Peter Prevos

The Möbius strip is one of the most enigmatic principles of mathematics. A simple loop of paper transforms in unexpected ways. This topological quandary has not only inspired mathematicians; countless inventions use this principle and artists have painted, sculpted and written stories about the Möbius strip.

The art of magic has extensively used this topological principle to create the illusion of magic. The Afghan Bands were a favourite magic trick in the first half of the last century. Famous magicians such as Harry Blackstone and Nelson Downs regularly performed it in the stage act.

The Möbius Strip in Magic...

Effect: The magician shows a piece of cardboard that resembles a cheese wedge: "This is not a piece of cheese, it is the cardboard cut-out of a piece of cheese". "It is a piece of Dutch cheese. You can recognise this as the holes run horizontally". The magician shows the card on both sides. "What is the difference between Dutch and Swiss cheese?", she asks the audience. She places the card in her fist, indicates the moment of magic, and reveals the card again. "Dutch cheese has horizontal holes, and Swiss cheese has vertical holes". The magician displays the card on both sides to show that...

A treatise on the Gozinta Boxes

The Box Goes-In-Da Box. A treatise on the Gozinta Boxes. Magicians have been captivated by the Gozinta Box since it was first introduced to the magic world by Lubor Fiedler in 1970. The essence of the gozinta plot in magic is that an object fits into itself - a topological anomaly.

The word gozinta (also spelt 'gazinta') is a form of eye dialect, just like words such as fella for fellow or helluva instead of "hell of a". The word gozinta was introduced by primary school teachers to explain long division using the gozinta method: 2 gozinta 4, 3 gozinta 6 and so on. ...

The Jastrow illusion is known to magicians as the boomerang illusion. Two boomerang-shaped ring segments seem to be of different sizes but are in fact identical.

Magicians tend to underestimate the power of this simple trick. Its use in magic is limited to children's entertainers and magic kits. This illusion is more powerful than it seems at first sight. A recent viral video shows that its deceptive power is as strong as it was when first discovered almost 150 years ago.

The Jastrow Illusion in Magic ebook provides an in-depth review of the psychology of this illusion and a detailed overview...

When watching a magician the question that is most pressing on people's minds is how did he do it?

This is not the only question that can be asked of a magic performance. A psychologists might ask why it is possible that the mind can be deceived, occupational therapists are interested in how performing magic tricks can help people with physical disabilities and sociologists research the subculture of magicians.

This ebook explores some answers to the questions that scholars from different fields of science have asked about the performances of magicians. For magicians this ebook provides...