Muscle
reading, also known as "Hellstromism"[6],
"Cumberlandism" or "contact mind reading", is a
technique used by mentalists to determine the thoughts or knowledge of a
subject, the effect of which tends to be perceived as a form of mind reading.
The performer can determine many things about the mental state of a subject by
observing subtle, involuntary responses to speech or any other stimuli. It is
closely related to the ideomotor
effect, whereby subtle movements made without
conscious awareness reflect a physical movement, action or direction which the
subject is thinking about. The term "muscle reading" was coined in the 1870s by American neurologist George
M. Beard to describe the actions of mentalist J. Randall Brown [1], an early proponent of the art.
The
technique relies on the assertion that the subject will subconsciously reveal
their thoughts through very slight involuntary physical reactions, also known
as ideomotor responses. The performer can determine what the subject is
thinking by recognising and interpreting those responses. Muscle reading may
be billed by some entertainers as a psychic phenomenon, where the audience will
be told that by creating physical contact with the subject, a better psychic
connection can be formed. In fact, the contact allows the performer to read
more subtle reactions in the subject's motor functions that may not be apparent
without contact, such as muscle control and heart rate.
Because
muscle
reading relies so heavily on the subject's subconscious reactions
to their environment and situation, this technique is used commonly when
performing stunts dealing with locating objects in an auditorium or on stage,
and as such, it can be done 'clean' by the magician skilled in reading body
language.
Performers
often instruct the subject to imagine voicing instructions, which presumably
amplifies the reactions of the subject, thus promoting the idea that the trick
involves genuine thought tranference or mind-reading. However the subject who
is "thinking directions" has a physical, kinaesthetic reaction that guides the performer so that he
or she can, for example, locate a specific place on a wall on which to place a
pin, without prior knowledge of where the pin should go.
Knowledge
of muscle reading is
a technique that is also reportedly used by poker players to hide their
reactions to the game, as well as to read the other players for potential
bluffs and/or better hands.
[1] J. Randall Brown was
an American mentalist of the Victorian era, and was one of the first nationally
popular mentalists of his age. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Brown
was a stage performer and early proponent of muscle reading, sometimes called
"contact mind reading" or
"Cumberlandism" after Stuart Cumberland [2], although Brown's
act predated Cumberland's, and Brown
himself is often credited with starting the vogue for the art. The very term "muscle reading" was coined
in a series of articles about Brown's
abilities. Brown's shows also
combined elements of the willing game and traditional séances. One of his
trademark acts was the one in which he instructed the audience that while he
was out of the room they were to select one of their own to be an imaginary
murderer, one the victim, and something in the room to be the murder weapon.
When they were done, Brown would
return, take hold of one audience member by the wrist and physically lead that
person to all three selections - "reading" the muscle resistance (or
lack thereof) the audience member would give as he led them about the room.
Much of his act consisted of variations on finding things he could not possibly
know the location of. While an expert muscle reader, Brown still described this trick to his audience as "mind
reading".
Brown
was quite famous in the 1870s, attracting national attention with his feats. He
was described in one article as holding the American people "by the nape
of the neck, controlling the press as absolutely as a Napoleon or a Czar".
Among people living through the progress and wonders of the Second Industrial
Revolution, Brown helped create the
popular impression that mental telepathy was a real skill that mankind was on
the cusp of developing. He was the subject of some investigation and journalism
by American neurologist George
M. Beard. In 1874, Beard
- irritated that Brown's abilities enjoyed so much excitement and attention in the
scientific community - tested and examined Brown's
claims in a New Haven music hall and (correctly) deduced that Brown's abilities were in fact due to muscle reading and not "thought
transference" as Brown himself
claimed. Beard
also wrote a series of journalistic articles to
this effect, but these were largely ignored by popular audiences and by his
scientific peers.
Several
of Brown's stage assistants, such as Washington Irving Bishop
[4], took the information
they gleaned in Brown's employ and
went on to profitable solo careers of their own in the art.
[2] Stuart
Cumberland enjoyed
such success as a mentalist that a key part of contact mind reading is
sometimes also known as Cumberlandism.
The Englishman was a ‘thought reader’ who accomplished his theatrical feats by
closely studying his subjects’ ‘facial expressions and muscular tensions.’ It
was by using this early knowledge of a phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect that Cumberland’s muscle reading flourished.
With his act, he traveled
throughout Europe and drew much acclaim for his talents. He was adept at
discerning secret words (sometimes in languages he didn’t even know) and
locating hidden objects with what seemed like lightning speed, and he performed
for Oscar Wilde, Andrew Carnegie and other great names of the era. He could
even pinpoint physical pains and ailments known only to the sufferer. One quote
describes him as able to “do all that Mr. Bishop [Washington
Irving Bishop[3]], ever professes to do without the
fuss.”As a journalist and author, he also penned a newspaper and several books concerning mentalism and the techniques he used to help spot fraudulent mediums and phony psychics. More than one of his contemporaries came under attack (including Washington Irving Bishop[3]) from Cumberland for claiming to possess a supernatural extra-sensory perception. He himself was one of the few mentalists who never claimed to have any kind of psychic powers whatsoever, attributing his extraordinary powers of insight entirely to muscle reading.
[3]
Washington
Irving Bishop, also known as Wellington (1855-1889) was an American
stage mentalist. He started his career as an assistant under the muscle reader J. Randall Brown [2], but was most
well known for his performance of the blindfold drive.[4]
[4] Blindfold Drive is an specific Blindfold Vision illusion in which the performer is able to navigate in a vehicle while his eyes are covered. Washington Irving Bishop was the originator of the blindfold drive in 1885, using a horse and carriage.
See also
[6] Axel Hellstrom was a muscle
reader, mentalist
and stage magician. He re-defined the art of muscle reading to such an extent
that this technique, also known as "contact mind reading" and
"Cumberlandism" (after a 19th century
practitioner named Stuart Cumberland[2]), is now best known by
the name "Hellstromism".
Hellstrom lived in Germany and fought in World War I where he watched
a man perform an act of muscle reading. At the time, Germany did not allow mind
reading unless it had a plausible explanation behind its means. The only type
of mind reading allowed was muscle reading, and so Axel studied it
carefully and taught himself everything. He entertained his fellow soldiers and
became quite good at this old technique; and so, after the war, he and his wife
moved to America where he knew his art form would be accepted by many -
especially the magic audiences. He practiced and astonished many. Soon he was
performing for professional magic audiences and amazed and bewildered all.
After a short while mind readers, and even fellow hellstromists
were
questioning his ability.
During his live performances,
his manager spoke for him because his English vocabulary was limited. Hellstrom
would
successfully complete many different challenges such as locating hidden items,
performing actions of which others were thinking and determining which object
someone had selected out of many. The accuracy of his results was astonishing
and he was soon known throughout the United States. He was well respected by
his peers ain the stage magic community, and other performers paid hundreds of
dollars just to learn the secret behind his work.
During the 1930s, the American
magician and mentalist Robert A. Nelson published the definitive book on Hellstrom's techniques,
with his cooperation. Modern practitioners of Hellstromisnm include the
magicians Banachek and Kreskin.
[*] Sydney
Piddington (1918 – 1991) and Lesley Piddington ( 1925 - ) were an Australian husband and wife mentalism team
who performed as The Piddingtons
and gave
one of the most famous stage and radio telepathy acts of modern times.
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