The Auditory Challenge Winners! 

We launched a competition inviting participants to create a magic trick that used only sound, without relying on language. The competition attracted much national and international attention, providing an excellent opportunity to engage the magic community with our unique challenge.

 

A total of 11 submissions were received from around the world, including entries from Europe, India, Japan, and the USA. One participant was visually impaired, which added an extra layer of inclusivity to the competition.

 

The entries were evaluated by a panel of four judges, all experienced magicians, psychologists, or both, including a judge who was visually impaired.

 

In the first round, judges assessed each entry based on adherence to the competition criteria: Did the tricks go beyond perceptual illusions? Did they incorporate other senses? And to what extent did they avoid relying on language?

 

The judges were impressed by the creativity behind these tricks, though they noted that strictly meeting the competition criteria proved to be quite challenging—perhaps even impossible. None of the entries completely adhered to all guidelines, particularly the requirement to avoid any use of language.

 

One trick stood out for its use of a surprising auditory illusion. This trick involves a teleportation illusion, where a person’s location appears to magically shift from one spot to another. In this trick, the magician circles the spectator while making a sound. The spectator is able to track the magician’s position—until, suddenly, the magician seems to “teleport” to a different location, creating an intriguing auditory effect.

The trick cleverly uses a psychological auditory phenomenon known as the "cone of confusion." Our brains calculate the time and intensity differences between sounds arriving at each ear to determine a sound's origin. However, sounds coming from the front can produce the same cues as those from the back, leading to confusion about the true source of the sound. The teleportation trick takes advantage of this spatial ambiguity, creating the illusion that an object is moving.

The judges tested this trick in the lab and found it intriguing, though not overwhelmingly. Despite some reliance on language, the judges felt it deserved recognition and awarded the trick. Three independent magicians submitted similar tricks based on this auditory illusion, so the judges decided to award all three for their creative exploration of this principle.

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The winners are 

• Kent Cummins (USA)

• Ed Brims (UK)

• Clément Le Roux (France)

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Watch Ed Brims Perform his version of the trick.  

 

Next steps:  The competition generated a lot of interest, but the restrictions—prohibiting the use of non-visual senses and language—made it extremely challenging, if not impossible, to participate fully. We would now like to broaden the scope and invite magicians to create magic tricks that engage all non-visual senses, with the aim of sharing the experience of magic with individuals who are visually impaired.

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