Geller Magnet Video - Confused! :(

[sadhatter]

Cueshark, don't revise your opinion just yet...

I am embarrassed to admit that despite studying Geller for a decade or more I originally fell for the claim that Geller had been caught blatantly using a well known magicians' gimmick (a thumb-tip - google it) containing a magnet in order to move a compass on his TV show. The still shots seemed to show something on his thumb, plus he seemed to have been caught on camera putting said gimmick in place. I've since kicked myself for my naivety.

Put yourself in Geller's shoes for a moment. You've been moving compasses for over 35 years including ones similar to that seen in this clip. No sceptic or magician has ever suggested you employ a thumb-tip. What they have suggested is that you probably have a magnet concealed in your mouth. (A far better hiding place as it doesn't involve the well known magicians' gimmick, is unlikely to be searched and if need be you can swallow the evidence). I should add that the video, photographic and eye witness accounts of Geller's compass moving do circumstantially support the suggestion that he conceals magnets in this fashion.

Now, here you are on your own TV show, an executive producer of it with access to the props, plenty of rehearsal time and at least some control over camera angles and editing etc. So, as Geller do you:

A). Use the method that has served you well for over three decades, both in laboratories and on TV and which involves no visible gimmicks.

B). Abandon your successful method and instead use a gimmick that is phenomenally well known to magicians and put it on your thumb in a crass and obvious manner that no magician over the age of ten would be seen dead using, right in front of the cameras for the whole world to see. Further you then decide during the editing of the show to leave the evidence of your cheating in place.

Additionally, the thumb-tip that Geller supposedly uses in this clip is ridiculously large compared to those on the market and it has no need to be. These days magnets of sufficient strength to deflect a ships' compass are tiny and you could fit several in a normal sized thumb tip. What looks like Geller's elongated thumb in the original video is I believe a video artefact, as claimed. Besides which, close-up shots seem to show Geller's thumb looking perfectly normal, the over sized gimmick having magically vanished mid-trick.

Just after the original "Geller has been caught" video made the news magician Drew McAdam correctly predicted that Geller would move that same compass again the next week, but would take pains to show he had nothing on his thumbs etc. Lo and behold that's just what Geller does. Presumably using his tried and trusted method involving no visible gimmicks.

That leaves only a few possibilities:

1). Geller, (who despite any claims to the contrary knows what a thumb-tip is and how they are employed) decides to boost the viewing figures on his show by winding up magicians and sceptics with his blatant "look, I'm sticking something on my thumb" gesture; well knowing how that gesture will be interpreted by those supposedly 'in the know'. Returning the next week to disprove those silly theories. This I believe to be the most likely option.

2). The reaching behind his ear then grasping his thumb was a casual and innocent gesture, misinterpreted by others then capitalised on by Geller.

3). During rehearsals Geller found his normal method (foolproof for over 35 years) wouldn't work so he improvised by attaching a magnet to some flesh coloured sticky tape which he concealed behind his ear for the performance. It certainly wasn't a thumb-tip for the reasons noted above, plus you can't hide them behind your ear, they're too big. This doesn't hold much water as modern ceramic magnets are more than capable of deflecting such a compass when hidden in the mouth or hair etc. and if in doubt you can use two of them. This scenario also leaves us with the question as to why Geller would use such an obvious and visible method to put it on his thumb in the first place and why that gesture made it through the editing onto the televised show.


All in all I suspect that Uri has had the last laugh over this one.

Yeah, um, a more rational explanation here.

1) He is not omnipotent and missed something in editing, within the film industry this happens often, even when great pains are taken to avoid it.

2) The thumb tip magically vanished , in the sense that he used magicians tricks to hide it afterward. Palming something that size, not exactly the hardest thing on earth to do.

Magicians use different tactics for the same trick to keep people guessing, he simply screwed this one up. If he were to use the same method every time for this trick, that is when it would become obvious what he is doing.

 

[Steve Knight]

GMF, as best as I can tell it was the TV production company that asked for this particular clip to be removed from youtube, citing their ownership of the copyright. The offending clip apparently remained on their own website where it was obviously available to the Israeli audience. It was presumably in Israel that the claim about the thumb tip originally surfaced and where it could apparently do Geller the most harm if it remained available, which it did.

I'm familiar with James Hydrick, his claims and his debunkings but I don't see the link between Hydrick and this. Can you elaborate for me?

 

[GrandMasterFox]

GMF, as best as I can tell it was the TV production company that asked for this particular clip to be removed from youtube, citing their ownership of the copyright. The offending clip apparently remained on their own website where it was obviously available to the Israeli audience. It was presumably in Israel that the claim about the thumb tip originally surfaced and where it could apparently do Geller the most harm if it remained available, which it did.

