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Hello everyone!
So my name is Marco Tempest. I'm a magician.
Today I'd like to show you something I've been
working on: it's an application that I think will be useful
to artists — multimedia artists in particular.
It synchronises videos across multiple screens
of mobile devices. And it's free.
And I prepared these three iPods here
to show you what I mean.
And I'm going to use them --
I'm going to use them to tell you a little bit
about my favorite subject,
which is deception.
(Music)
One of my favourite magicians is Karl Germain.
He had this wonderful trick where a rose bush
would bloom right in front of your eyes.
But it was his production of a butterfly
that was the most beautiful.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the creation of life”
(Crowd cheering)
When asked about deception, he said this:
“Magic is the only honest profession.”
“A magician promises to deceive you, and he does.”
I like to think of myself as [an] honest magician.
I use a lot of tricks, which means that
sometimes I have to lie to you.
Now I feel bad about that, but people lie everyday.
Hold on.
(Phone call) Hey, where are you?
I'm stuck in traffic. I'll be there soon.
We've all done it.
(Woman) I'll be ready in just a minute, darling.
(Man) It's just what I've always wanted.
(Woman) You were great!
Deception. It's a fundamental part of life.
Now, polls show that men tell twice as many lies as women.
Assuming the women they asked told the truth.
We deceive to gain advantage,
and to hide our weaknesses.
The Chinese general Sun Tzu said that
“All wars are based on deception.”
Oscar Wilde said the same thing of romance.
Some people deceive for money.
Let's play a game.
Three cards, three chances.
“One five will get you ten.
Ten will get you twenty.
Now, where's the lady? Where is the Queen?”
This one?
Ah, sorry. You lose.
But I didn't deceive you.
You deceived yourself. Self-deception.
That's when we convince ourselves that a lie is a truth.
Now, sometimes it's hard to tell two apart.
Compulsive gamblers are experts in self-deception.
They believe they can win.
They forget the times they lose.
Our brain is very good at forgetting.
Bad experiences are quickly forgotten.
Bad experiences quickly disappear.
Which is why in this vast and lonely cosmos
we are so wonderfully optimistic.
Our self-deception becomes a positive illusion,
why movies are able to take us onto extraordinary adventures,
why we believe Romeo when he says he loves Juliette,
and why single notes of music, when played together,
become a sonata and conjure up meaning.
That's “Clair de Lune”.
Its composer, Claude Debussy, said that
“Art is the greatest deception of all.”
Art is a deception that creates real emotions,
a lie that creates a truth.
And when you give yourself over to that deception,
it becomes magic.
Thank you.
(Crowd cheering)
(Applause)
Thank you very much!
Thank you.
(Applause)
If I may, I want to give a quick shout out to
two of my collaborators, my two dear friends,
Jojo Mayer, who made the music
for this wonderful piece,
and Kevin Blanc, who made the amazing
motion graphics.
Thank you, guys.