Member-only story
The Monty Hall Switch
Monty Hall, who passed away in 2017 was born 100 years ago today: August 25, 1921. He was host of Let’s Make a Deal for 30 years. In 2008 I wrote about the “Monty Hall Problem” at The Partial Observer. This is an edited, revised, and shortened version.
Some time ago, I caught some episodes of Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed, which originally aired in the late 1990’s. Yes, several tricks really do depend on “smoke and mirrors.” Others exploit lighting and background colors, use hidden compartments, rely on split-second timing, and use sleight-of-hand to “verify” there is nothing fishy with the props and equipment. Other tricks rely on spatial illusions: it doesn’t look like any adult can fit into that small container, but, it turns out, a flexible woman really can. Some more extravagant, made-for-television tricks rely on careful camera work, multiple stages, and an audience that is in on the trick, even though no special effects are used.
Being tricked doesn’t make us fools. It just means that memories of previous perceptions cause our vision to falsely “connect the dots” when faced with different but similar-looking images.
For another example of seeing an illusion rather than reality, take a look at this image (which I don’t have permission to upload here):
