Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rationalt
The abUity to quiddy produce a magic square for an audience-
select~ number is always impiessive, and because of dús has been
featured, both as a close-up pedonnance item and as a popular
"openet", by many mentalists. A grid ftlled wlth numben that totaJ
the same when added in almost any conceivable fashion is both
curious and fasdnating. lf this total is a value that hu personal
meaning to the partidpant, the square will be kept; lf it Is written
on the bac:k of the entertainer's business ~ that too will be kept.
The vendan presented here diverts attention from the mathematical
nature of the mnstruction proce5S1 by producing the squue so
qwddy that somedüng otha lhan calculatiol\ seeJnS to be involved. lt
can be offered as a demonstration of the entertalner's mental slcills, or
used (as suggested by Richard Webster) to produce a numerological
talisman for the participant And unllke many magic squue
constructions, you1 U find this approach to be easily unders~
learned, remembered, and performed.
Roy Johnson's4 "Flash Square" providea the jumplng•off point.
This dever plot, although elegantly concelved, suffers from a lack
of repeatability, as it uses the same numeric pattem each time.
Conaequentl~ only four numbers (in the identk:al positions) will
difler from one square to ~ making at least a portion ol the
method somewhat transparmt shouJd two such aquares ever be
compared. This llmitation makes it impractical for the walk-around
entertainer (or one pttfonning to repeat audiences, such • a trade
show pmenter).
Thus •Plul, Squarect• (or -i:Jash24'), desaibed ~ which
advances the original concept in four notable ways. F1nt, lt is based
on a more ,ophisticated (and thus "interesting") magic square, with a
guaranteed mlnlmum of 36 sqtWaú ad distlnct tomhlnotions that add
up to the selected value. Secon4 the mtnimal work net'eSNry on the
Plot
1ñe partldpan t chooses a number (the "'magic constanr '). Any
number wiO work, but values less than 21 wW mult in negative
numben being incorporated in the squ~ and large numbers are
aomewhat more llkely to draw attention to one upect of the method.
)ohnaon deverly suggesta obtaining an appropriate (and. meaning ful)
number by llk1ng the participa nt to rwne a particularly memorab le
age. one lhat holds special meaning in his or her own personal
adult (le., over 21) lile. This number is writlen on the back of the
enterwner's business c:ard. uong with the putidpanrs initials; the
enterta1ner then turna the card ow~ and autograp hs (or writes the
aurent dateon)l ts tace.
The entertainer now constructs, on the back of the carel, a magic
square that adda to the chmen number. Thil can be done in as
Uttle u 8ve or l1x aeconds. Johnaon'a approach is to emphasiz e the
imponlbWty of aune (1'11 show you something wlth this carel that
will take fewer than ten seconds.N), making it more of a magic trick.
My atyle is almply to aeate the square (in a very ~ almost
trance-li b 1tate), and allow lhe audience members to mab their own
observations (and draw lheir own CDndusiona) about the rapidity
wilh whidt l might IKXODlplish thia.
And alter demonstr ating dw amazing properties of the resulting
a,agic lqllal'e, the entmain er is me to leave the businesa cani with
the partidpant u a soavmir of the event
S. Oí die IIO polllW. -.C ,q.-c co..aucdona., thcro ww only íow 1hu tnffl rhc vuloua
....,.._ . fot Flah s.,w.l, dtCR Ql'I k uecd IO <tta&C 12 dtff'""' pait1emt· di~ orlgtnaf 4'
22 .... • 4 (-.111dNt) • 2 ( ~
Methodology (The Mechanics)
The first asp«t of the methodology deals with the medaanics of
producing the square so quiddy. This explolta the venerable •Out to
Lunch" principie to conceal the fact that most of IM sq1111rt has btffl ftl1ed
0111 in advantt o/ lh~ pnft,rmana. You might employ one of the specia1
devices avaHable to facilitate same (such as a business card dip, or
one of severa) spedal wallets), or simply use the clusic approach: a
rubber band wrapped around a packet of busine9a c1rds.
