtain on how audiences really perceive magic—and the revelations will astonish you.
Why This Essay Is a Game-Changer for Magicians
- Data-backed insights from a pioneering 2014 study with statisticians
- Previously unpublished findings included for the first time
- 8 years of new research showing how magic has evolved
- Practical takeaways to immediately improve your performances
In this compelling essay, Joshua Jay answers provocative questions magicians rarely think to ask: What makes a trick memorable? What do audiences actually want from magic? Which techniques create the strongest impact? The findings—some surprising, some controversial—will make you rethink everything about your craft.
Exclusive Content You Won’t Find Elsewhere
Beyond expanding the original MAGIC Magazine article, this volume includes:
- Analysis of which card forces audiences perceive as most convincing
- Research on optimal timing for having props examined
- Studies comparing the impact of thought-of cards vs. selected cards
- Breakthroughs in how spectators remember magical moments
Dubbed the “Moneyball approach to magic,” Joshua Jay’s research transforms guesswork into data-driven performance. Whether you’re questioning the results or applying them to reshape your act, this is essential reading for magicians who want their magic to truly resonate.
Upgrade your magical thinking. With fascinating statistics, compelling case studies, and actionable advice, Magic by the Numbers gives you the unfair advantage of knowing exactly what works—straight from the audience’s perspective.
As magicians, we deceive our audiences. But, are we also deceiving ourselves? Are there things—big things—that we get wrong about our craft? More importantly, are these things that our audience could identify, yet we never think to ask? The answers, it turns out, are “yes,” “yes,” and another resounding “yes.”
Offered as the final installment in the massively popular Astonishing Essays series, Magic by the Numbers by Joshua Jay examines an innovative research study about how magic is perceived and explores how much has changed in the years since it was commissioned.
Magicians have spoken at length about what they believe makes for a good magic trick. Yet, they almost never explore what audiences look for in a magic effect. In 2014, Joshua collaborated with a team of statisticians to step into the minds of people who watch magic.
He wanted to find the real answers to questions that magicians think they already know the answer to. How much do people actually like magic? What kinds of tricks are most memorable to an audience? What do people like most about magic? What do they like least?
The answers were surprising, shocking, and sometimes even slightly depressing. Some magicians took issue with the findings and questioned the collection techniques when they were first published in MAGIC Magazine. Others used the unexpected results of this wide-ranging survey to reshape their material. It was undeniable though that this was a thought-provoking and invaluable resource for becoming a better magician.
Now, eight years later, Joshua Jay sheds new light on this groundbreaking research with the Magic by the Numbers Astonishing Essay. The first half dives into an expanded version of the original article that includes previously-unpublished material. Joshua then discusses how our craft has evolved in recent years, sharing insights from new studies, experiments, and information that are immensely beneficial for the modern magician. Even if you loved Josh’s original essay and research, you’ll find lots here that has never seen print before.
This captivating essay explores the most interesting and applicable results of these studies, distilling down the lengthy academic texts into concise summaries that answer our most burning questions. He discusses important ideas like which card force is most effective, whether having items examined is better before or after an effect, whether an audience perceives a thought-of card or a selected card as stronger, and how well people remember details in a magic effect.
Offering a detailed look at the “moneyball” approach to magic pioneered by Joshua Jay, Magic by the Numbers is unlike any magic book or essay ever published. It is a must-read for any magician looking to improve their overall performance.
