Did Tenyo screw up this optical illusion?

[Joe Mckay]

Reading through Richard Kaufman's articles on BoingBoing - I found an article discussing the famous optical illusion that Tenyo uses in their Sakaku's Scale effect.

http://boingboing.net/2016/01/07/that-aint-baloney-its-m.html

It turns out this classic optical illusion (The Jastrow Illusion) looks better when the pieces are short and squat as opposed to long and slim (like boomerangs). In the article above - the illusion is demonstrated with some pieces of meat which happen to be the perfect shape.

When Tenyo used this principle - they did not make use of the squat shapes. And it makes me wonder if the trick would have been even more effective had they done so?

The trick is an effective one and a cult favourite amongst Tenyo fans. A nice performance of the trick can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oowECOu_CM

Since the trick is entirely dependent on an optical illusion - it does surprise me that Tenyo did not research the principle some more until they found the perfect shape. Unless I am missing something?

[I.M. Magician]

Tenyo's Sakkaku Scale aka Illusion Scale is a perfect illusion if presented properly. I have seen 3 or 4 demo videos of varying quality concerning how well they pull off the illusion. The best one I have seen was quite shocking in its ability to create the intended illusion. Others not so much.

I think all of them are available to watch on YouTube.

The use of the ruler adds much to make the changes in length convincing. It seems to me that the number of changes and measurements presented as well as the way the pieces are moved around the table and placed is extremely important.

[Smurf]

Just guessing here, but I think the ruler prop and the differences seen using it would be less dramatic if one used shorter/squattier "boomerangs." Perhaps in the standard version using just two pieces, the Sakkaku cats might not be such a good choice but it works very well with the current geometry. I've used it myself after purchasing it from Meir Yedid. His routine is just about the same as the one you have linked to. Although it isn't visually as obvious in the video, but the segment where you draw back the front cat over the back cat and the length discrepancy is abundantly clear is dramatic - and in the video you can hear the audible sounds from those seeing it in person. It's even magical to the performer.

[I.M. Magician]

I agree that the ruler works perfectly with Tenyo's version and the cats with different color collars adds to the illusion. The cats themselves help to create the illusion.

Unfortunately, I can't find the best demo I have seen but if I find it, I will post it here.

[Richard Kaufman]

Joe, do you even have one of Tenyo's "Illusion Scale" tricks? You must not if you write something so ridiculous with a purposefully provocative title to your message.

Stick to writing about things you know, please. Tenyo knows perfectly well what it's doing. If you had a copy of the trick you're writing about, you would know that, too.

[lybrary]

The fatter the arches the more apparent it becomes how the optical illusion works. It therefore becomes less magical in my opinion. I think the scale Tenyo has chosen works pretty well.

Punx has a nice story presentation for this illusion in his "Magical Adventures and Fairy Tales" book http://www.lybrary.com/magical-adventur ... 91860.html called Adventure at the Fish Market.

[Joe Mckay]

Sorry, Richard!

I actually own three copies of the trick. lol

But can only find two of them.

It was reading your article that made me wonder if the trick would be EVEN better with fatter archers?

You said yourself that you never realized how good the illusion was until you found some "fat" ones in an old German magic set.

And that made me wonder if Tenyo had missed out on a detail that could have made the trick even more vivid?

I agree with everyone else that it is a wonderful trick. It is a definite favourite of mine. I think the closest we an come to "real" magic is using an optical illusion as the method for a trick.

Apologies for my crummy tabloid skillz in the title for the thread (and feel free to change it). I obviously spend far too much time on the Daily Mail website.

[I.M. Magician]

Here it is! Watch this performance and you will see just how good Tenyo's Sakkaku Scale really is!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Il ... ORM=VRDGAR

[lybrary]

Actually cutting pieces off like Punx does in his performance makes for an even stronger effect.

[Brad Henderson]

I think the fat ones are less effective.

to each their own

[Joe Mckay]

I.M. Magician - thanks for that video. The best part of this trick is the very end when one cat is passed over the other. It creates such an odd illusion. It suddenly appears shrunken without giving any hint it has been shrinking. For a fraction of a second you literally cannot believe your eyes.

My sense with that display is that it looks better when you pass the cat over such it is towards the far left. As opposed to being more central (which is how Andy Greget did it in his video).

Chris Wasshuber - thanks for the tip. I have always wanted to study more of Punx's work. And I will make a point of starting with that book.

It is now on my "To Get" list.

Cheers!

[Richard Kaufman]

If you're going to do the standard version of the effect, the chubby ones unquestionably produce a better illusion. However that's not true for Toru Suzuki's version of the effect as marketed by Tenyo.

[Brad Henderson]

depends on what you mean by the chunky ones. Mine are thicker than the tenyo's (which are great) but less squatty than some I have seen in old magic sets which appear more trapezoidal than a boomerang.

have some unique work on it including a way to make the change visual (in a different manner then tenyo's. in mine the look at one boomerang and see it get smaller.

[Richard Kaufman]

Hey Brad, put it on a video and send it my way so I can publish it in Genii!

[Joe Mckay]

That sounds great, Brad. I hope you get a chance to share it sometime.

