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DIGIT

DekEl

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Introduction

This effect first began over a year ago when I was thinking about the human hand. The hand is the perfect tool for mentalists and is used in everything from palm reading to billet switching. I have created another effect using the hands called Air Writer with which you may be familiar. The 10 fingers on the hand fit perfectly into the decimal system that was created for it, which also adds convenience for the mentalist. Furthermore, everyone who has hands are comfortable using them.

As I was saying, last August I was pondering how to detect how many fingers someone was holding up without actually seeing them. I noticed that if the fingers moved, tendons below the wrist visibly moved. Thus my initial theory was to merely cover the hand and watch the tendons. I worked on this for some time but eventually dropped it; it was far too obvious.

Later I stumbled upon another idea that would allow the spectator to place their hands behind their back and hold a number of digits there, which I could then name. It could be done anywhere, most any time, on nearly anyone. Thus, Digit was formed. If you want to properly understand the effect, read the book all the way through; subtleties are added along the way. Please enjoy my work and do not share it.

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Effect

The mentalist asks the spectator to think of something. It can be a time, the spectator’s star sign, a birth date, a thought of number or card, a street number, a color, or anything else that belongs to a set. The mentalist then asks the spectator to place his hand(s) behind his back and indicate the desired item. For example, the spectator could raise 2 fingers behind their back to indicate the number 2.

The mentalist then knows which item the spectator is thinking about. This effect is entirely impromptu and will work in almost all conditions with most people. It's quick to learn, needs little practice, and absolutely no memory work to begin performing. There is no dual reality, no instant stooging, nothing written or spoken or in any other way consciously communicated to the performer. The performer at no time peeks behind the spectator's back; indeed the performer doesn't need to see the spectator's hand at any time. There are no reflectors or confederates relaying the information. The method needs absolutely nothing in the way of gimmicks. It can easily be applied to almost any known mind reading effect, or to aid in any form of information gathering. During a reading, it can easily be combined with a palm or aura reading, if one so desires.

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Method

I am going to start with the most basic of methods, then go into all the other ways you can perform the effect, as well as various subtleties and justifications you can use. To begin with, let me explain the guts of the method. You can test this on yourself. Get up, and stand in front of a mirror. Place your hand flat behind your back. It should be in the center of your back horizontally. Move your hand about 6 inches above where you naturally place your hand vertically. Now make a fist. Notice that the muscles in the area that goes from the elbow to the wrist, the ones that are visible in the mirror, move as you make a fist. Try it out by moving individual fingers too. In every case there will be a visible reaction. This is the crux of the method.

Now, a note on various limitations. Lighting helps a lot. While I have performed this successfully in darker situations, this effect works best in well lit areas. Another thing to look for is muscles. A muscular arm will work better than an overweight one, at least so I've noticed. If you have a choice, choose the muscular arm over its thin or overweight counterpart. That said, I have thin arms and this effect works perfectly on me, however if you have a choice, why not make your job easier? Another thing to look for is short sleeves. For the most part you do need to see a spectator’s bare arms. That said, I have (only once) performed this on someone who was sleeved, and it worked, because the sleeves still moved with the muscles.

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So the optimal case will be: muscles, good light, short sleeves. The most important is sleeves, second most is light, and the least important is muscles in my experience. Furthermore these are the easiest to find in that order. This means you have few limitations. Given enough people, there will be someone with short sleeves, and contrary to my initial thought, I've actually seen more people with short sleeves in cold temperatures than in lukewarm temperatures because during the cold people dress in layers. They bring a coat for when they're outside but once they get inside they remove their coat, and underneath are short sleeves to match the regulated temperature for the area they are in. In short, I've never had a problem finding a good subject for this effect.

The only crucial thing that you need to make sure of when performing this is the location of your spectator's hand. It needs to be horizontally in the center of their back and the parts of their biceps and forearms need to meet at an acute (less then 90 degree) angle, even if it's not much less the 90 degrees. I normally say something such as, “Please place your hand behind your back. Make sure that it is flat and in the center of your back. Now move your hand upwards a bit. There you go.”

