An Excerpt from Radical Thinking by Peter Lamont
SHERLOCK HOLMES: You see but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.
DR. WATSON: Frequently.
HOLMES: How often?
WATSON: Well, some hundreds of times.
HOLMES: Then how many are there?
WATSON: How many? I don’t know.
HOLMES: Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen.
—The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)
Dr. Peter Lamont is professor of history and theory of psychology at the University of Edinburgh, where much of his research has focused on the history and psychology of magic and the paranormal. He’s also a former professional magician and has written a number of popular books on magic that combine his interests and specialties. Highly regarded for his insightful, original research and his dry wit, his popular books include
Magic in Theory (with Richard Wiseman), The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick, The First Psychic, and The Secret History of Magic (with Jim Steinmeyer). His latest book, Radical Thinking: How to See the Bigger Picture, was recently published by Swift Press in the United Kingdom. It’s an examination of how we look at the world and how the world shapes our views in curious—and often puzzling—ways. The book starts with an engaging, impromptu tour of Edinburgh, and Lamont uses examples of magicians and their deceptions to explain how we interpret the world around us. This excerpt from Radical Thinking is taken from the first chapter.
I'm in my office. It’s in the Department of Psychology, on George Square, near the center of Edinburgh. I’m feeling more like Watson than Holmes. However, as we’ll see, I think that this is a good thing.
There’s a stairway nearby, which leads down to the ground floor. It also leads up from the ground floor to here. This, as the comedian Chic Murray used to say, saves us from needing two stairways. I’ve gone up and down these stairs… well, some hundreds of times. However, I’ve never observed how many steps there are.