As a 21st century magician and illusionist, Marco Tempest combines cutting-edge technology with the talent and artistry of Houdini. The video below will leave you speechless as you watch Marco Tempest perform his magic with 3 iPhones.
Marco Tempest: The magic of truth and lies (and iPods)
Translated into Greek by Stefano Kiourkouli, edited by Leonida Argyro for TED Talks
The type of magic that I like, and I'm a magician, is magic that uses technology to create illusions. So I'd like to show you something that I've been working on. It's an app that I think will be useful for artists -- specifically multimedia artists. It syncs video between multiple screens from mobile devices. And I borrowed these three iPods from people here in the audience to show you what I mean. And I'm going to use them to tell you a little bit about my favorite subject: deception.
0:51 (Music)
0:53 One of my favorite magicians is Carl Germain. He had this amazing trick where a rose bloomed before your eyes. But it was his butterfly production that was the most beautiful.
1:10 (Recording) Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, the creation of life.
1:16 (Applause)
1:18 (Music)
1:21 Marco Tempest: When asked about the deception, he said this:
1:26 Announcer: Magic is the only honest profession. A magician promises to deceive you — and he does.
1:34 MT: I'd like to consider myself an honest magician. I use a lot of tricks, which means sometimes I have to lie to you. I feel bad about that. But people lie every day.
1:50 (Ringing) Wait.
1:52 Girl on the Phone: Come on, where are you?
1:54 MT: It's busy. I'll be there soon. You've all done it.
1:58 (Laughter)
2:00 Lady: I'll be ready in a minute, honey.
2:03 Man: It's exactly what I always wanted.
2:06 Woman: You look very handsome.
2:08 MT: Cheating, it's a fundamental part of life. Polls show that men lie twice as often as women — assuming the women who asked told the truth.
2:22 (Laughter)
2:24 We deceive to gain advantage and to hide our weaknesses. The Chinese general Sun Tzu said that all wars are based on deception. Oscar Wilde said the same thing about romance.
2:41 Some people cheat for money. Let's play a game. Three cards, three chances.
2:51 Announcer: A five will give you 10, 10 will give you 20. Where's the lady? Where's the Queen?
2:58 MT: That? Sorry. You lost. I didn't cheat you. You cheated yourself. Self-deception. This is when we convince ourselves that a lie is the truth. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. Pathological gamblers are experts at self-deception. (Noise from a slot machine) They believe they can win. They forget the times they lost.
3:30 The brain is very good at forgetting. Bad experiences are quickly forgotten. Bad experiences disappear quickly. Which explains why in this vast and lonely universe, we are so wonderfully optimistic. Our self-deception becomes a positive illusion -- why movies can and do take us on wonderful adventures; why we believe Romeo when he says he loves Juliet; and why when separate notes of music, when played together, become sonatas and take on meaning.
4:08 This is "Claire de Lune." Its composer, named Debussy, said that art is the greatest deception. Art is a deception that creates true feelings — a lie that creates a truth. And when you indulge in that deception, it becomes magic.
4:41 (Applause)
4:53 Thank you. Thank you very much.
4:56 (Applause)
