魔術之魅魅在心

俗話說:“三分魔術，七分表演。”狡猾的魔術師在不知不覺中用他們變幻莫測的千變手法和巧妙埋伏的認知陷阱魅惑了被動的觀眾，表面上玩兒的是障眼法，實際上用的卻是識心術。當我們把魔術和大腦認知理論結合起來就會發現——是人變，是物變，所謂魔術萬變;非人動，非物動，皆因觀者心動!

Magic tricks may look simple， but they exploit cognitive patterns that scientists are only beginning to understand. Now psychologists are considering how they can use magic to advance our understanding of the brain. For most of the past century， magic tricks have been ignored， even though the effects are large， replicable， and experienced by just about everyone.

The collective wisdom of magicians， honed1) for millenia by the gazes of suspicious crowds， contains insights for investigators of human perception and cognition. A science of magic could take both cognitive science and magic to new heights. A magician’s force relies on the spectator being unaware that his or her choice is being manipulated.

So how do magicians turn the laws of nature on their heads2)， if only for a moment? Let’s break it down:

When a magician looks at a certain spot or makes a particular gesture， our attention is naturally drawn to it. And though we like to think that we’re aware of everything in our field of vision， we’re generally oblivious3) to all but the object of our focus.

Example: Bewildering Beaker4)

Effect: A beaker vanishes.

SecretThe beaker is glued to a small wooden tray. In the centre of a scarf sew a circle of cardboard5). Show the beaker， and then cover it with the scarf or handkerchief. Lift the scarf (holding the cardboard disc so it looks as if you are holding the rim of the beaker) and turn the tray towards you. Stand the tray against something on your table—with the beaker side away from the audience. Everyone believes you are holding the beaker. Throw the scarf in the air and catch it as it falls—the beaker has vanished.

Just as the attention of our eyes can guide， so can the attention of our minds. A casual motion belies6) its importance to a trick. Heightened suspense muddles7) the audience’s focus on the mechanics of a routine. The mere mention of a 1 explanation precludes8) notice of the real one.

Example:Cut and Restored Ribbon

Effect: A ribbon is cut in two and then restored.

SecretYou need a piece of ribbon a metre long and another eight centimetres long. Sew the short piece to the middle of the long piece. Provided you keep it moving， the short piece will not be noticed. Fold the ribbon in half and pull the centre up through your fist. In fact you pull up only the short piece. Cut through the short piece and then cut away the rest of it (including the stitched bit).You have cut the ribbon in two but you can now show it completely restored!

The most-obvious of a magician’s tools: Shifts of perspective distort the true size of an object， and there’s no end to what can be done with mirrors.

Example: Rubber Wand9)

Effect: The magician’s solid wand or pencil seems to turn to soft rubber. On command， it turns solid again.

SecretHold the wand horizontally in front of you between thumb and forefinger about a third of the way from the end. By moving your hand up and down in short quick moves， the wand will seem to become flexible and appear as if it were made of rubber (see illustration). This is an excellent optical illusion.

PresentationTap the wand on something to show that it is solid. Say the magic word and now demonstrate that it is wobbly and flexible. Another magic word and it turns solid again.

Because of the delay between raw perception and cognitive processing， our minds feed us an image of reality that’s actually a fabricated prediction of the near future. By exploiting that delay， a magician can trick us into seeing what isn’t there—or missing what is.

Example: Metal Bending

Effect: A spoon is bent and then straightened again.

SecretTake the spoon in your left fist. Position the bowl so it rests on the table. Move your right hand over the left and change the left grip to hold the spoon by third and little fingers. As you pretend to press the spoon against the table top， bring your hands up to a vertical position as if really bending the handle. Move the hands back and forth as if the metal is becoming really supple10). Blow on the spoon and throw it on the table. The handle is straight.

You pick a card at random， of your own free will. But how compromised is that will? Are the cards really shuffled? Is the deck stacked11)? Has one card been displayed a little longer than the others—not so long as you notice， but long enough that you instinctively pick it?

Example: In the Red

Effect: You instantly identify a selected card.

