Our guest speaker on Friday 24th March was Pete Turner, a professional magician for the past 26 years. A man still clearly in love with his job.
On his visit last year Pete entertained us with table magic during a celebratory lunch where he demonstrated some of his intriguing magic tricks. Pete’s talk in March was Heads I win Tails you lose and he talked about the psychology of magic and the probability of predicting the correct playing card chosen and held by a volunteer. The magician relies on probability, so has to be aware of the odds of his prediction being correct. The mathematics involved in the prediction are very complex. Pete is very fortunate to have a brother who has been able to work out the odds of the various tricks working out the way Pete had hoped.
We were astonished when, after a large number of audience members stood up, as requested by Pete were gradually eliminated. The last standing was handed a piece of paper on which Pete had earlier written the prediction that he would be the last man standing. The pre written paper had described in detail, the clothing that the man would be wearing.
Pete left his audience with a piece of advice, if you have to toss a coin at any time, use a Euro, because they don’t have ‘heads’.Thus you will always be the winner.
As always Pete left his audience entertained, baffled and bewildered, in equal measure.
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Article provided by Edwina Alcock. Photographs by John Hitchmough, with thanks.