Tomorrow's news today
Is it possible to see into the future? This morning we received a visit from a man who claims he can, writes Roger Cox, deputy arts editor. Magician, mind-reader and Silver Medal Associate of the Inner Magic Circle, Ivor Cole arrived at The Scotsman offices bright and early with a small, sealed black box. Inside that box, he assured us, were the contents of The Scotsman’s front page for Friday 21 August.
Now, I’m as cynical as the next person when it comes to magic tricks, but two things about this one really caught my attention. First of all, predicting what’s going to be on a newspaper front page on any given day is a fiendishly difficult undertaking. Events will happen when they’re going to happen, and if a big story breaks right before deadline, everything has to change at the last minute. Predicting a front page even a couple of hours before the paper is due to go to press would be a big a gamble; predicting what’s going to be there a week in advance is a million-to-one shot.
The other intriguing thing about this challenge is Cole himself, and in particular his former job towards the top of the food chain at Associated Newspapers, publishers of The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and The Evening Standard. For 30 years, Cole worked as a media lawyer for Associated, eventually rising to the position of Legal Director. He puts his successful career in the courtroom down to his ability to read the minds of opposing counsel and High Court Judges, but might he also have used his extraordinary skills to tip off journalists about big stories that were about to break?
Were Associated operating with an unfair advantage all the time Cole was in their employ? And when he left, were efforts made to find another person or persons with similar powers of foresight to take his place? Do the Mail and the Standard have clairvoyants working for them right now, tucked away in some darkened room deep in the bowels of Northcliffe House like the Precogs from Minority Report? Probably not, but it’s fun to speculate.
In his new role as a magician, Cole has tried to predict newspaper headlines several times, with a good deal of success. He’s attempted the feat 18 times already, and on 16 occasions, he says, his predictions have proven accurate. This isn’t simply a case of vague guesswork either – Cole aims to be as specific as possible:“It won’t look like a fluke when I open the box on Friday,” he says, “because there will be too many points of prediction. It’s been worked out so it can’t look flukey.”
As I write this, I have Cole’s black box sitting in front of me, signed and sealed. The temptation to open it is mighty strong, believe me – it’s not every day you get a chance to take a peek into the future – but I’m just going to have to contain myself. As agreed with Ivor, when I’ve finished writing this, I’m going to lock the box in my desk drawer for safe keeping. Then, on Friday night, I’m going to bring it to Ivor’s show, The Mind Magic of Ivor Cole, along with a copy of Friday’s Scotsman – where it will be opened on stage in front of a live audience.
I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for any clever sleight of hand tricks or substitute boxes, so if Cole’s predictions really do turn out to be accurate, we’ll know two things: one, that he is a very skilful magician indeed and two, that some of the exclusive stories that appeared in the Mail and the Standard while he was working for Associated may have been arrived at in a rather unconventional manner.
Of course, there’s much more to Cole’s live show than this one trick. For his grand finale, he’s going to try something he’s never done before: “I’m asking that the audience bring in books," he says, discarded paperbacks, books from charity shops or whatever. Then I’m going to ask them to open them up and pick words at random and then I’ll try to guess the words they’ve picked.”
All very impressive, but perhaps not quite as impressive as predicting a newspaper front page a week in advance.
The Mind Magic of Ivor Cole is at Sweet Grassmarket (Venue 18), 9:30pm until 31 August
Now, I’m as cynical as the next person when it comes to magic tricks, but two things about this one really caught my attention. First of all, predicting what’s going to be on a newspaper front page on any given day is a fiendishly difficult undertaking. Events will happen when they’re going to happen, and if a big story breaks right before deadline, everything has to change at the last minute. Predicting a front page even a couple of hours before the paper is due to go to press would be a big a gamble; predicting what’s going to be there a week in advance is a million-to-one shot.
The other intriguing thing about this challenge is Cole himself, and in particular his former job towards the top of the food chain at Associated Newspapers, publishers of The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and The Evening Standard. For 30 years, Cole worked as a media lawyer for Associated, eventually rising to the position of Legal Director. He puts his successful career in the courtroom down to his ability to read the minds of opposing counsel and High Court Judges, but might he also have used his extraordinary skills to tip off journalists about big stories that were about to break?
Were Associated operating with an unfair advantage all the time Cole was in their employ? And when he left, were efforts made to find another person or persons with similar powers of foresight to take his place? Do the Mail and the Standard have clairvoyants working for them right now, tucked away in some darkened room deep in the bowels of Northcliffe House like the Precogs from Minority Report? Probably not, but it’s fun to speculate.
In his new role as a magician, Cole has tried to predict newspaper headlines several times, with a good deal of success. He’s attempted the feat 18 times already, and on 16 occasions, he says, his predictions have proven accurate. This isn’t simply a case of vague guesswork either – Cole aims to be as specific as possible:“It won’t look like a fluke when I open the box on Friday,” he says, “because there will be too many points of prediction. It’s been worked out so it can’t look flukey.”
As I write this, I have Cole’s black box sitting in front of me, signed and sealed. The temptation to open it is mighty strong, believe me – it’s not every day you get a chance to take a peek into the future – but I’m just going to have to contain myself. As agreed with Ivor, when I’ve finished writing this, I’m going to lock the box in my desk drawer for safe keeping. Then, on Friday night, I’m going to bring it to Ivor’s show, The Mind Magic of Ivor Cole, along with a copy of Friday’s Scotsman – where it will be opened on stage in front of a live audience.
I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for any clever sleight of hand tricks or substitute boxes, so if Cole’s predictions really do turn out to be accurate, we’ll know two things: one, that he is a very skilful magician indeed and two, that some of the exclusive stories that appeared in the Mail and the Standard while he was working for Associated may have been arrived at in a rather unconventional manner.
Of course, there’s much more to Cole’s live show than this one trick. For his grand finale, he’s going to try something he’s never done before: “I’m asking that the audience bring in books," he says, discarded paperbacks, books from charity shops or whatever. Then I’m going to ask them to open them up and pick words at random and then I’ll try to guess the words they’ve picked.”
All very impressive, but perhaps not quite as impressive as predicting a newspaper front page a week in advance.
The Mind Magic of Ivor Cole is at Sweet Grassmarket (Venue 18), 9:30pm until 31 August
posted by Roger Cox at
14:19
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.
<< Home