Jerry Andrus - Illusions

Illusions

Ray Hyman believes that he was responsible for getting Andrus interested in optical illusions. Hyman showed him the Mach-Eden illusion using an index card. Andrus didn't seem interested, but came back to Hyman some time later and showed him how he had improved it by inventing an illusion of a house.

Speaking at the Skeptic's Toolbox about the importance of understanding optical illusions, Andrus said, "The point of demonstrating illusions is not merely to show we can be fooled... rather to appreciate that the human mind is in fact working correctly... we look at a parked car on the street, we assume that the part of the car we can't see is there too; our brains have to do this so that we can make sense of the world around us".

In 1954, Andrus created the famous "Linking Pins", a close-up illusion in which closed safety pins are rapidly linked together in twos, threes and chains.

Invited by long-time friend and fellow magician Ray Hyman, Andrus brought many of his optical illusions to the annual Skeptic's Toolbox, held each August on the University of Oregon's campus. Two of the more popular Andrus illusions the "impossible box" and "Oregon vortex plank illusion" are explained in this Skeptical Inquirer article.

In the months before his death, Andrus continued to invent illusions. His media were common household items: metal springs, rope, wire, cardboard, wood 2 X 4's and steel rods. Many of his illusions are viewable on the Internet and some have already expanded on his inventions.