Exploring the challenges of auditory magic tricks

Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks like pulling a bunny out of a hat or sawing someone in half, but sound-based tricks are rare. A new article published in the journal Cell Press Trends in Cognitive Sciences on October 4 explores why creating a magical experience using only sound can be challenging and highlights the importance of making magic accessible to people who are blind.

Since magic is about the conflict between our perceptual processes and our beliefs, we should be able to experience magic in other senses, but it turned out to be really difficult. If you were born blind, you’ve probably never tried a magic trick. Why is this? Can we create tricks that blind people could enjoy and experience?”

Gustav Kuhn (@GustavKuhn), Corresponding Author, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Plymouth

Only a few tricks involve other senses, such as touch, and almost none focus exclusively on auditory perception. But auditory illusions are everywhere. Stereo sound manipulates the timing of sound between the ears, creating the illusion of sound coming from different directions. The films use the Shepard tone, an auditory illusion that gives the impression of an endlessly rising tone, to create suspense and tension that keeps the audience on edge.

So why are auditory magic tricks rare? The researchers argue that the reason may stem from fundamental differences between the way the brain processes visual and auditory information. Humans are visual creatures. We tend to trust what we see more than what we hear, so we are more surprised when our vision deceives us.

Visual perception also reflects the state of the world, while auditory perception is transitory. In other words, sound provides information about an event that has occurred. Because magic is based on manipulating the perceived state of the world, this distinction between sight and sound may lie at the heart of why auditory tricks are elusive.

“If you see a trumpet, you don’t say, ‘I saw the perception of a trumpet,'” Kuhn says. “But if you hear a trumpet, you are more likely to say, ‘I heard the sound of a trumpet.’ That’s the difference we don’t think about.”

Another possibility is that magicians simply never thought to create auditory tricks, although the team thinks that’s unlikely given the art’s creativity and history. However, to find out, the team launched a competition challenging magicians to come up with tricks using only sound, with the results expected in November 2024.

“Magic shouldn’t be based on sight alone, and yet it’s nearly impossible to perform a trick that doesn’t involve our visual perception,” says Kuhn. “We don’t yet fully understand why, but this is an interesting question that requires more research into our senses and may help make magic more inclusive.”

This work was supported by a grant from the Agence Nationale de Recherche.