Numerical Rhetoric, Complexity as Deception, and the "Hindu Shuffle"
Pick a Card Card tricks are a staple of stage magic. When performing a card trick, the magician will typically ask someone to "pick a card, any card", do something with it, then put it back. They will then say something (usually something amusing) while shuffling the cards over and over, commenting about how long they are shuffling and how mixed up the cards are getting. They will then reveal the card the person picked in some dramatic and exciting way, and receive applause. But the key to many of these tricks is a method of shuffling known as the "Hindu Shuffle". This involves taking a stack of cards off the bottom of the deck, moving them out from under it, then bringing them back under the deck and taking another stack of cards off the bottom of the deck. One does this over and over until the entire deck has been "shuffled". In motion, it looks convincing -- the cards are moving, the entire deck goes through the process, and it truly appears that they a...