Enter the maze

The Magic of Computer Science

The cs4fn Magic of Computer Science Logo

Pick a card, any card!

Behind great magic there often lies some interesting maths or computer science, buried in the secret of how the trick works. To be a good magician you need to know more than just the secret though. Great magicians also have a flair for cognitive psychology: they have a natural understanding of people. It turns out that computer scientists use the same psychology as the magicians in designing usable computer systems.

Intrigued? Read on.

You will learn how to do a bunch of tricks. It isn't just magic though. All the tricks have links to computer science - and not just because of high technology. In fact high technology hardly comes in to our magic shows at all, though yesterday's magic often becomes today's technology. It is then taken for granted as the magic seeps away.

Highlights

Visit us at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2009, June 30-July 4th.

Follow our adventures at the Royal Society on our blog and on Twitter. See the photos our AI has painted during the exhibition. If you've been at our stall and want to see more of the AI saliency images, they are here, or you can keep playing the human error space invaders game from home

Download our free books on the Magic of Computer Science ...or read it all (and more) online below.

The teleporting robot

Mathemagic The one where the robot disappears

Introduction

A marked up head Conjuring, Cognition and Computing

The glass challenge

Mathemagic The one where a glass is mysteriously tall

Mass hypnosis

Mathemagic The one where you force everyone to think of the same card

Pick a card (online magic)

Mathemagic The second one where the computer makes you pick a specific card

The 21 card trick (online magic)

Mathemagic The one where the computer reads your mind

Magic in space

Mathemagic The one where an astronaut breaks the laws of physics

Joker in the pack

Mathemagic The one where the joker is pulled to the front

The blended bodies experiment

Mathemagic The one where you can tell which hand a coin is in

The Kruskal count (online magic)

Mathemagic The one where the computer reads your mind like a book

You said it!

Mathemagic The one where the tone of voice gives it all away

Pepper's ghost

Mathemagic The one where ghosts appear live on stage

iPhone magic

Mathemagic The ones where your iPhone does the work...

Are you psychic?

Mathemagic The one where you test the psychic powers of a member of the audience

The Numbers Game

Mathemagic The one where I know which number you will pick

The mind boggling memory experiment

Mathemagic The one where you memorize the whole pack

The power of prophecy

Mathemagic The one where you know how many cards were taken

The leading ace

Mathemagic The one where all the aces follow their leader

Some more mathematical magic

Mathemagic The ones based on mathematics...

Do look, don't see

Mathemagic Scientific experiments in how magic works

Finale

Mathemagic The one where you become a magician...

Snaps from the Past

Mathemagic Photographing Magic

Done with the magic? Why not move on to Illusions.