Maestro

ex nihil - something from nothing

Angelo Stagnaro's

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING:
A GUIDE TO MODERN COLD READING
A Mentalist's Guide to Reading People's Minds & Futures for Fun & Profit
Cold Reading  n : a general means used by professional mentalists, stage magicians and charlatans to ascertain ostensibly secret information in order to simulate psychic abilities such as ESP, telepathy andprecognition. They largely do so by relaying on experiences common to humanity in general. Also known as the P.T. Barnum Effect.

COLD READING
"Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next." - Dr. Jonas Salk
The "P. T. Barnum Effect." Cold reading is very simple and is easily learned by most people. However, once learned, it requires practice. The following suggestions are taken directly fromRay Hyman's classic book, "The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research." These are the techniques "psychics" have been found to use to generate what seems like paranormal effects. Psychologists have identified these techniques as the "P. T. Barnum Effect" or the "Forer Effect." Despite what most people will claim, P. T. Barnum did not say "a sucker is born every minute" though,I'm sure, he firmly believed it. The expression was actually coined by his competitor, a banker named David Hannum, owner and perpetrator of the faked Cardiff Giant "Fossil." Psychologist Paul Meehl, coined the term "Barnum Effect" due to the famed showman's reputation as a flimflam artist. P. T. Barnum is most often associated with circus sideshows but he also worked very hard at developing"psychics" from ordinary people who, though talented, had absolutely no preternatural skills. P. T. Barnum was first and foremost a business man and would not let a lie, or a series of them, get in the way of a profit. Like many other people in similar circumstances, he was an expert in human relations and marketing. He knew what motivated humanity and how to manipulate them for his own purposes. Inkeeping with this philosophy, I have produced an analysis herein of the principles of the P. T. Barnum Effect.

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Table of Contents
Introduction The Appeal of Mentalism Paranormal Research A Philosophy of Mentalism A Rose by Any Other Name Ethics & Caveats Augmenting a Cold Reading with a Hot Reading Predicting the Future Cold Reading The "P T Barnum Effect" Why it Works: The Theory Behind ColdReading Practicing Cold Reading An Introduction to Body Language Hands/Arms Shaking Hands Eyes Posture & Stance Gait Seated Position Miscellaneous Voice & Inflection Reading People Coldar Developing an Intuitive Sense Deductive Reasoning Our Happiness & Goals in Life Cultural Anthropology Generalizations Based on Age Basic Similarities in Our Lives Conclusion Muscle Reading Equivoque CasualObservations Intuition Contact Mind Reading Cultural Anthropology Generalizations Based on Gender & Age Medical Observations Charm Psychology Forces Ethics & Caveats

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kinesics  1 : the psychological science that deals with the movements of the human body and their interpretations as to interior and subsequently hidden motives and emotional states

BODY LANGUAGE
"A thousand words will not leave sodeep an impression as one deed." - Ibsen (1828-1906) Norwegian poet and playwright
If psychic powers truly existed, as some would purport, there would be no need for a book like this. As mentalists, we're continually challenged to delve into spectators' private selves. One way in which the private self is already standing up and screaming to be noticed is through body language. Information derivedfrom body language is completely fair game as far as I am concerned and it would be beneficial for us to learn to recognize these body signals. I hope that after you read this book and digest it, you'll see that everyone, with only some minor exceptions, can learn to read the tell-tale signs of what is going on inside our spectators' heads. How many times have we been in a discussion with someone...