It was a sunny day in the jungle, and a curious ape was exploring his surroundings. As he swung from tree to tree, he stumbled upon a clearing where a magician was performing magic tricks for a small crowd of animals. Intrigued, the ape decided to join the gathering and see what all the fuss was about. The magician, dressed in a flowing cape and a top hat, began his act by pulling a rabbit out of thin air. The ape watched in awe as the magician waved his wand and made objects disappear and reappear. However, it was the next trick that caught the ape's attention.
The Capuchins, as predicted, were fooled by both the French drop and modified Power drop tricks. They chose the incorrect hand in those trials about 81 percent of the time. But they chose correctly in the straight transfer trials. "This pattern of choices has also been seen in humans who [also] are typically misled by the French drop magic effect, but not by its real transfer," the authors wrote.
They mostly chose correctly for the French drop effect, getting fooled just 6 percent of the time, but chose incorrectly when the morsel was transferred to the other hand. Scientists have learned that a conjuror needs a similar anatomy to their audience to fool them by executing a well-known magic trick on three species of monkeys with different hand morphologies.
However, it was the next trick that caught the ape's attention. The magician took out a deck of cards and asked the audience to choose a card. The ape, with his keen eyesight, observed that the magician had already placed the chosen card upside down in the deck.
Magic Trick Fools Monkeys with Opposable Thumbs
Scientists have learned that a conjuror needs a similar anatomy to their audience to fool them by executing a well-known magic trick on three species of monkeys with different hand morphologies.
(Photo : Jack Taylor / Getty Images)He couldn't wait to see how the magician would trick the audience. As the magician shuffled the deck and made it seem like a random selection was being made, the ape knew that the chosen card was always at the top of the deck. The magician then asked the audience to pick a random number, and he began counting down the deck of cards. Just as he reached the chosen number, the magician pulled out the card and revealed it to be the very same one the audience had chosen. The crowd gasped in amazement, but the ape knew the secret behind the illusion. The main idea of the story is that the ape beholds a magic illusion performed by a magician in the jungle. The ape watches as the magician performs various tricks involving disappearing and reappearing objects. However, the ape is particularly fascinated by the trick where the magician asks the audience to select a card and then magically retrieves it from the deck. The ape, with his keen observation skills, realizes that the chosen card was already placed upside down in the deck and was always at the top. Despite knowing the secret behind the illusion, the ape still marvels at the magician's ability to deceive the audience..
Reviews for "How Magic Illusions Challenge our Preconceptions about Ape Intelligence"
1. John - 1 star
I really did not enjoy "An ape beholds a magic illusion". I found it to be incredibly confusing and hard to follow. The storyline jumped around too much and it was difficult to piece together what was happening. Additionally, I felt that the characters lacked depth and the dialogue was cliché and forced. Overall, I would not recommend this book to others.
2. Sarah - 2 stars
I was really disappointed with "An ape beholds a magic illusion". The premise sounded interesting, but the execution fell flat for me. The writing style was overly descriptive and it felt like the author was trying too hard to create a magical and mysterious atmosphere. The pacing was also off, with the story dragging in some parts and rushing through others. I struggled to connect with the characters and found myself losing interest halfway through. Overall, I found this book to be underwhelming and would not recommend it.
3. Mark - 2 stars
"An ape beholds a magic illusion" was not my cup of tea. The plot had potential, but it was poorly developed and lacked cohesion. The writing style was overly verbose and filled with unnecessary metaphors and descriptions, making it difficult to stay engaged. The characters were flat and lacked depth, which made it hard to invest in their journey. Overall, I found this book to be a frustrating read and would not recommend it to others.
4. Emily - 1 star
I really struggled to finish "An ape beholds a magic illusion". The writing was pretentious and self-indulgent, with long-winded sentences and confusing metaphors that made it hard to understand what was happening. The storyline was disjointed and lacked logical progression, which only added to my confusion. The characters were forgettable and I couldn't bring myself to care about their fates. It was overall a frustrating and unsatisfying reading experience for me. I would not recommend this book to anyone.