I recently read an article which claimed that within 10 years AI will be able to do 70% of the jobs that humans currently carry out. As a mentalist a lot of my work involved understanding the psychology of people as well as working with statistics and verbal and non verbal cues. Surely these are all things an AI could learn to do? Some elements are already being used. Google and Facebook will predict what you are looking for online going by your earlier searches and use a statistics to predict what adverts will be best suited for. Another area that AI is being used is to read micro expressions. These are physical tells which are too quick for the human eye to catch but can be captured on film and picked up by AI. With that in mind I decided to give Chatpt a chance to read my minds. Chatgpt is a language based artificial intelligence which is said to generate text just like a human. Here's how our conversation went:
Me - Hello, how are you today?
ChatGPT
Hello! As an artificial intelligence language model, I do not have emotions, but I'm functioning optimally and ready to assist you with any questions or tasks you have. How can I assist you today?
Me - Do you know who Edward Crawford is?
ChatGPT
Edward Crawford, is a British magician, mind reader and pickpocket entertainer. He has performed at various events and venues in the UK and internationally, including corporate events, private parties, and on television. He has won several awards for his performances, and his act combines sleight of hand, psychology, and audience interaction.
Me - Thats him. He's a mentalist, do you know what that is?
ChatGPT
Yes, a mentalist is a performer who uses techniques such as mind-reading, suggestion, and psychological manipulation to create the illusion of having supernatural or psychic abilities. Mentalism is a type of performance art that can involve a range of techniques, including cold reading (making deductions based on subtle cues from the audience), hot reading (gaining information about audience members before the performance), and suggestion (influencing audience members to think or behave in certain ways).
Edward Crawford's performances as a mind reader and pickpocket entertainer likely involve many of these techniques, as well as his own unique style and presentation.
Me - He's not a pickpocket, not sure where you got that from
ChatGPT
I apologize for the mistake. Upon checking again, I can see that I made an error in my previous response. Edward Crawford is not a pickpocket, and I must have confused him with another performer. He is a mentalist and a magician who performs a range of effects that involve mind-reading, prediction, and suggestion, among others. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Me - No problem. Do you think you can read minds?
ChatGPT
As an AI language model, I don't have the ability to read minds. However, I can try to provide helpful responses based on the information and context provided to me. Mind-reading is a technique that is often used by mentalists and magicians to create the illusion of being able to know what someone is thinking or predict their actions. These techniques can be achieved through a combination of observation, psychology, and suggestion. While some people may believe that certain individuals have psychic abilities or can read minds, there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.
Me - Lets give it a go.
ChatGPT
Sure, I'll do my best to respond to your question or prompt based on the information and context you provide. Please keep in mind, however, that as an AI language model, I do not have the ability to read minds or access information that has not been provided to me.
Me - I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100. What is it?
ChatGPT
As an AI language model, I don't have the ability to read minds or access information that has not been provided to me. However, I can offer a suggestion based on probability. Since you've selected a number between 1 and 100, there are 100 possible options, so the chance of guessing the correct number on the first try is 1 in 100, or 1%. Therefore, it's unlikely that I can accurately guess the number you're thinking of without additional information or hints. If you would like, you can tell me whether the number you're thinking of is odd or even, or whether it is a multiple of a certain number, which may help narrow down the possibilities.
Me - It's odd
ChatGPT
Thank you for the hint. Based on this information, I will make a guess that the number you are thinking of is 69. However, please keep in mind that this is just a guess and there is no guarantee that it is the correct number. If it's not the right number, feel free to let me know and I can make another guess based on any additional hints or information you would like to provide.
Me - Not 69, someone has a dirty mind! it was 37
ChatGPT
I apologize for guessing incorrectly, and I'm glad you were able to provide the correct number. As an AI language model, I don't have the ability to perceive numbers as "dirty" or "clean." My response was based solely on probability and the hint you provided, and I apologize if my guess was inappropriate. I'm here to assist you with any questions or tasks you may have, so please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Me - Thats ok, I forgive you. Let's try again. I'm going to draw a simple picture of an object. What is it?
ChatGPT
Sure, please go ahead and draw the picture. Once you're done, you can describe it to me or take a photo of it and share it with me, and I'll do my best to identify the object you've drawn. Please keep in mind that as an AI language model, I don't have the ability to see images or pictures, so I'll be relying solely on your description or image to identify the object.
Me - Looking at the drawing would be cheating, you'd never catch me doing that! try and guess what I have drawn
ChatGPT
Alright, I'll do my best to guess the object you've drawn based on verbal clues you can provide. Can you please describe the object to me? What are its main features or characteristics?
Me - You don't ask for much do you! Ok, I'll give you a clue. Its an animal
ChatGPT
Thank you for the clue. Based on this information, I'll make a guess that the animal you've drawn is a cat. However, please keep in mind that this is just a guess based on the limited information available, and it may or may not be correct. If it's not the right answer, feel free to give me more clues or a better description of the animal you've drawn, and I'll make another guess.