SecretPlace all the black cards on top of the red cards and you are ready. Spread the cards face down and ask someone to take any card. Make sure he takes one from the top (black) half of the pack. He then replaces it anywhere in the pack but you make sure he replaces it somewhere in the bottom (red) half of the pack. Look through the cards and somewhere in the red cards will be one black card. That is the chosen card. Remove it and show it to everyone.

And these tricks are just the beginning. They call on scientists to explain all known magic effects in terms of known perceptual and cognitive mechanisms. When a trick can’t be explained， then scientists will know that they are on to12) something new; and when they find something new， magicians can use it to invent tricks.

The benefits won’t stop there. Magicians aren’t just found at children’s parties and street corners; they’re everywhere. Many of the techniques used in advertising and political propaganda resemble the methods of the magician. Because there will always be motives for manipulating our choice， an important challenge for the future will be to understand these techniques sufficiently to ensure our free will.

There you go: magicians as revolutionaries! Just think how much better V for Vendetta13) would have been if V made Parliament disappear instead of blowing it up.

魔術也許看似簡單，但是其中所利用的人類認知模式卻剛剛為科學家所了解。現在，心理學家正在探索如何利用魔術來加深對于大腦的認知。在20世紀的絕大多數時間里，雖然魔術的影響廣泛，能被人模仿表演，而且幾乎所有的人都體驗過魔術的魅力，但是，魔術戲法所暗藏的本質卻一直不曾受人關注。

魔術師的智慧結晶在觀眾難以置信的探究眼神中磨礪了千年，對于研究人類感知的人來說，其中的確包含了真知灼見。魔術研究可以把認知科學和魔術都推上新的高峰。魔術師之所以具備魔力，在于觀眾沒有意識到自己的選擇正在受人操控。

那么魔術師是如何輕而易舉地顛覆自然法則的呢，哪怕只是片刻?讓我們來一探究竟。

每當魔術師注視某一點，或做出某個特殊動作時，我們的注意力就會自然而然地被吸引過去。雖然我們自以為能關注到視線范圍內發生的一切，但其實我們只會注意到我們關注的焦點，對其他的一切往往視而不見。

范例:燒杯之謎

效果:燒杯消失。

秘密 將燒杯用膠水粘在一塊小木板上。在一塊絲巾的中央縫上一個圓環紙板。展示燒杯，然后用絲巾或手帕蓋住燒杯。拎起絲巾(抓住紙板，讓觀眾感覺你抓住的是杯口)，翻轉木板，使木板朝向自己。將木板豎立在桌上的某個物品上——有燒杯的一面朝里，不能讓觀眾看到。所有的觀眾都以為燒杯抓在你的手中。此時把絲巾扔向空中，落下時抓住——燒杯不見了!

我們的眼睛會受人擺布，我們的注意力也同樣如此。魔術師一個看似不經意的動作掩飾了其本身的重要性，其實這個動作對于變魔術至關重要。隨著懸念的不斷渲染，觀眾將注意力越來越集中在一連串程式化的動作上，愈加迷惑不解。這時魔術師只需稍稍給出一點誤導的解釋，就會讓觀眾忽略真正的奧秘。

范例:剪斷的緞帶復原

效果:緞帶剪成兩段，而后復原。

秘密 你需要一根一米長的緞帶和另一根80厘米長的緞帶。將短緞帶縫在長緞帶的中間一段。倘若不斷移動緞帶，觀眾就注意不到短的緞帶。將緞帶從中間對折，置于拳中，從拳中拉出中段。事實上，你拉起來的只是短緞帶。將短緞帶剪斷，同時剪除短緞帶剩下的其他部分(包括縫補處)。現在，你已將緞帶一剪為二，而展示出的緞帶卻恢復原狀，完好無損!