The cards Are pMpa~ (in dassic •aut to Lunch" fashion) as follows
l. Pre-draw the grid for a 4x4 square
on one haU of the backs of several
business cards. The grid can be
open (like an expanded tic-tac-
toe game, as illustrated here), or
dosecL u shown in the Appendix
to this chapter. These grids ahould
be reasonably ~ so that
disaepandes a.re not appa,ent
·1ater; if you plan to perform this
often, consider having the carda
preprinted, 01' pedlaps obtain a
Nbberstamp with the grid design.
2. Cut one of these cards in half, and
use ad.heaive tape to attach the
half with the grid to the end of a
face down business carel. Place
thts long card on top of a tace
down packet of regular cards.
3. Using the adhesive tape as a
hinge. fold the half ami towud
you and down to cover the upper
haU of dw lower carel (lo which it
remains attached). 11üs completes
the •permanenr' setup; the steps
that follow ue iepeated e.ch time
a new square is constructed.
4. Inaert a card, prepared as
clescribed in the following secti~
under the hinged flap, such that
the empty grid on the .flap hides
the partially finished square. 23
5. Fold the flap down against the prepared card.
6. Wrap a wtde rubber band' around the packet of cards,
concealing the seam aeated by the flap. You are now set to
perfonn.
11 you can obtain an appropriately sizecl Nbber band, it is a1so
poaible to cement it to the edge of the haU ard, and eliminate the
neecl for I hinge. Thls resuJIS in a less IObust prop, and iequires more
eme in malntaining allgnment of the half carel, but allows sevua1
iepeat performanca without insemng new carda under the flap;
&esh carda can repeatedly be drawn from the (almolt) top of the
packeL
11 8 16 2
17 1 12 7
4 18 6 9
5 10 3 19
The nwnbers in the FlashSquared iesultssum to themagicconstant
in the list of 24 •un1versa1• pattems shown in the pievioua chapter
(additional combinations will vary in their orientations, depending
on the chosen draft1). & p,rtiallllrfy ~ lhat nol ali po,sllk in,.,,_
2x2 sqlUl7a ""'Y sum to the ta,gá oalue, lhough lht ftw listtd on page 19
will aluNzys do so.
The reason for having thirty-two different drafts (and these are
the only onea possible) is to enswe that dlfferent partidpants will
?• 1 IIC\IC'f .,olnc ou, 1h1: f'lltn pam:rns. though occuíonally "Uo' coche tcdpwnr that r~"l'C are
odtt1 way, o( mchln, dw eot:il u wtl. whid, sht cu dJm,w,r un hc-r ,,wn. 25
recelve IUbstantially different magic squares, comparilonl of
w~c h
ase unlikely to revea) a mns isten t arrangement. When
prep anng
the cards ahNd of time, therefore. work your way through al1 of
the
dnfb -ide ally in the order suggcsted befo ~ repeating, in orde
r to
maximize 1h11 random appearance.
Perft,nntmce
Scripting la left to the indi vidu al entertainer's d'°5en style
; only a
b8lic outllne 1s offeied here.
Determine the part idpa nt's target number (•magtc constant•
,
u discualed above), and writ e it on the expoeed lower half
of the
(eeaetly prepared) card; wrlt e the part ldpa nrs inltl als next
to this
number.
Rotate the packet to face yourself, and then extract the card
,
mnd nuln g to tum the cud completely over in order
to auto grap h
its front side (this is the motivation for removing the c:ard
hom the
nabber-banded packet befo re comtructing the squu e). Be care
ful not
to expoee the putially compleled squu e.
1um the card over agai n so lhat the grid faces you (ahie
lding it
&om the part idpa nt's view), and 6ll in the mna inda of the
mag k
squue. The time take n to do this should be made mns istm t with
your perfonnlng premise.
