Two simple shapes are drawn on a business card and the participant is asked to memorise both shapes and which is inside of which.
When the participant is happy they have had enough time to memorise the shapes and their order he is asked to sign the card and keep hold of it. However, as this is a test of memory, he must not look at it again until the end of the test.
Now the performer begins a small script about losing your memory and how we forget the simplest of things. During this script the shapes the participant is thinking of are mentioned in various ways.
After the performer has finished, he asks the participant if he can remember the shapes. While he can remember the shapes he is unable to correct remember their order.
Upon checking the business card, which he has been holding, he finds that he in fact is incorrect about what he remembers.
To further compound this, the other people in the group who also saw the shapes confirm that the participant’s mind has been altered…and have photographic proof.
Marc Paul –
This is a simple but extremely powerful effect, that has flown under the radar. I’ve seen other memory altering effects and they have all looked a little bit too much like magic tricks, but this is very subtle and because of this it feels more real to the spectator they start t question their recall rather than what they saw. Good thinking Paul, well done.