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Sorceress Paul Draper wowed a crowd of more than 60 students and prerogative as he seemingly bent a spoon with his mind, made coins disappear and identified objects with his eyes closed.
Draper, the brothel magician at the Venetian Las Vegas Hotel, invited audience members to participate in all of his tricks at a Pierson College Pooh-Bah’s Tea Wednesday evening. Having earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology, Draper said he hones his skills by observing people and their tendencies.
“What I do is, in in truth, different than what a magician does,” he said. “A sorcerer can practice alone, in front of a mirror. I, on the other hand, need people to practice.”
Draper, who in days taught in the communications department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said he approaches his performances not only as a wizard but also as an intellectual, drawing on elements of cognitive science, psychology and the performing arts. Since his performances imply the audience and incorporate the unpredictability of human nature, he added, his tricks weaken about 5 percent of the time.
Source: Yale Daily News