Me - Nope, it was a bunny rabbit. Good guess though as a cat is the most common animal for a person to draw. One final go. I'm thinking of a name of a friend of mine. Just the first name. What is it?
ChatGPT
As an AI language model, I don't have the ability to read minds or access information that has not been provided to me. However, I can offer a suggestion based on probability. Since there are countless possible names that your friend could have, it's highly unlikely that I could correctly guess your friend's name without additional information or hints. If you would like, you can tell me the first letter of your friend's name, which may help narrow down the possibilities.
Me - It's a woman's name. Thats the only clue I'm giving you. Take a guess.
ChatGPT
Thank you for the additional clue. Based on this limited information, I will take a guess that your friend's name is Sarah. However, please keep in mind that this is just a guess, and there are countless possible names that your friend could have. If it's not the right answer, feel free to let me know and I can make another guess based on any additional hints or information you would like to provide.
Me - Sadly you're wrong again, it was Linda.
ChatGPT
I apologize for guessing incorrectly again, and thank you for letting me know your friend's name. I'm here to assist you with any questions or tasks you may have, so please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Me - Thanks for trying. It's good to know that when AI takes over the world my job will still be safe.
ChatGPT
I'm glad I could be of assistance, and I wouldn't worry too much about AI taking over the world just yet. While AI has certainly made significant strides in recent years, there are still many tasks that require human expertise and intuition. And even as AI continues to evolve, it's likely that there will always be a need for human creativity and innovation. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to let me know.
Not sure if I'm happy or not that AI knows who I am. The fact they think I'm a pickpocket might mean I'll be one of the first to be wiped out for my crimes when AI takes over. Please note it stated we shouldn't be worrying about AI taking over the world JUST YET. I take that to mean sometime in the near future and I've already managed to piss this one off by pointing out it has a dirty mind for choosing the number 69 (the favourite number to be chosen by teenage boys everywhere). It's clear that the information it was choosing is the statistically likely, cat being the most common object to draw, Sarah being a very common name etc. Add in the verbal and non verbal cues and it will be doing my job!
It looks like I'm safe for a couple more years so if you're looking for a human mind reader/mentalist to perform at any events you may be having prior to the rise of the machines go to https://www.edwardcrawford.co.uk/ for more details.
Edward Crawford is an award winning magician and mind reader performing a unique brand of psychological magic (no pickpocketing). He is based in the UK but performs throughout the world at corporate and private events
When lockdown was announced back in March my entire years work was immediately cancelled. I'm used to performing at events with hundreds of guests, travelling all over the world, mixing and mingling with endless people. I could see no way that I'd be working for the rest of the year. Within days though past clients were contacting me to ask if I could perform for them virtually over Zoom. Fortunately I had a virtual show which I'd performed for a corporate event a few years previously so with a few tweaks and a crash course in using Zoom, microsoft teams, google hangouts etc, I was ready to go. Since then I've performed hundreds of virtual shows for family groups, corporate team meetings and parties. This got me thinking what else is out there. I wanted to find genuinely interactive entertainment that the viewer could actually take part in, otherwise you may as well just be watching TV. Here's my top 5.
1. Virtual Magic Show
Ok, so I'm starting off with some blatant and quite shameless self publicity but for full audience interactivity nothing beats a magic show. My virtual show can be performed for any number of people, the minimum I've done is 2, the maximum is about 200. A show can last between 20 minutes to an hour depending upon requirements. Throughout the show the entire audience will take part in bizarre experiments of the mind and will witness mind reading, psychological illusion and unbelievable feats for mental trickery. More details can be found HERE.
2. Virtual Pub Quiz
Here's another one that's fully interactive, unless you know none of the answers. There's thousands of these online so I'm not going to link to any one in particular. Some are worldwide, others for local communities. Pour yourself a pint and after months in lockdown check that your little grey cells are still working.
3. Virtual exercise class
Ughh, My least favourite out of these 5 but probably the most important. It's a cliché to say it but I have put on weight during lockdown (or else all my suits have shrunk, that's probably it right??). My original plan had been to take up jogging, within weeks I had managed to trip over, break my wrist and found myself with even more time on my hands/hand. This is when I discovered online classes. Most of these are free and with hundreds of other people taking part it gives you a little more motivation to get moving. The best thing about these classes is that afterwards you don't feel so guilty spending the rest of the day in bed eating chocolate.
4. Virtual Book Club
Without a doubt my favourite. Many small local bookshops have a virtual book club and these are the ones we need to support. Each month a book is chosen and once or twice a month everyone gets together and discusses the book. Not only are you reading a book you may have ignored but it gives you the chance to support a local and almost certainly struggling bookshop.
5, Virtual Karaoke
Ok, I'll be honest here. The other four on this list I've tried and loved. This one is not for me. I can't sing and will never force my off key caterwauling on anyone, the world is a hard enough place as it is right now. Many friends have recommended this to me; everyone chooses a song and when it's your turn you take centre stage to the cheers and jeers of the audience. I would imagine it helps to be really drunk when doing this.