It's necessary that the spectator’s hand be either flat or closed into a fist (loose or tight, doesn't matter in either case). This will ensure that there will be some form of strong movement either way. Thus I always make sure to specify which one.

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In the early stages of developing this effect, I thought that I would have to map out the muscles that moved near the elbow in order to tell which number the

spectator was thinking, but then I realized a simpler and easier way to accomplish nearly the same feat. Call out the items in a list (e.g. from 0 to 9), and simply request that when the spectator hears their number that they raise that number of fingers/ make a fist/point to the side, etc. Then I just had to look for any movement as I called out the items to know which item they were thinking about. Here is where you should look for the arm movement:

The illustration may be simple, however it shows the location. The spectator's arm is behind their back, and the forearm, between the elbow and the wrist, is where the muscle movement takes place.

The other thing you need to do is keep the spectator from looking at where you are looking. There are essentially two ways of doing this. First, you appear to close your eyes, and/or ask your spectator to close theirs. In reality you either open your eyes as you begin to call out the digits, or, if the spectator's eyes are still open, you close your eyes, then cover them with one or both of your hands, peeking

through your fingers. The second way to keep the spectator from noticing that you are looking at their arm is to direct their attention to something and fix it there. This can easily be accomplished by directing it to, for example, your chest, your hand, a spot on the ceiling, or a space where they will be visualizing their thought.

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Given what you now know, you could proceed directly into the most basic of effects. If you needed something to combine with palmistry (I recommend

performing readings for entertainment purposes only), then going simple would be the best thing to do. If they're wearing a jacket, you can subtlety tell them to “get comfortable, you can take off your jacket” or if you have a particular coat rack you could ask for the coat and place it there. Before a reading, you have your sitter place their hand behind their back (in a fist, as they will be raising their fingers) and think of a number from 1 to 5. Ask them to focus their eyes upon their free hand, which they might place in front of their eyes for this purpose. Call out the numbers one at a time, with about a 1-2 second pause between each, asking your spectator to raise that many fingers on their concealed hand when they hear their number. You will thus instantly know their thought, and can perform numerology with this

immediately, or work the information into a palm reading that you launch into, revealing their number at the end, based upon your supposed analysis.

This idea of revealing a thought after a palm reading was first created, to the best of my knowledge, by Paul Voodini. It is published in two of his books, Reader of Minds and Palm Readings for Magicians, two excellent books. He did not, however, perform it using a method for gaining information that is based upon the palm itself, which I feel greatly adds to the uniform feel of the reading, as well as the impromptu side of it. If you don't know how to read someone's palm, I highly recommend

purchasing one (or like me, both), of his books. They are worth their price several times over. (Kenton has also long taught using known info at the end of readings.)

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Numbers

Naturally progressing from a 1-5 choice, a PIN number is now easy to reveal using this technique. Instead of counting from 0000 to 9999, however, you will simply count from 1 to 10, four times. This can work for any form of numerical information that you want to glean, such as a street number or possibly even a phone number, although that would be rather tedious. When I perform this I

normally only do it with the first three digits. Not only does it keep the spectator's PIN number fairly safe (the ruse I use), but it also makes the method 25% shorter to perform. How do you use this to find numbers from 0 to 9, you ask? Quite simple actually. Have your spectator place both hands behind their back. Tell them to start with the right hand. If you don't want to ask questions, you can just look at their dominant arm (usually the right), for the cue at the correct time. To discover the PIN number simply go digit by digit and reveal the digits all at once at the end, and/or proceed to perform a numerology reading based upon the digits and/or their sum. The person’s hand must start in a fist, as they will be raising fingers behind their back.

Another application could be a birth date, month, day, or year, which you follow with a reading, and stating what day of the week they were born on, providing that you asked for all three pieces of information.