For the record, I'm from Israel
I'm quite familiar with the case.

I'm familiar with James Hydrick, his claims and his debunkings but I don't see the link between Hydrick and this. Can you elaborate for me?

One of the things most notable about the case of Hydrick, is that he had several ways of performing his trick.

When he appeared on that's incredible, the host (forgot the name) thought he heard him blowing and thought that's he performed his trick. So he called him out and asked him to repeat the trick while the host kept his hand over Hydrick's mouth to prevent him from blowing.

Naturally, Hydrick simply used another trick. If I recall, he waved his hands and placed the pencil in question on the corner of the table.

In other words, it's basically the same thing you noted on Geller. The guy intentionally did one trick poorly to become impressive on the second show.

And if you'll notice the clip I linked above where Randi talks about the Geller show, you'll notice that Randi mentions that quite likely the magnet is in the back of his hand and not on his thumbs.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

There is another video where he doesn't seem to use a fake thumb, but he does lean over very close to the compass. I asked Randi about it and he said he thinks Geller had a magnet in his mouth. As y'all have been saying.

~~ Paul

 

[Steve Knight]

And if you'll notice the clip I linked above where Randi talks about the Geller show, you'll notice that Randi mentions that quite likely the magnet is in the back of his hand and not on his thumbs.

Not quite. Randi says in the video, "We see him openly putting on the thumb-tip, on to his left hand, right in front of the audience." Later Randi states, "Note that his left hand, with the thumb-tip plus magnet..." So Randi is quite clear that he believes Geller is using a thumb-tip, with a magnet concealed therein. Randi also says, "... he brings it in, above the instrument, with the fist closed and the thumb tucked inside his fist." If you watch the video at this point you'll notice that Geller's thumb is clearly outside his fist, not inside as Randi suggests. I would imagine that Randi says Geller's thumb is tucked inside his fist since Randi knows as well as any magician does that thumb-tips are not designed to be seen in close-up, and certainly not while the hand is stationary, because it would stand out a mile, particularly around the base of the tip where a visible gap might be seen (especially true when the fist is clenched as here) and the contrast between flesh and plastic is most noticeable. I've owned several thumb-tips in my time so I know how they are employed and what you do and don't do with them. Last but by no means least one can see clearly in the close-ups as the compass deflects that there is no thumb-tip in evidence. This is what I meant when referring to the 'vanishing' tip; it would have to have vanished somewhere between Geller raising his hand and clenching his fist to move the compass, i.e. it would need to disappear before it was used.

Notice also that when the compass deflects we cannot see where Geller's head is in relation to the compass, thus we have no idea if he simply brought his head near on this occasion as he usually does.

As for Geller changing his methods in order to keep people guessing or throw them off the scent, no that is not what's happening here. Uri is an opportunist and will use whatever works under the circumstances, so with something like his drawing duplications the circumstances will dictate what he can get away with, and hence what he does. Simply because the conditions change with such tricks and he has to act accordingly. With compass moving however there is a good reason that Randi and others have not suggested thumb-tips or palmed magnets in the past: in 35 years nobody has ever seen Geller using one and his actions are entirely consistent with it being hidden elsewhere, somewhere no one has ever asked to look and if they did he could dispose of the evidence. Geller would be the worlds biggest fool to suddenly abandon a method wherein nothing is visible and switch to using the best known magicians gimmick in the world, apply it blatantly, then allow camera close-ups of his stationary hands. There is simply no need and the idea that magicians always vary their methods is a largely a myth. They do so only if necessary and here it wasn't.

I do hope nobody makes the mistake of assuming I am a shill for Geller or an apologist. As some of my comments on my website make clear I'm entirely sceptical, it's just that in this instance people have leapt upon what they saw in this video and have jumped to the wrong conclusions.

 

[GrandMasterFox]

Not quite. Randi says in the video, "We see him openly putting on the thumb-tip, on to his left hand, right in front of the audience." Later Randi states, "Note that his left hand, with the thumb-tip plus magnet..." So Randi is quite clear that he believes Geller is using a thumb-tip, with a magnet concealed therein

Sorry, but that's just complete BS. Look at the video I linked again. Jump to around 3:00 where Randi explains the trick.

He clearly says that the thumb wasn't needed at all and that he (randi) just demonstrated it with a tiny magnet taped to the back of his own hand.

Likewise, you can hide a magnet of that size anywhere on your body.

 

[Steve Knight]

Randi does indeed state that a thumb-tip isn't needed, after explicitly stating, twice, that Geller employed one on this occasion.