Home | Blog | The Power of Upside Down Thinking

The Power of Upside Down Thinking

How to view your magic differently

I was in San Diego last week performing at a trade show at the convention center and there was a new phenomena (new to me) of lime green bicycles and scooters parked all over the city.  When I returned to my hometown of

Boston, I discovered that my small hometown of Winthrop was also now part of the trend with the bright green bikes sitting on sidewalks inviting anyone to jump on and take a ride.

The bikes are part of a new ride sharing transportation concept that is becoming popular in many cities–ride sharing bikes and electric scooters that you use an app on your phone to unlock and pay for a ride from point A to B.  Whether it’s a good idea or a bad one (there are complaints about bikes and scooters cluttering the sidewalks), can be debated. I’m more interested in the THINKING behind the concept and what we can learn from it.

My first reaction upon seeing this was “Someone is going to steal those bikes.”  My second reaction was: “Why aren’t they locked up?”  Welcome to the world of Upside Down Innovation.

In the past, the thought process about bicycles was that when you parked them on a sidewalk you better lock them up. This of course meant you have to find something to lock them onto… a bike rack, a fence, and a lamp or light post of some sort.  But if you apply the process of Upside Down Thinking and say: “What would happen if we did not lock the bikes up… but instead left them lying around for anyone that wanted to use them?”  Is there a business model here?  Apparently there is!  But it would never have been discovered with out the help of Upside Down Thinking.  Leaving bikes lying around unlocked is just too strange of a concept for most of us to fathom.  At first glance, it’s just not a good idea, and that is exactly what makes it a GREAT idea… because it’s not an idea that makes sense… AT FIRST GLANCE!

Of course, it was technology like GPS, PayPal and smartphones that made it possible to put the idea into action, and to turn it into a business… but the concept was given birth when one person took the bold step to think Upside Down and consider doing the OPPOSITE of what everyone else was doing, and the result was a very creative business concept.

So as magicians (or anyone for that matter), how can you take advantage Upside Down Thinking?  It’s by looking at a belief or the standard way of doing things and considering doing the total opposite. There are lots of ways to think Upside Down in magic.

Many years ago I saw David Copperfield perform the Origami Illusion on stage for 2,500 people and I thought I’d bet I could do that same illusion for a smaller group of 100 people at my trade shows.  Now. I was well aware that the normal thinking was that for large illusions you wanted the audience at a great distance… but I was pretty sure the deceptive technology that Jim Steinmeyer developed for this illusion could withstand very close scrutiny… and I was right.  In fact, due to the unique design of the illusion, it was even more impressive when performed at close range.

Also most large illusions were designed to be performed with the audience only in front viewing the illusion from only one angle…again, due to the design of the Origami Illusion, I decided to perform it totally surrounded… and again it enhanced the impact of the illusion.

What about putting your audience on the stage and doing your show from the seating area?  I’ve done that when doing a small intimate close up show in places with great success.

If a trick calls for the use of a single prop in a trick… what would happen if you used 10 of them?  What if you used 50?  Would that create a different trick… or perhaps give you the options to create a more deceptive method?  I’m currently working on such an idea and I know that one of the thought processes of the audience will be…”Well, the only way to do that is to have 100 of those, and no one is crazy enough to do that?”  Oh Really?

What if, instead of telling everyone to turn OFF their cell phones during a show, you told everyone to turn ON their cell phones?  Could that kind of thinking lead you to develop an innovative new idea or effect?  David Copperfield does just that and created a very strong trick that everyone takes home on their cell phone, plus he adds to his mailing list at the same time.

Instead of doing ten different tricks with one card selected each time, Eddie Fechter would perform one trick where he had 10 cards selected all at once creating a very powerful multiple card selection effect that became a reputation maker for him.

Of course Penn & Teller took Upside Down Thinking to a whole new level many years ago on Saturday Night Live. If you have never seen this video it’s worth a look.  https://youtu.be/mwkmgqbYXdE

So break some rules, turn your world Upside Down and you will see your world and your magic from a new perspective.  I think you might be surprised at the results.

 

Paul Gertner is nationally recognized speaker and corporate magician, whose honors include multiple Tonight Show appearances, performing at a presidential inauguration, and winning three international competitions. He can be hired as a trade show magician or keynote presenter. For more information, visit gertner.com.

Posted in Magical Thinking, Magicians Only on June 20, 2018 by Paul Gertner.