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Words

Book tests obviously make sense here. There's really not all that much to say, using the 0 through 9 method detailed in the “Numbers” section. Make up a crib sheet for your book, and ask your spectator to think of a number between 1 and the end of the book. Then ask them to flip to that page and look at the first word. You might add to an existing book test by having chosen a word out of 5 on the first line, or a line number on a forced page.

Another way to tell which word someone is thinking of is to ask one or a

number of spectators to name a number of words that pop into their heads. This can be a great way to test psychological word forces if you so choose, without needing to depend on them. After you get your list, which you can have written down or merely spoken, of perhaps 5 different words, ask one of your spectators to just think of one, and then proceed with the basic method. Instead of numbers, you call out the 5 words, and look for which one they choose. When I'm not using numbers I often have a spectator point to the left when they hear their selection. In other words, they start with their hand open and then close all of their fingers but their index finger, thus pointing to the left, behind their back. I ask them to visualize what they are thinking as appearing where they are pointing when they hear their word. I also ask the

spectator to stare at the location of their thought. If you write numbers next to each of the words, however, you could still use numbers from 1 to 5.

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PK Time

If you already know a PK Time effect, instead of having your spectator name an hour/minute/second, you can have them raise that number of fingers behind their back. When performing with an hour I use the pointing method, and for the minute/ second I ask them to do it digit by digit. The benefit of this is that no minute or second exceeds 59, thus for the first round they only have to use one hand.

Furthermore I ask them to focus on a clock face/watch. I also pretend to focus on my own watch, when in reality I am merely positioning my wrist so that I will be able to look at their arm under the pretense of looking at my watch as I count.

A note regarding the thumb: If someone displays the number 1 using only their thumb it may be difficult to detect. Thus if you don't see any indication when you were expecting one (e.g. 1 to 5 choice), then you know it must have been the thumb. When indicating the number 1, most people use their index finger, but it's something to keep in mind. This is why I run through the full count from 0 to 9 when performing something larger than a 1 to 5 choice, so that I can tell if they're thinking of a 0 or not (in which case if nothing is displayed I know it must be a 1).

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Auras

If you know how to do aura or color readings then you will find the system especially well suited to this application. Ask your spectator to think of one of the colors of the rainbow. Have them place one of their hands behind their back. You are going to use the pointing method described in the “Words” section, explaining that when their index finger is aligned with their forearm, which is also aligned parallel to the ground, that a stream of color will be visible through their body, and that it will be of their thought of color. Now call out the colors of the rainbow one at a time, and when you see their muscle(s) move, you will know their color. (You could have the person make a fist to make an “energy ball” instead. They open their hand to release that color’s energy when it is named, or they can make a fist to create an “energy ball of that color” in their body/aura when it is called out.)

After you have done this, you can proceed with a color/aura reading based on their thought of color. You can also describe the arcs of color extending through their arm. A note regarding an issue you may have if their thought is the first or last item of a list: I often add padding to a list (e.g. adding black at the beginning of a color list and white at the end) so that I can “calibrate” so to speak, in order to see what their hand will look like when they are not pointing. This way if they point on the first or last item I will have something to judge that movement against.

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Cards

Another presentation well suited to this effect is playing cards. The suits can be performed on one hand (Spades = 1 point, Hearts has 2 bumps, Clubs has 3 leaves, and Diamonds = 4 points) and the values can be performed via a point or a fist. You may limit their choices to numbers from 1 through 10, in which case they can indicate it on their fingers.

Instead of the point or fist, you could also have the spectator move their hand from a flat palm into a thumbs up sign. What's so nice about performing Digit is that you can truthfully claim that you are detecting their thoughts using body language if you so choose. It is a form of non-contact mind reading.

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Dead or Alive

This effect is as simple as the “Words” presentation. For this I have the spectator name the names. Ask your spectator to name 5 names, 4 of alive individuals and 1 dead, in any order, asking the person to close their hand in memory of the dead individual as they say the name. You are looking for your cue and can direct your spectator's vision to their free palm as they name the names.

