Our first speaker of the Autumn season was Magician Pete Turner who presented Heads I win,Tails you lose. Peter’s main theme was how he used an understanding of probability to solve various problems. This was reinforced by asking questions and observing body language. He was then able to determine what card a person was holding. The explanation seems plausible but it still seems like magic to me. If a trick didn’t go as planned he solved it with a magicians switch, changing one card for another and I’ve no idea how he did that either!
After introducing himself, Pete asked us to stand and place our hands on our heads or bottom. Following a spin of a coin he asked the ‘heads’ or ‘tails’ to sit down depending on which side the coin had landed. By repeating the process only one person was left standing. Pete then produced a pre-written note that described the winning person. Magic! Whilst this was going on a passer by was seen looking into the church with much bemusement.
Although he didn’t want to encourage gambling Pete concluded with some advice on how to win at roulette. This involved following the sequence of red/black. If there had been 4 reds then probability suggests the next spin will be black. My suggestion would be to try this at home and not the casino!
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Article written by Richard Hughes, with thanks.