Brtefly expl aln lhe n!SUlting &qu aft to the participant, poln ting out
the many ways in which it adds to the choeen num ber. Leav
e the card
u• 9011venlr, and move on.
To re1et. lnaert another prepared card (wit h a diffa ent patt
em)
und er the ftap in the packet of bu.siness carda.
0n Stagt
Thls particular app oach to mag icttq mte m"s tn..dloa il not
l8lr icte d
to cloee-up lile with business carcls, of QJl1- but a1lo appl
icable
platform pr11entationa of the p)ol . In suc:h ~ the •Ou to
t to
LUJ dl• component can be eliminaled. wlth the equue simp
ly draw n
(ulln g a duk felt mark er) on the back of a luge piece of foun
bou d
(or similar}, lhe &ont side of which is UMd to record tht chm
en target
number. Care muat naturally be take n not to e(po llt dllP prep
ased
llde of the bon d, but it should arou ,e no suspidon at this poin
t, sínce
the aucllence does not kno w wha t you are about to do.
With a larger staging, tt ma.y (though not necessarily) be
Jess
desl rabl e to produce a square tailored to a single audi
ft\ce member,
in ord• r to malee it clea r that no collu s1on is takin g plac
26 e The "ove r
21" ploy to ensure an appropriate target number will not work in
such aitualions; here Is a possible altematlve...
Randomly a.lect an auclience member., and ask for a single digit
&om one through nine to be named; write this in the cnta of the
board. lf that digit is a •c,ne", have a second audience member choose
11 tlij/mnt digil. This is written lo 1M kft o/ lltt origiul digil, ,o the
resulting target value will always be 21 or greater.
lf any digit othn than "'~"' is chosen, hav• the aecond participant
cho05e a dlgit in the same range. Write this second dlgit to the left or
right of the first,, u required to aeate the more suttable number.
Or try the approach used by veteran entertainer Roas Johnson
in his present.ations of Flash Squtmd: "How many squares do you
see here7" begins Ross, as he invites partidpants into his world.
After settling that question (t:here ~ 30), he asks a few of them to
select any number of their own choosing. To ensure that they're not
thinking of the same number, he has one peraon c:hoose a number
&om 1-25, another from 26-50, a third &om 51-75, etc. 11lert ~ asks
these participants a few non SflJKi1&11 questions, sud, as • Are you
right- or left-handedr, -..Ow many siblings do you haver, "'Are
you more partial to plain or spicy foods?", etc. Apparently ascribing
some significance to their responses, he then tells the person who
selected a number in the ~50 range that •¡ think you'D malee the
best candidate for this demonstration", and proceecls to complete ~
plot with that penon' s target vallM!.
Anexample
For a target midrange value of 60, N -
(60 + 4) - 6 • 9, yielding a subtra.ction
constant of (3 X 9) + 21 • 48, not 811 21 18
29 12
euy nwnber to lllbtract in your head.
A better dloice of N, thaefule, would 30 11 22 17
be 10, yieldlng a subtraction COlll ta\t
of (3 ,e 10) + 21 • 51; this a1lows UR 14 31 16 19
of the •me subtraction trick (subbact
50, then deae ue the te$Ult by one) 15 20 13 32
IUgg eated previoualy.
Now, lf a participant chooses a
target value of 80, the initial number to be w ritten becomes so _51 =
29. Ualng the ffnt draft results in the magic square shown here.
A,, ahould be dea~ such range-adjust-ed drafts hide the mech
28 anic:s
quite nicely, and still exlubit all the spedal c:haracteristics of the
squares as described here.
