Alvin Duane Schneider (born February 3, 1943) is an American magician, author, physicist and mathematician known for his contributions to magic. He developed the Matrix magic trick, a modern version of Yank Hoe's "Sympathetic Coins".[1]
Al Schneider | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alvin Duane Schneider February 3, 1943 Detroit, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Known for | Magician |
Biography edit
Schneider was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for most of his life and spent a year in Denver, Colorado. He started in magic in 1960 during his senior year in high school. In 1967, Schneider graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in physics after seven years of part-time schooling. During his free time, he studied magic, working toward his goal of a career in professional magic.
In 1960, Schneider developed the Matrix magic trick, where four cards are placed over four coins, and the coins then invisibly move between cards. Matrix is a modernized version of Yank Hoe's "Sympathetic Coins." Countless magicians have since developed variations and improvements upon the effect, cementing Schneider's legacy in the annals of coin conjuring.
In 1969, Schneider left his job as a mathematician for Uniroyal and accepted a position as a systems analyst for Univac, specializing in computers. Univac transferred him to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he worked as a systems programmer.
In 1972, he began writing and publishing magic books after the computer industry suffered a downturn. He worked as an editor of the house organ Goldshadow Newsletter and also as a dealer for Goldshadow Industries. Schneider theorized that "misdirection, while essential for effective magic, is actually a supporting technique for the greater concept of hiding the spectators' false assumptions."[2]
Since early 2001, he has operated a web page sharing magic information titled World Magic Center.
Schneider was also interested in full-contact karate, sword fighting, golf, skiing, theoretical physics, and quantum mechanics. Schneider gave magic lessons to a magician duo who tricked Penn and Teller on Penn & Teller: Fool Us with a magic routine called "A Mother's Love."[3]
Books edit
- Matrix (1974)
- Off (1974)
- Al Schneider on Coins (1975)
- Al Schneider on Close-Up (1980)
- Al Schneider on Zombie (1981)
- Al Schneider Magic (2011)
- New Age Quantum Physics (2012)
- Quantum Mechanics A-Z without the BS (2013)
References edit
- ^ Matrix Coin Trick by Al Schneider in Genii 1970 November, Vol. 35, No. 3, page 123.
- ^ Cameron H. Malin, Terry Gudaitis, Thomas Holt, and Max Kilger (30 June 2017). Deception in the Digital Age: Exploiting and Defending Human Targets through Computer-Mediated Communications. Elsevier. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-0-12-411639-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Pioneer Press (2015-10-06). "Twin Cities magician actually tricked Penn and Teller". Twin Cities. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
Further reading edit
- Al Schneider (23 August 2011). The Theory and Practice of Magic Deception. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-4662-0649-6.
- Mark Reiter; Richard Sandomir (15 December 2009). The Final Four of Everything. Simon and Schuster. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-1-4391-4125-0.