A study performed at Lancaster University discovered that witnessing displays of magical abilities can have a significant impact on creative development. The study found that children who watched scenes of magic displayed a stronger sense of creativity and ingenuity in tests following the viewings.
These tests confirm what many magicians have suspected for years: watching magic can inspire children and stoke their imaginations.
The Study
Researchers from Lancaster University assembled a group of 52 children between the ages of four and six. Half of the group was shown clips from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with acts of magic. The other half was shown clips containing the same characters but with no magic being performed.
Afterward, the researchers conducted a series of tests. One of the tests required children to pretend they were various other things, such as a rabbit or a car. Another test asked children to rearrange plastic cups into a bin in as many ways as possible. They were also asked to think of alternate uses for the cups.
With both tests, the children who had recently witnessed magic performed significantly better in terms of creative abilities.
The conducting staff concluded that watching acts of magic “enhances children’s capacity to view the world and act upon it from multiple perspectives.” They also found that “magical thinking can be viewed as an additional source of development of imagination and divergent thinking in children.”
How This Study Relates to Close Up Magic
While impressive special effects in Harry Potter movies and a skilled magician performing close up magic may seem to be two very different things, they are actually equally relevant. This fact is because the study’s findings were centered on the children’s capacity for suspension of disbelief.
When children witnessed fantastical occurrences that were outside of everyday experience, they were forced to rethink how they understood the world. This reassessment allowed them to come up with all sorts of creative ideas and solutions to problems posed.
Close up magic similarly challenges expectations from people of all ages. Their assumptions are turned upon their ears while the magician defies logic and reason in front of their eyes. Thanks to this study, we can now confirm what magicians have known: belief in magic is a healthy component to creative development.
When a magician like Mio performs his close up magic in Miami for a crowd of onlookers, he is allowing them to expand what they thought was possible. They will be able to rethink in-built assumptions our culture has given them and break beyond these mental boundaries.
You can harness this creative energy yourself by booking Magic by Mio for your upscale private parties. Any attendees, both young and old, are sure to reconsider what they thought was possible. Contact him to learn more about his many services.