Another example
ShouJd you wish the target number
to be a year in • proximate century, 504 501 483 495
an excellfflt choice for N is 493,
yielding the extremely convenient
subtraction constant of 1500. Thus 464 494 505 500
a participant-chosen target of 1963
would result in the square shown
on the right (agaln using the first
497 465 499 502
pattem). This malees for even
simpler arlthmetic than two-digit 498 503 496 466
equara: as most who use this will
do 10 with contemporary dates (i.e.,
in the 20th and 21st cmturies), they wiD quiddy tealize that the initial
number for a 19xx date is simply hx (with a 20xx date yielcling Sxx),
elimlnating the need for any subtraction at alll
As this particular range of target vahaes supports aome appealing
presentational ideas (•thinlt of a yNr that is of particular significance
in your lile"), and because the use of larger numben can make the
plot seern even more impressive_ l have induded a s«'Ond Appendix
with the corresponding drafts, which work (l.e., yleld no negative
numbers) for all years greater than 1500.
An Additional Presentation/Handl.ing
Bill Cushman published1 his take on Fluh SquaMCI, a vendan
that twns the tables an the typical presentation (the entertainer as
mathematical wizard), by making the participant a target of appuent
subliminal ln8uence. Bill Fritz. i n ~ deviled a convindng handling
that gets away from the usual method ol hlding lhe extra card:
Whtn l bqln lht tjf«t, 1 p11U tlw tntin blodc o/hsinns amis
out o/ my 'UNllltt, uplain that trrch o/ thtM amis is filltd with a
colltdion o/ numbm, and that I IDrlnl to hy an up,rimtnl with
ont o/ tlttm .•.
Durlng this aplanation, I'm displaying tite various cards (as
shorPn al right), lnlt kffp tite OTL packet hiddffl bthlnd lht top
h,inas canl. 1 go on lo apuzin that, In II mommt, I want tht
,-mcipml lo dose ha qs, then, wlten l ,., so, opm •nd dOK
tlrlm • lltouglt they 10fft • ant1'lr taking • pichm. I aplmn llurl
l',n going to hold aq, one oftht amisJo, ha mortal •sups1,o1• bad
tlral l wnt lo ut . - u.t w 1-n't _,. y,tL Tllis 11Uotos me lo
han lllt mnt, loamd • , and rnow lflt top arrd to tht NCk o/~
,l«k, pKlting lltt OTL ,-,cut ,roa, on top. l _, apl,in ltorD it's
inqlo,lanl tlult w gtl • dmrpim,,r-one IMI isn't duttmrl wilh
olhn imogn"' numbm Clm t. phont numbn o, pichltt on my
ami}; tlrus l'rn going to cowr up tite botlom so tlult w won't bt
diltrocta by othtr fmagts. Whm she cla,n htr tya, I hold up tht
""" a ,houm.
My fingtrllps ldde tltt htdfarrd li-. l ttll lwr to opm and clase
lwr qo, •IUl~r w amjim,, tlwd • ,_ tite '""'• in ha
30
mind -lo opm htr eyes tagain. At this time, 1 hlm th, amis tOUNI
Ttl
1M and 7ndl out thl loadtd card, pladng it faet tlown
on tht tabk
(or btpin g lt in my lu,,ul if fMrt isn't a tablt). 1 thtn show
hn
tM bad o/ tht ami, 11,ul ask hu to inuigint a blonk ,mm in leer
mirul. 1 tal 1m not to t,y tmd owr-thinlc thil, but simply • tite
blank scretn tm4, at SOFM poinl, a singlt-digil munba 111ill oppm
,
'befort lrn. 5M ldJs me that mnnbtr, ,md thm 1ak Ita to imagine
,a stmn d singl t-dig il naunbu ~ g . l rrqu nt 1M m,m bm ~
,at • time so tlral if, far om,rplt,wSGys •n;,v • a,ul •troo•, I aan
fJIIY, •Grmt, a two anti a nine; IMt nurhs 29. •, U1hida is o bdta
num bn lo u• thon 92.