After this you can reveal the name in whatever way you choose. This can be played with a larger audience by having your spectators first choose among them who will name a dead person by pointing to each other while your back is turned. When you turn around, you have them each call out their name, and ask the chosen spectator to close their hand behind their back when they hear the dead name.

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Star Signs

This one will be simplicity itself to you by now. Ask your spectator to think of their star sign. Explain that you are going to call out the names of the twelve signs. Ask them to place their hand behind their back, fingers closed (in a loose fist if you like). Tell them that when they hear their sign that you want them to open their hand so that the five points of their fingers make a star, and to concentrate on projecting their sign into the star they've made with their hand.

All that remains is to call out the 12 signs in any order you like, and notice the movement. For this one I close my eyes and cover them with my hand which I peek through, however you could also have the spectator concentrate on their free hand in the same five pointed star fashion.

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ESP Symbols

Associating ESP symbols to a hand makes perfect sense. There are exactly 5 ESP symbols, and each one has from 1 to 5 lines, a fact that you note to your

spectator. Perform the basic number of fingers effect. Have them think of a sign and its number of lines, and then call out the signs, requesting that when they hear their symbol that they raise that number of fingers behind their back (before which their hand was in a closed fist).

This one fits nicely together with a short numerology reading based upon the numbers 1 through 5 (a fact which again you may or may not note to your

spectators). From this you may go above and beyond into a full fledged palm reading. Throughout this short routine the five fingers of the hand are inextricably entwined with pure mind reading. This is really a joy to perform.

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Dinner

Here are a couple great ideas that may be performed during dinner. You could point out a number of pieces of silverware and ask a spectator to think of one. You then ask them to place their hand behind their back. You explain that you will pick up and name each piece of silverware, and that when you name the piece they have in mind they should extend a number of fingers behind their back, corresponding to their piece. (e.g. 1 finger for the knife, 2 fingers for the spoon, 3 or 4 fingers for the fork - depending on the number of prongs, etc.)

Another idea is to perform this using menu items. This works especially well if the items are numbered. You might do this with the 4 or 5 sections of a menu, (e.g. Deserts, Burgers, Appetizers) or numbered Specials (“I’ll have a Number 4”).

You can perform either of these two effects using numbers of the fingers, a thumbs up, or a pointing gesture, as you wish. With the cutlery you could use a fist, asking them to imagine that their hand is closing around the piece of silverware at their choice. If you know a silverware bending routine this is a great lead-in to perform before bending the spectator's thought of utensil.

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Rock Paper Scissors

This makes sense to perform with our secret method. Ask your spectator to place their hand behind their back and think Rock, Paper or Scissors. You do the same. Tell them that you will say the words, “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and then on “Go” you will both remove your hands. Tell them that when they hear which of the three they are thinking of that they should then shape their hand accordingly. You then call out, “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Go!” and can always win, or lose, in whatever manner you like.

I ask the spectator to form a loose fist behind their back, and if it's a rock, just squeeze it extra tight to signify its strength. In this way I am provided with a clear signal for the rock. Alternatively you could just demonstrate by clasping and unclasping your hand for a rock.

The idea for this was inspired by OTTOMEZZO's contribution that you will read in just a moment.

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Monopoly

Idea from DWRackley on the Magic Cafe

DWRackley had a wonderful performance idea for Digit. Essentially you could display the 10 Monopoly pieces and ask your spectator to choose which one they felt that they connected with, but only in their mind. The person could indicate this by raising that number of fingers behind their back. You can then go into a personality reading based upon their merely thought of piece.

To this end, there is already at least one compiled source of possible

personality readings based upon the Monopoly pieces. One of them can be found here: https://www.msu.edu/~karjalae/monopoly.htm

Once you are done with a basic reading, you can extend it by asking your spectator to pick up the piece and look it over, asking which part of it stands out to them, which you can also turn into a reading (e.g. if they like the windshield on the car you can talk about how they “see the bigger picture”, or if they liked the body of the car you could say that they like “structure, and security”).

