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There are so many subtle ways humans interact and communicate with the world around us that the study of magic makes us aware of .”
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PHOTO LEFT : Wilhelm von Osten and Clever Hans .
ABOVE : Mark Setteducati
Wilhelm von Osten was a mathematician and schoolteacher living in Germany in the early 1900 ’ s . He was also an amateur horse trainer . At that time , people were becoming interested in how intelligent animals were . Von Osten experimented to see if he could teach his horse math . To his amazement and excitement , he was able to teach his horse how to do calculations , read and spell , and even understand German .
He would ask his horse a question such as “ What is two plus two ?”, and the horse would tap its foot four times . Von Osten named his horse “ Clever Hans ” and traveled around
Germany presenting Hans to the public . This caught the attention of skeptical scientists , and in 1907 a formal investigation was organized and led by psychologist Oskar Pfungst . Clever Hans almost always gave the right answer when he could see Von Osten , but also gave the right answer if someone else asked a question , which proved Von Osten was not intentionally secretly signaling Clever Hans or trying to trick his audience . Von Osten genuinely believed Clever Hans ’ abilities . Investigator Pfungst was truly baffled by the demonstrations , and even more so when the first few controlled experiments failed to stump Clever Hans .
Neither Von Osten nor Pfungst were magicians , but had they been they might have discovered Hans ’ s secret much faster – Clever Hans was responding to very subtle non-verbal cues which the questioners were unknowingly signaling Hans . Eventually Pfungst figured out how to signal the horse . By slightly raising his eyebrows , he could get Hans to give any response he wanted .
There are so many subtle ways humans interact and communicate with the world around us that the study of magic makes us aware of . Magicians learn to intentionally and gently guide their spectators to select a card