1 writt this two-digit num bn on lht bad o/ tlrt busin,ss c11rtl,
titen turn il 0M' and ftl1 in tht mna ining num bm mtht S41Ua
rt
whil! prtttndlng lo writt tht date on the front o/ thl mrtl, ali tht
whlle ,aying, •l'm wriling down todny's IÜllt b«a. ,_ l want you
to rtmtmbtr tht w,ct day tDhnl you rtali ud ju,t heno pou,n
fal
yovr mind mn bt.• o¡ course, t~ dau wa alrtally 1"f"rorltltn on
the card, btd my lumd was c.or,oi,ig tludfoct.
■ 6 11 el
31
-- -- -•
So, that., it. lt's not muda diffmnt from llrt txisting Vtrsions,
ht l lih tht 81Se ffld sirnplidty o/ MIUlling tht amú th;s way,
lllofoing mt lo tlhni1Hltt lht n,&btr b,md. WMn 1do this tffect 11
...,,., of liffltl in OM nighl, 1 hnt atN mn&, u,ing tlifftrtnt
,ra,mbm (tbnks lo Doug's mtlliodology) lolldtrl in 1M hiddtn sib
o/ "'Y wJld: it Ollly lan • malla of s«on4s lo lolltl in anolhn
t»rd, ,.., lltt 51«:t in my wlld, llnd l'm rmdy to do it "Pin.
32
Appendix 1: The Thirty-Two Flash2 Basic Drafts
• •
11 8 2 10 1 8 3 6 9 ~
8 10 3
1 12 7 5 4 11 5 10 4 2 11 5 r
4 6 9 9 7 2 11 8 1 7 4 9
5 10 3 3 6 12 - 2 12 7 1 12 1 6
'
5 4 11 3 5 10 2 11 5 12 7 2
~
10 1 8 6 9 4 8 10 3 ~
1 11 8 ,
3 6 12 - 12 7 1 12 1 6 4 s 10 I>-
g 7 2
• 2 11 8 7 4 9 6 9 3
•
3 10 5 ¡.
12 6 3 7 12 2 61 12
g 6 4 2 7 9 1 8 11 9 4 7
7 12 1 11 4 5 4 10 5 5 11 2 ,
2 • 8 11 8 1 10 9 6 3 3 10 8 -1i'
2 7 g
8 11 2
1
9 4 7
¡ 11
3 9 6
¡.
12 6 3 1 1 12 6 1 12 10 5 4
8 1 10 4 9 6 3 10 8 - 8 11 1 ¡~
11 4 5 10 5 3 5 11 2 2 7 12
~
l
·r - r .,;r
33
l
• g 6 3 -
2 8 11 8 1 10 3 10 8
7 12 1 11 4 5 4 10 5 5 11 2
9 6 4 2 7 g 1 8 11 9 4 7
3 10 5 - 12 6 3 7 12 2 1
6 1 12
•
11 4 5 10 5 3 5 11 2 2 7 12
8 1 10 4 9 6 3 10 8 - e 11 1
.. 12 6 3 1 7 12 6 1 12 10 s 4
2 7 9 8 11 2 1
9 4 7 3 9 6
•
s 10 3 3 6 12
12 7 - 2 12 1 6
4 6 9 9 7 2 11 8 1 7 4 9
t
1 12 7 ' S 4 1
11 5 10 4 2 11 5
• 2 10
11 8 1 8 3 6 9 ►
8 10 3
•
9 7 2 2 11 8 4 9
7 6 9 3
'
3 6 12 . 12 7 1 12 1 6 4 10
5
10 1 8 ' 6 9 4 .. 8 10 3 1 11 8
5 4 11 3 5 10 2 11 5 12 7 2 t
-~
494 501
496 498 503
□
[J
. ,. . top to botan o□m1 mi-- left lo rlpt
IOWI, bottoa, to top ..... npa to 11ft
501 504 416 503 501 -
491 504 ~95
502 497 500
499 494 sos
1
SOi 495 500 505
497 502 499 501 504 494
500 sos 503 491 497
500 496 502 499
36