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Sympathy

Idea from Vlad (OTTOMEZZO) on the Magic Cafe

Vlad had the clever idea to perform the basic effect with your spectator. You

both think of a number of fingers and place your hand behind your back, then pull

your hand out first so they can see how many fingers you are holding up. I really like this idea, and you can hit dead on every time. Obviously you have your hand behind your back, and then count from 1 to 5. When you see their muscles flex simply raise that many fingers behind your back.

When it's time for the reveal, you show your hand first so they don't think that you're just changing what was behind your back to match their hand. I really like this for the synchronicity aspect as well as because it has a rock, paper, scissors, feel to it.

Clearly Derren Brown and others have performed such presentations with much success. We are not claiming he or others use such a method.

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Conclusion

The idea behind the layout of this book is that it teaches you added subtleties as you progress through the book, so I really recommend reading it cover to cover. With this knowledge you are equipped to tell nearly anyone what they are thinking about under almost any circumstance. My method meshes very well with existing systems, and has that ageless fascination of the human hand tied to it. With this method you can perform an impromptu demonstration of remote viewing, using a spirit guide, or tapping into your third eye, giving you hidden knowledge or allowing you to see the invisible, if you like.

The beauty of the effect is that you need absolutely nothing to perform it but you and the spectator, yet you can invisibly arrive at exact answers by using real body language. Impromptu mind reading at its finest.

I wish you the best in your performances using Digit.

Kind Regards,

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Kenton Comments

This is very practical in method and I have little doubt that this one is going to make the rounds in magic and mentalism circles. Simple, reliable and ingenious. You will need to practice this a little bit to see where to look, and to get used to varying types of arms, although this is relatively easy. Having worked with Digit now I have found a few things that might be useful to you in its performance.

The illustration and the description might give you the impression (it did me) that a person had to place their hand flat against the middle of their back. Many people can’t do that easily. It may seem that this is required for the method, but it is not.

Simply placing the hand behind the back naturally is more than enough. Instead of “making your hand flat” you can simply have the person hold their hand open or closed. Rigid conditions and contortions are not required for the successful working of this principle. To me, the flexing muscle movement looks like a snake being bloated. If you look between the person’s body and arm, at the top of the arm near the uppermost surface, you’ll likely see what I mean.

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I look for the telling muscle movement just below the elbow, not near the wrist. The upper forearm, close to the bend of the elbow, is where you can spot movement easily, even with one finger being moved only. One finger being moved is a little more subtle, but the movement can be seen. More than one finger being moved stands out so much you’ll incorrectly imagine the whole world can see the secret movement. They won’t.

You do not need to have the person put their hand behind their back, or at an angle either. This allows for so many more options. Someone can stand and hide their hand under a table or bar, with their hand straight down in front of them. If you look at the spot I suggest, you can still see the movement easily. Many times it is easier to see the secret muscle movement when the arm is in front of the person than behind their back. Look for this movement on the outer part of the forearm.

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Although in static pictures the movement is not as easily spotted, you should intuitively be able to sense or see how the second photo looks more like a swollen or bloated snake when the hand is closed or moved.

This area of the arm seems to expand and contract clearly. The glare of the light in the second photo also shows how much more bulging surface is present. Note especially the change near the bend of the elbow, although barely bent.

In a similar manner, a person may hide their hand in a paper bag, behind a hat, cap, in their purse, or behind a coat. As long as the flesh just below the elbow can be seen, you can see the required secret movement. This should give you many more applications in far more situations, and eliminate any thought of secret

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Like most things in life, you need to properly experiment, carefully observe and interpret, and follow your intuitions even if you doubt yourself consciously. With just a little bit of time, you will see that all this works quite reliably.

Mentalists often enjoy the most impromptu of methods, and here is one that is sure to fit many applications. You will rarely miss, if ever, although if you happen to miss, it’s probably a thumb or first finger and you can guess that. If you still miss, it looks more impossible when you begin hitting consistently, which you will, once you spot the person’s particular muscle movement.

What more needs be said? Practice, experiment, observe and ENJOY.

Kenton Knepper

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