the de bruijn card trick
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The de Bruijn Card TrickPublished on Sunday, July 01, 2012
infu n,magic,math,memory,playing cards,videos
I wrote of Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn's passing back in February,but
only gave a brief idea of the powerful magic his work made possible.
Grey Matters favoriteJames Grimehas just released an excellent
video that will give you an idea of how mystifying the use of de
Bruijn sequences can be.
In thefollowing video,James Grime will describe the trick, and then explain the workings
behind it:
Quick note: You should use 3 decks to make a 48-card deck, not 4 as stated in the video. 48
cards is close enough to a regular 52-card deck that very few people will notice there are
missing cards.
If you think about it, this works much in the same way as a trick with marked cards, but the
people themselves unwittingly become the markings!
While you could practice and perform the method just as in the video, this wouldn't be Grey
Matters if I couldn't improve the method with some memory techniques.
First, the code you're going to get from your audience is effectively a binary code. We'll
assume that you have people take cards from your left to your right. We'll also assume that
you're thinking of black as 0 and red as 1.
For example, if the 2nd and 4th spectators from your left are the only ones to respond to the
red card question, your code would be 0101.
What you need atthis point, is an easy way to memorize any group of 4 binary digits. Over in
theMentat Wiki,their page onBinary Number Systemshas a section that works perfectly,
called the Nybble (4-Bit) Method.
Once you know all the names for each binary group of 4, you'll need to be able to recall cards.
In theMental Gym,I teach Bob Farmer's ingenious playing card mnemonics.With thepractice
quiz,you can learn these mnemonics quicker than you think!
As withany memory technique,we now need to link the information we have to the
information we need.
First, you need to memorize the complete sequence of cards, using the card mnemonics in the
following way:
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ace-fist-narc-Kosmo-together-sid-tenderheart-Adam-throwback-seahorse-jade-tombstone-
fork-night-quasar-thursday-ace-fist-narc
Note that the first 3 are repeated at the end, so as to cover all possibilities.
To remember this, use theLink Systemapproach of creating wild and crazy connection.
Picture an ace coming out of your mouth (to remember it as the first card on the list), which
then becomes a fist that starts hitting anarcwho turns out to besomeone or somthing named
Cosmo,and so on. Make sure you memorize the entire story, including the repetition of -ace-
fist-narcat the end.
Below is a chart of all the binary combinations, the code names given in the Nybble System,
the mnemonic of the 1st card in that sequence, and the cards:
Binary Code Code Name 1st Card Mnemonic Cards
0000 None ace AC, 5S, 9C, KS
0001 First fist 5S, 9C, KS, 2H
0010 Second tombstone 2S, 4C, 8H, QS
0011 Highest narc 9C, KS, 2H, 6D
0100 Third quasar QS, 3D, AC, 5S
0101 Rotating fork 4C, 9H, QS, 3D
0110 Inside throwback 3C, 7H, JD, 2S
0111 Upper Kosmo KS, 2H, 6D, 10H
1000 Bottom Thursday 3D, AC, 5S, 9C
1001 Outer ade JD, 2S, 4C, 8H
1010 Alternating night 9H, QS, 3D, AC1011 Growing Adam AD, 3C, 7H, JD
1100 Minor seahorse 7H, JD, 2S, 4C
1101 Countdown tenderheart 10H, AD, 3C, 7H
1110 Lower Sid 6D, 10H, AD, 3C
1111 Every together 2H, 6D, 10H, AD
Assuming you know your binary mnemonics, your card mnemonics, and the sequence, all you
have to do now is focus on the 2 center columns. To remember what cards are coded by 1100,
you should easily recognize this as Minor.
Minorshould be linked in your mind to seahorse. Perhaps you imagine someone under 18 (a
minor)riding a seahorsearound under the sea. Alternatively, you might picture a miner with a
hard hat riding a seahorse. One way or another, the binary code of Minorshould bring
seahorse instantly to mind.
Once you have the first card in the sequence (seahorse, or 7H in our Minorexample), you use
your knowledge of the full sequence to recall the other 3 cards. The next 3 words in the
sequence are jade, tombstone, and fork, so the full sequence is 7H, JD, 2S, and 4C.
http://gmmentalgym.blogspot.com/2010/10/memory-basics.htmlhttp://gmmentalgym.blogspot.com/2010/10/memory-basics.htmlhttp://gmmentalgym.blogspot.com/2010/10/memory-basics.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narc_(narcotics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narc_(narcotics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narc_(narcotics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmohttp://www.google.com/search?q=riding+a+seahorse&tbm=ischhttp://www.google.com/search?q=riding+a+seahorse&tbm=ischhttp://www.google.com/search?q=riding+a+seahorse&tbm=ischhttp://www.google.com/search?q=riding+a+seahorse&tbm=ischhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narc_(narcotics)http://gmmentalgym.blogspot.com/2010/10/memory-basics.html -
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If you're only planning to do this routine occasionally, the way James Grime teaches it in the
video is fine. If you're going to use it regularly, however, the approach I've just detailed will
serve you better over the long run.
For those who would like to learn more about this type of magic, you'll probably want toreadone or more of Leo Boudreau's books,all of which take advantage of binary codes and de
Bruijn sequences.
If you're a member ofThe Magic Cafewith 50 or more posts, you can find a good selection of
Leo Boudreau's tricks for free atmy Free Tricks from Leo Boudreaupost.
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