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Can you beat this magic trick? Two-thirds of people pick the same card
Magicians use clever tricks to make you believe in magic. A new study from Goldsmiths University of London pulled back the curtain of mystique on card tricks. Researchers discovered that magic trick psychology comes down to our innate scorn for edges.
Essentially, the study asked 60 people to pick a card. Two-thirds of the participants chose the same card: the third from the left. According to the leading researcher, it all comes down to laziness.
We’ll dive into more detail below. Do you want to be more productive this year? Use one of these 10 iPhone and Android apps to be more productive in 2023.
Most of us are the same, according to magic trick psychology
You probably think you’re in complete control of your thoughts, feelings and actions. In reality, most of us are oblivious to our choices. We take autonomy for granted and think we’re the only ones who would pick a particular card out of four presented to us.
According to this study, most people will pick an object from the middle of a row. Here are the details:
- When you line up four cards in a row, 66% of people will go for the third card from their left.
- This is much higher than it should be, statistically. Each card should have a 25% chance.
- However, since most people are right-handed, they’ll go for the third card on the left, the study shows.
Most people are right-handed, so they’ll pick the card closest to their dominant hand. “Then why not pick the one furthest to the right?” you may wonder. Well, most people don’t want to pick one at the edge. They feel like going for the middle is the safer bet.
This changes when we look at left-handed people. They’ll also go for the closest card within their reach.
So next time you want to fool a magician, go for the card furthest away from you! Also, don’t take too long to decide. Magicians may see which card you’re considering and subtly rearrange the cards to make sure you pick the right one.
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Tags: Android, Apple iPhone, control, optical illusions, psychology, study
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