How did magic originate? Detailed answer

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How did magic originate? Detailed answer

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How did magic originate?

Magic, in its original sense, was associated with spells, charms, and supernatural powers that performed "miracles." In ancient times, the priests and physicians of Egypt, Greece and Rome, as a rule, inspired people that they had some kind of magical power.

But magic as we know it today is a form of entertainment for people. The magician, using sleight of hand or some kind of mechanical contrivance, fools his spectators into thinking that he has done something impossible. We, the audience, understand that there is some kind of trick behind the "magic", but we like to be fooled. It's like part of the rules of the game.

In ancient times, each royal court had its own magicians or invited them for entertainment. Less skilled wizards performed in the marketplace for passers-by. Their tricks were very simple, and they carried all the necessary props in their pockets. Incidentally, the first book on magic was written in 1584, but of course wizards had been doing their tricks long before that.

In the Middle Ages, magicians began to make regular trips to cities and even countries (now they would be called tours), and people were waiting for their arrival. Over time, they began to give larger performances and use more equipment. Therefore, they now traveled in vans, and performances were given in specially rented halls.

At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, magic gradually began to take on the form in which it is known to us today. Masquerade costumes were replaced by tailcoats, and tricks with bulky equipment were replaced by those based on the sleight of hand of a magician.

The French magician Robert Gaudin is considered the father of modern magic. He improved the equipment so much that he could use ordinary, familiar objects in his tricks. Considering a very important form of presenting tricks, he devoted a lot of time and knowledge to this.

Over time, another form of magic tricks appeared, called "illusion". Their purpose is to give the audience the appearance that people allegedly float in the air or disappear, that a woman is "sawed" in half, etc. The original form of magic was created by one of the greatest magicians of all time, Cardini. He is the author of a series of tricks in which burning pipes and cigarettes, playing cards suddenly appeared "out of nowhere" and disappeared "out of nowhere", and everything was done without special equipment.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Which Russian emperor believed that Americans eat human meat?

In the 19th century, the inhabitants of Russia knew little about the United States, and they had distorted ideas about the mores of Americans. When in 1853 the Ministry of Public Education sent Joseph Hamel to America to get acquainted with the state of science, Nicholas I approved this trip with the instruction: "To oblige him with a secret order not to dare to eat human meat in America."

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Empathy and synchronous oscillations of neurons 06.12.2022

Biologists from the South Korean Institute of Basic Sciences have discovered a basic neural mechanism that allows you to feel empathy. A study in mice showed that synchronous neural oscillations in the right hemisphere of the brain help the animals perceive and share each other's fear. Scientists believe that people have similar reactions.

Empathy is not unique to humans; many mammals exhibit similar behavior. A classic experiment in which empathy is shown in animals is called "fear of the observer." During the experiment, one of the mice is subjected to electric shocks, the second - watching this through a transparent screen. Previous studies have shown that the observer shares a sense of fear with the victim. This is manifested in the fading of the animal in place.

In the new work, the researchers combined this classic experiment with optogenetic studies. The study showed that when the "observer" experiences fear, synchronized rhythms with a frequency of 5-7 Hz occur in the anterior cingulate cortex and basolateral amygdala. At the same time, in the "victim" an increase is observed only in the lower range of 3-5 Hz and only in the basolateral amygdala.

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Empathy is the ability to perceive and understand the emotions of another person, such as joy, sadness or fear. This is a fundamental function of human social life, and its disruption is seen in countless psychiatric and neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Until now, the exact mechanisms in the brain that underlie empathy have not been identified.

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