truly truly fascinates me
the brain can be manipulated in many ways, and i am always enormously eager to learn about the theory behind magic tricks and pickpocketing the same
just recently did i realize that a TON of these "unbelievable" magic tricks are made for tv, and that the illusion in question is just that: theyre movie-tricks, computer generated effects, actors, you name it. the illusion is the trust in genuinity, especially considering the majority of magic tricks ARE genuine, and viewable up close.
i used very simple misdirection as a kid, when i cheated in monopoly games. i would change cash "in plain view", for everyone to see. this would lower their guard, and allow me to just grab money from the bank.
i tried pickpocketing a friend once, just to test myself, and i was totally successful. took his wallet, and joined him back in a panicked frenzied search for it through a cafeteria, untill i gave it back. he was less amused than i was.
i also tried shoplifting as a teen, using simple misdirection in the sense that i would pick up the candy-bar, then take it with me to the fruit section or something. someone stuffing a candybar in their pocket next to the candybar shelf look like a thief.
someone stuffing a candybar in their pocket next to the watermelons and cucumbers... the image changes completely, and people no longer see the connection between the pocket, and the store items.
junkies told me how they would play w peoples expectations in a similar way, by stealing HUGE ammounts in one go. most people shoplift an item at once, to hide in their pocket. they, instead, would fill a whole basket, and simple walk through the exit with it. in order to safeguard a minimum, they would buy a token item. the cashier is busy, and is simply not curious about the basket filled w groceries. once theyre through, the cashier is busy w the next customer, and they can calmly fill the bags, and leave.
i also got away w hash during a bust, by placing the hash in the shadow of my ashtray. they brought dogs, which sniffed it out. the cops however were looking under and behind things. in their minds, hash HAS to be hidden. whatever that brown, hash-like lump was, it couldnt possibly be hash, cus it was in plain view. most likely, they never even spotted it. to my delight, i could hear them discuss what the dog was reacting to, untill they concluded it was the ashtray itself.
also, in the military i was the only guy to save my booze during a booze-raid interrupting a illegal party we had in the barracks.
while everybody else froze and confused themselves, i calmly placed the bottle right next to my leg, at such an angle it was obscured from the sarge. at the first and best sign of commotion, i hinted to the lapplander, who grabbed the bottle, and dove out the window(!) still without anybody noticing - and this inside a small room full of people.
any own experiences successes or experiments with misdirection?
