Daria Perevalova

Year 3, Group 1
Translation FFL MSU
Nov 19, 2021

Marco Tempest: The Magic of Truth and Lies

(Review)

The speech reviewed was given at an official TED conference in 2011. Marco
Tempest, a famous magician, dwells upon the subject of lie as a part of people’s
life while telling the audience about a special application that he uses to make
illusions. He also provides the audience with some examples that show how lies
influence us in a positive way.

First, the speaker informs the audience about his favorite magician Karl
Germain and his famous tricks with a rosebush and a butterfly. He uses this
example to claim that deception is essential in a magician’s profession. The
speaker emphasizes that magicians do not actually deceive people.

Afterwards Marco Tempest points out that lies are actually natural. He also
provides the audience with some statistics, stressing that men lie twice more
than women. According to the speaker, deception helps people feel better than
they really are.

Marco Tempest proceeds to quote some famous people, such as Sun Tzu and
Oscar Wilde who admitted that their work would not be the same without lies.
Then the speaker dwells upon the subject of self-deception, stressing that it is
highly common among gamblers. However, this is also a positive illusion which
helps people stay optimistic. Tempest emphasizes that art is also a positive form
of deception which creates the truth.

To conclude, Marco Tempest states that deception is present in different fields

of people’s life. He stresses that it affects us not only negatively but also helps
create art and magic. This allows people to experience real positive emotions.