魔術師最常見的手法是改變透視角度，從而改變物體的大小。如果再把鏡子派上用場，魔術就更加千變萬化了。

范例:魔棒變軟

效果:魔術師手里堅硬的魔棒或者鉛筆變成柔軟的橡膠棒。根據指令，橡膠棒又變回硬棒。

秘密 用拇指和食指握住魔棒，位置離末端三分之一處，水平置于面前。上下迅速而小幅度地揮舞你手中的魔棒，硬棒看上去變得有彈性，似乎變成了橡膠棒(如圖)。這是利用視覺錯覺的典型范例。

表演 用魔棒敲擊物體，以表明它是堅硬的。念咒語，然后展示魔棒的靈活擺動。再念咒語，魔棒又變得堅硬。

由于人的直觀感覺和人的認知過程之間存在時間上的延遲，因此大腦呈現出來的現實景象實際上是對即將出現的未來圖景的虛擬和預測。魔術師正是利用大腦的認知延遲讓我們看到了原本不存在的事物——或是看不到真正存在的事物。

范例:金屬彎曲

效果:勺子彎曲，然后再次變直。

秘密 左手握拳抓住勺子。把勺底置于桌上。移動右手，置于左手之上，然后改變左手握勺的方式，用中指和小指拿住勺子。當你假裝往下壓勺子使其抵住桌面時，抬起雙手到與勺子垂直的位置，仿佛真的將勺柄折彎。將雙手前后晃動，仿佛金屬真的正在變柔軟。向勺子吹一口氣，扔回桌上。勺柄還是直的。

任意選出一張牌，隨你自己的意。不過這種隨意受了何種程度的牽制呢?牌真的洗過了嗎?這副牌是否暗中被做過手腳?某張牌是否比其他牌被展示的時間長那么一點點——雖然沒有長到引起你的注意，卻長到足夠讓你本能地選出它?

范例:猜牌

效果:迅速找到觀眾選出的牌。

秘密 將所有黑牌放在紅牌上，做好準備。將牌底朝上攤開，請某位觀眾任意選出一張牌。確保他從上半摞中選牌，即選出的是黑牌。讓他把牌重新任意放回牌摞，但要確認他放在下半摞，即紅牌中。眼睛掃一下牌，一堆紅牌中會有一張黑牌。那就是剛才被選出的牌。取出這張牌，向觀眾展示。

這些魔術把戲僅僅是入門級別。它們使科學家從人類已知的感知與認知機制的角度來解釋目前所有魔術的奧秘。如果某個魔術無法解釋，那么科學家就知道有新的領域需要探索;而一旦科學家有新的發現，魔術師也能利用其研究結果發明出新的魔術。

好處還不止這些。我們不僅在孩子們的聚會上和街頭巷尾能夠看到魔術師的身影，他們其實無處不在。廣告和政治宣傳里用的很多策略都與魔術師使用的方法相似。因為總有一些動機促使人操縱我們的選擇。未來的一大挑戰將是如何充分了解這些策略，以確保我們意志自由。

瞧見了吧:魔術師就像革命家!想想吧，如果《V字仇殺隊》里的V不需要費盡心機炸掉議會，而是直接把它變沒了的話，那該多好!

1.hone [hEun] vt. 磨練，訓練，使……完美和有效

2.on one’s head:輕而易舉地

3.oblivious [E5blIvIEs] adj. 不知不覺的

4.beaker [5bi:kE] n. 大口杯，有傾口的燒杯

5.cardboard [5kB:dbC:d] n. 紙板

6.belie [bI5laI] vt. 掩飾

7.muddle [5mQdl] vt. 使糊涂，使困惑

8.preclude [prI5klu:d] vt. 排除

9.wand [wCnd] n. 棒，棍，杖

10.supple [5sQpl] adj. 柔軟的

11.stack [stAk] vt. 洗牌作弊

12.be on to:了解……的情況

13.V for Vendetta:《V字仇殺隊》，全套共十冊的漫畫系列圖書，創作于20世紀80年代，由艾倫·摩爾(Alan Moore)撰寫，大衛·勞埃德(David Lloyd)繪制插圖。故事背景為假設的20世紀90年代的英國，描繪了一個自稱“V”的神秘的無政府主義者如何致力于摧毀專制政府的故事。