From spoon samples smuggled from Geller performances, which were scientifically analysed and found to have been repeatedly bent forwards and backwards, it is apparent that Yuri uses more than one method to achieve his effect. But interestingly, the method outlined in Barry Murray’s book is very similar to that shown in a Geller expose which appeared on Independent Television during 1997; anyone can do it with a little practice.

Much of the magic of the magician’s routine actually takes place within the mind of the onlooker; and the fact is that we are easily deceived. Stage magic relies upon the set-up, some element of which is not perceived by the audience, followed by the delivery, in which the unexpected result is achieved. Insight into the immense power which can act upon the mind of the audience may be obtained by performing one of these simple tricks for yourself.

The well known cup and balls routine, performed by many stage magicians, has been around for at least two thousand years. As unlikely as it seems, ‘The first authenticated reference to this magical routine is attributed to the Roman chronicler and philosopher, Seneca … in the first century23’ says Howard Elson in his book Wayne Dobson, A Kind of Magic. However, it is believed that the ancient Egyptians probably also knew of the trick. This trick is so simple to perform, and yet, the illusion of the ball passing through the cup is extremely powerful. When I performed it myself for the first time, there were actually gasps of amazement from my private, little audience.

When confronted with such spectacles, although there is always an extremely simple explanation for the observable facts, an audience will usually be baffled and often become convinced of some more elaborate explanation. Modern, alternative stage magicians have broken away from a long tradition by divulging many professional secrets; the public knowledge of which has destroyed much of the market, finally relegating traditional stage magic from our television screens. But even when the audience understands that the observed effect is produced by trickery, and despite the fact that audiences are undoubtedly becoming increasingly sophisticated, unless it is deliberately pointed out, the simple explanation is usually overlooked.

There are many famous optical illusions which psychologists use to demonstrate the fragility of our perception. Perhaps one of the most famous of these shows a white vase against a black background24, which may equally be perceived as two black faces against a white background. It is quite difficult to see face-vase-face in the same picture because, from experience, we know that such an arrangement is very unlikely. So we attempt to distinguish foreground from background and hence we are likely to see one interpretation more readily than the other. It is also possible to be faced with a sort of oscillation in perception, as the brain first decides upon one interpretation and then changes its mind, so to speak, favouring the opposite interpretation.

It is through our senses that we perceive the world in which we live; and by the interpretation of the information thus obtained that we reconstruct our own version of reality. We are naturally inclined to trust the evidence of our own eyes, but a seeing is believing approach to the discovery of truth is fraught with difficulty. Stage magicians and psychologists alike can provide an ample demonstration of the limitations of the senses. The fact is that what we perceive as truth includes error; just as what we perceive as error may include an element of the truth.