Also - David Acer has an interesting use for this principle which makes use of coffee cup sleeves (that you get in Starbucks).

He uses the principle in a signature transposition.

[spetz]

Hilarious with the zig zag illusion and the french fries

[lybrary]

Peter Prevos just released an entire ebook on this illusion. He not only describes its magical use, variations, enhancements, etc., but also goes into the scientific and psychological work that has been done on it. One interesting piece of information is the result of a Japanese scientist who measured which dimensions of the pieces produce the best illusion. The answer is in the ebook. http://www.lybrary.com/the-jastrow-illu ... 56036.html

[Q. Kumber]

Here's a more recent clip (2019) of Andy Greget performing Illusion Scale. He gave me permission to put it on YouTube at the time but I forgot about it until recently.

https://youtu.be/VCdKkn1rEEI

[John M. Dale]

Speaking of using fatter wedges to do this trick. It’s fun, if it’s not busy when you’re getting lattes, to pick up a couple of the flattened cup sleeves and comment that it’s good to see that they stock the adjustable sleeves instead of the cheap plain ones. Show them the same. Snap one and show how it’s grown. Snap it back and they’re the same again.

I especially like to do this for a newbie server. I’m pretty sure one or two may have asked their supervisors about it later.

JMD

[Richard Kaufman]

I've seen the references to using the sleeves for the cups before. They are nice and squat and work well.

[katterfelt0]

I've seen the references to using the sleeves for the cups before. They are nice and squat and work well.

Yep, in the October 2005 issue of Genii. The trick is Caffeine Overdose by David Acer.

[John M. Dale]

Yep, in the October 2005 issue of Genii. The trick is Caffeine Overdose by David Acer.

Thanks, katterfelt0, for finding the proper credits. That's more than likely from where I stole it.

JMD

[Bill Mullins]

Gregory Wilson and David Gripenwaldt also wrote it up in "Coffeehouse Conjuring" in Magic in the Aug. 2011, issue as "Short Sleeves". (They note the preceding David Acer credit, and mention that it also appears even earlier than Genii in Acer's 2004 lecture DVD, On Screen & Other Mysteries.

[KHC]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Michael Weber and Tim Trono's version of this optical illusion. I picked it up while at Magic Live this year. It's called "Fit". The props, packaging, instruction (old school written instruction booklet...which I love and miss. As long as I keep with the props, I will always know how to perform) are of the highest quality. The props are of the "ruler" variety (although a cat lover, I thought the cat motif to be too cutesy)...moreover, they are made to look old and vintage...akin to what a ruler collector would have in his/her collection (and I personally knew one!). Don't know if Weber/Trono will be selling this on their website, as they had mentioned it will only be sold at Magic Live. I have yet to try this out on friends and family...yeah, mostly a living room type of item IMO.

[Dustin Stinett]

David Regal has just released a nifty version of this, making it quite magical. And it's a mere $40:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoW_2XjIjrU

[Smurf]

That is very nice!

David really puts out some nice material that plays well but doesn't tax the performer.

[Peter Ross]

One of the most effective presentations of this optical illusion I've seen was the simple display of it at The Museum of Illusions in NYC (Per "The Eye" another one of these museums has opened in DC). They had the two boomerangs mounted on the wall behind the glass at eye level. One could clearly see the apparent significant difference in sizes from several feet away or up close. I believe this is because you are forced to see them straight-on, as opposed to a slight angle when they are displayed on a table for spectators.

Also, hanging from a string is a stick or ruler the same length as the boomerangs. The visitor can hold the stick up to each boomerang and see that they are the same size while, and this is crucial in my opinion, still getting the illusion that they are different! This is a moment that is missing in the magic presentations of the illusion, as far as I know. It certainly wasn't in the new Regal effect where at the end, he puts the pieces together to show they are the same size. The end. At the Museum, I saw a teenager stand baffled in front of the illusion for no less than five minutes, repeatedly moving the stick back and forth between the two boomerangs. He kept turning his head and saying out loud to
whoever would listen, "Do you see this?" So, for this illusion, I think the really 'wow' moment is seeing both boomerangs as different sizes while at the same time seeing they are the same. I don't know if this can be accomplished with a magical effect, but that's the home run, imho.

[katterfelt0]

Ryan Pilling has a fun version included with his gozintalopes instructions. With his, after showing either could be larger, one is 'stretched' so it actually is larger (and consequently won't fit back in the envelope from which it was removed).

[Edward Pungot]

Back in Stock @ SEO (TenyoxWeber)
I’ve always wanted this Tenyo version for it’s flatness factor. If you have Webber’s manuscript it should make for nice transfers with the use of the third ruler.
https://www.seomagic-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/2800

[Edward Pungot]

Stocking Stuffer Surprise
I was playing around with this for over an hour.

There are some ways around the small discrepancies in the manuscript x translation if you just do them in the hands wedged edgewise between the thumb and middle finger in a slight overlapping spread. This can be done with two and even all three altogether shown both front and back and even spread in a little fan on the black side. The show wedged edgewise between the thumb and middle finger is justified as per the rules of engagement.