Speaking to the dead, surviving without a pulse and the secret of how Houdini escaped bondage under 100 feet of rope were just a few tidbits discussed over lunch at the latest Alumni Association lecture series.
D.J. Grothe, an illusionist and director of the Center for Inquiry, gave a lecture this past Wednesday to 100 distinguished alumni, uncovering methods of deception frequently used by magicians like Houdini and David Copperfield.
Grothe, who is also a mind reader, is currently collaborating with UB on the new Science and the Public Masters program, which will coincide with studies at the Center for Inquiry.
"Buffalo and the University at Buffalo are at the intersection of three of my big passions: magic, skepticism and the worldwide skeptic movement," Grothe said. "Buffalo is ripe in the history of the intersection of magic, a kind of religious fervor and critical thinking and the scientific outlook."
Grothe said he became interested in magic as a boy, but pursued it because of the critical thinking involved.
"I got into it for the reasons a lot of people get into it, just because it's cool and fun," he said. "What kept me into it is learning magic opens up other doors; you think critically of things. That's some of the stuff CFI tries to do too. "
A slideshow on the role of magic and critical thinking suggested that the paranormal does not exist, but rather is a product of imagination and that there is an explanation for everything.
One demonstration of how the Fox sisters, who were from the Western New York area, would "communicate" with the dead was amazingly simple. In the 1840's, they were able to convince their audiences that when one sister went into a trance, she was communicating with the dead. A loud popping sound could be heard, frightening people into believing there was a spirit in the room. In actuality, one of the sisters knew how to pop and crack her big toe so loudly that the whole room could hear it.
Grothe also explained the subject of escapology, which Houdini was best known for. Even when being tied up tightly with a 100 foot rope, one can flex and move their bodies in such a way that when they relax, there is actually enough slack in the rope that they can free themselves.
Another trick he explained was how to make it appear as if one doesn't have a pulse. By placing a tennis ball under the armpit and squeezing, one's heart will still beat, but a person can't feel a pulse in the arm, making it seem as if one can live without a pulse.
In this modern age magicians such as David Copperfield and David Blaine are world-renowned illusionists and magicians. Blaine once put an object in his mouth, waved his fingers over his face, opened up his mouth and there, instead of the original object, was a live monarch butterfly.
Grothe said he knew how Blaine did the trick, but that people enjoyed his shows for other reasons.
"David Blaine is very good magician. Yes, I do know how he did that," Grothe said. "But more than that, they are impressed by Blaine in how he uses simple magic in a very theatrical way."
When asked if David Blaine's tricks were "real," Grothe replied, "Now if there was someone in the world who could really produce butterflies out of thin air, he wouldn't be on a TV show, he'd be in a laboratory somewhere being studied."
Grothe has authored one of seventeen magazines produced by the Center for Inquiry, Free Inquiry, and hosts Point of Inquiry, a nationally recognized radio show that ranks number 8 out of 3000 programs. While the show concentrates on religion, science and human values, it also explores the paranormal, secularism and alternative medicine.
Nobel prizewinners, public intellectuals and entertainers have all been guests on the show, which DJ Grothe produces right from the Center for Inquiry.
"I'm open-minded, and I'm skeptical. And I think you can be both of those things at the same time," Grothe said. "I'm open minded enough to not say 'No there isn't.' But I haven't concluded yet."
