talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect

"Imagine having a spectator just think of a word... imagine being able to be able to pluck the letters of that word out of thin air and slowly rebuild that thought in front of the spectator as though you had drawn it directly out of their mind!

The secret? The age old mentalist tool ‘The Progressive Anagram' and guess what? 'Panagram' is the ultimate tool for creating them, quickly and easily!

* Have the spectator think of Sign of the Zodiac or an Animal! Slowly you receive the thought and construct the very word thought of with ease!
* Now take this further... suppose you're performing your magic and mentalism in a restaurant - you have a spectator pick up a menu and think of a cocktail... you receive her thoughts and reveal what cocktail she is thinking of!
* Consider working a tradestand; have a spectator think of a word on the packaging of the product... you reveal to the crowd the exact word being thought of!

For the newcomer to this revolutionary technique, Panagram offers an easy and interesting way to explore this fascinating underground concept. Seasoned Mentalists and Magicians will find this an invaluable tool for creating their custom Anagrams effortlessly."



Cost
£9


Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

1! No sleights or moves!

Review

I came to PAs via Outlaw's Sanctum card. While I liked the idea and the effect, I wanted to be able to create my own. Unfortunately I am extremely lazy, in certain respects, so I never did.

I stumbled across the Underground Collective site and there it was: Panagram. An application (for Mac and PC) tthat allows you to create PAs.

The app is simplicity itself to use. You just type in the words in one window and your anagram tree is created in another. I was creating trees within seconds of installation.

You can rotate, or randomly mix the order of words in order to create different trees from the same list.

Another feature is the language bias. If a number of letters occur the same number of times on any given branch the program will choose the one that occurs most frequently in the language you chose thus reducing the likelihood of obscure letters (like Q and K, in the English language) cropping up.

There are two view types, one for ease of viewing and one for cutting and pasting trees to text documents.

Overall
A nice little utility feature that does exactly what it says on the tin. 10/10 just for making my life that little bit easier!

Love Panagram. I was one of the first to use the program.

Please forgive my stupidity (it's an affliction I have been blighted with since birth), but what exactly does Panagram do? I've read the above and I don't get it. Sorry to be thick.

Replicant wrote:Please forgive my stupidity (it's an affliction I have been blighted with since birth), but what exactly does Panagram do? I've read the above and I don't get it. Sorry to be thick.

It's a software program that will generate an anagram.

I've used Panagram and other bits from The UNDERGROUND COLLECTIVE for years now. I love most everything I've picked up from them.

Roth wrote:

Replicant wrote:Please forgive my stupidity (it's an affliction I have been blighted with since birth), but what exactly does Panagram do? I've read the above and I don't get it. Sorry to be thick.

It's a software program that will generate an anagram.

Thank you, but I still don't get how an anagram generator would allow a mentalist to divine a spectator's thought-of word. Am I missing something glaringly obvious? If this is bordering on exposure, just ignore me. I can only assume the software will reveal all when/if I purchase it.

It's a guessing game type of mentalism which I don't really like very much.
"Am I getting the letter A?"

"No"

"Ah..I think it's an F!"

"No"

"Hang on, it's taking shape, it must be a D."

"Yes, there's a D in it".

Then you reveal the word.

That's basically what it is and to many astute spectators, a guessing game is what it blatantly is. I have used this with the information on the Sanctum 2 card and found that in some instances it works, particularly if the spec is gullibile, but if they are in any way sceptical about 'mind reading' or 'psychic abilities' the solution is not that easy to find for an intelligent, sane-minded individual.

It may work for others, but I found it to be a technique and process that I didn't particularly like very much. No matter how you dress it up presentation-wise, unless the first two letters lead you to the word, the more it goes on, the more obvious what you're doing becomes.

Thanks, Freddie. I know I'm hard work, but I usually get there in the end! And it does sound rather disappointing but perhaps I will give it a go. It's only nine squid, after all.

If it sounds your cup of tea - go for it!
I personally don't like the anagram guessing-game method of mind reading, but that's just personal preference.

Nor do I Freddie. If you could read minds why would you be going

ummmm C? is there an A and a T too? is it cat? seems like you are playing a game of hangman. That is not very "psychic" is it?

Not at all and most people can work it out. If you WERE psychic, which is what you are attempting to portray, you'd get it straight away or fairly quickly.

This kind of stuff is Acorah Territory.

the more people involved - the better...

osterlind's multi-reveal of starsigns is excellent...

but i agree, in some cases, you may as well hangman with a swami...

Lord Freddie wrote:If it sounds your cup of tea - go for it!
I personally don't like the anagram guessing-game method of mind reading, but that's just personal preference.

If you are presenting it as per you example in the above I can understand why... that's just horrible!

Not all Anagrams are created equal and too, not all individuals have the knack for language that allows you to disguise what is afoot. I personally use several anagram "type" systems in various aspects of my work, it is not always as outwardly evident as say, naming someone's Astrological sign but the use of the "key" allows me to know things I need for moving events in an appropriate direction for an effect to take shape... in other words, I use the technique as part of the method behind creating an effect which totally removes the puzzle-like issues (guessing game) mentioned by Lord Freddie.

This sort of approach requires loads of R&D based on what words you use and how... scripting is everything!

When you have practiced and experimented with anagram systems coupled with tools like WONDER WORDS or the more recent arsenal offered through Paul Brook's new tome ALCHEMICAL TOOLS, you will have one of the most potent weapons any mentalist could ask for (outside patience, maybe)... add to this, access to a generator such as the Panagram system and you can pretty much create some very uncanny miracles that are covert enough to amaze the majority of laymen and in some instances, the "learned" magic buff as well.

Learn the art of using your language effectively and the rest will fall into place.

Lord Freddie wrote:It's a guessing game type of mentalism which I don't really like very much.
"Am I getting the letter A?"

"No"

"Ah..I think it's an F!"

"No"

"Hang on, it's taking shape, it must be a D."

"Yes, there's a D in it".

Then you reveal the word.

That's basically what it is and to many astute spectators, a guessing game is what it blatantly is. I have used this with the information on the Sanctum 2 card and found that in some instances it works, particularly if the spec is gullibile, but if they are in any way sceptical about 'mind reading' or 'psychic abilities' the solution is not that easy to find for an intelligent, sane-minded individual.

It may work for others, but I found it to be a technique and process that I didn't particularly like very much. No matter how you dress it up presentation-wise, unless the first two letters lead you to the word, the more it goes on, the more obvious what you're doing becomes.

Nope, nope, and nope....you have got this wrong. There are more subtle ways of doing this that avoid making looking like a game. Panagram is wonderful software and great value!

I do mine with London Underground lines and no-one has ever said to me "Eh up, surely you're just playing a guessing game...?"

This reminds me of Sensory Projection and Dream Signs, and I don't mind people not using them at all

Panagram is an easy to use tool for creating and for a tenner, I've already had a lot more out of it than I would from a packet trick