Hope these five give you a few ideas for virtual entertainment over the next few months. It won't be long now until we will all be back to normal being entertained in the real world. Until then take care of yourselves.
Edward Crawford is an award winning professional magician and mind reader. Each year he performs at over 200 events for corporate and private events. Head over to the MAIN WEBSITE for more details. In all honesty he's a bit of a hermit so the lockdown really hasn't affected his life but he has been performing a VIRTUAL SHOW for anyone who cares about that sort of thing.
Christmas is coming and usually at this time I'm preparing for my busiest month of the year. Last Christmas I performed 32 shows in 3 weeks at a combination of corporate and private Christmas parties. One week I started off in London, then a flight to Jersey, back home for shows in Bath, Portsmouth and Manchester, another flight to the Channel Islands, this time to Guernsey, flew back to Gatwick where I got a connecting flight to Paris, back home the following morning for a drive up to Liverpool followed by Milton Keynes and ending up with final show of the week back in London. Exhausting!! This year I was prepared for a Christmas period lying in bed, eating chocolate but much to my surprise bookings have been flooding in for virtual Christmas entertainment. It appears that people and companies are still going ahead with their Christmas parties but this year it will be done online.
My VIRTUAL MAGIC SHOW is ideal for Christmas party entertainment as it's fully interactive. All your guests, whether it's a corporate or private party will take part in the show engaging in acts of mind reading and mental magic. Click HERE for more details about the show and click HERE for details of my Christmas shows. There are three main positives about being able to perform at virtual Christmas parties. First is cost, these shows will be considerably cheaper than my standard, real world Christmas shows. Second is location, no more driving around the country for hours on end, no matter where in the world you and your guests are I can be there and with no extra cost for travel and accommodation. Finally availability. On a good day I may be able to perform at two events if I can travel in time from one to the other. With online shows lasting between 30 minutes to an hour on average I will easily be able to perform at 5 to 10 events in an evening increasing the chance of you being able to book me. On a typical year the prime Christmas dates (Friday nights) are booked up years in advance, this year that won't be an issue.
Most of the questions you'll have can be answered HERE on my online magic show page but I'll summarise the basic details here. The show can take place on a number of platforms including Zoom, Microsoft teams and google hangouts. Zoom is probably the most popular and user friendly. I have a licence for Zoom so audience numbers and duration of show isn't an issue. I've performed online shows for groups as small as 2 and big as 200. As long as people have access to a computer and internet connection they can watch and take part. The show is fully interactive, everyone will take part. Sometimes the whole audience at once, other times one or two people at a time. It's a Christmas party so full audience interaction, feedback and fun are the priorities. The most common way for me to perform at events of this nature is for me to join you at some point during the party. I will introduce myself and then perform my mind reading show for your preferred duration. I'll stick around after a performance to answer any questions about the show and chat and then leave you to enjoy your party. Really it's a standard Christmas party, just virtual and no one needs to worry about getting a taxi home after or embarrassing themselves in front of their colleagues!
Ok, that's enough of my mindless rambling. Head over to the main website for more details about what it is I do, HERE. Use the contact form to get in touch of give me a call on 07814 135569 or email info@edwardcrawford.co.uk to discuss virtual entertainment for your Christmas party.
Each year I perform at about one hundred weddings throughout the UK. I'm frequently asked for recommendations of venues from future brides and grooms so thought I would take this quiet time during the lockdown to compile a list. I've decided to do this by county starting with Surrey as this is local to me. If you're looking for venues in other counties I will slowly (very slowly) be creating these but if there's nothing up yet get in touch and I can share my opinions.
The venues I've included below are one's I have worked at regularly and had the best experience from the staff and witness a general level of quality and attention to detail in making your big day special.
Whilst this list is far from comprehensive, hopefully it will give you a few venues to check out. As more come to mind I will add to this list. If you want more details about any of these venues or have another in mind (chances are I've been there at some point) please get in touch, always happy to offer advice.
Edward Crawford is a professional magician and mind reader performing at weddings, corporate events and private functions throughout the UK. Each year Edward performs at over 200 events at locations throughout the UK and the world. For more details for events in Surrey head over to the SURREY PAGE. For the rest of the world click on the home button above and for information about Edwards performances at weddings go to the WEDDING PAGE.
Every week I am inundated with emails asking if I will be performing my show in London and where it can be seen. The truth is most of my shows these days are private events in the corporate market. Whilst I do put on a few public shows each year these are few and far between and tickets generally sell out before I get the chance to advertise (when I do advertise you can find details on the London page HERE). The next question is whether i can recommend a magic show in London, therefore I am writing this post so I have all the information in one place and can direct people here.
The following are regular or semi permanent London magic shows. Throughout the year a number of touring shows will hit London, I recommend viewing theatre listings for these.
CONJURING AT THE COURT - This show has been running since 2009 at Draytons Court hotel. It takes place on the last Thursday of each month and hosts a wide range of different magicians and performers. I've heard good things about this show although as it's different magicians every month I would imagine the quality is very much dependant on who is performing.
SIMON DRAKES HOUSE OF MAGIC - Whilst the majority of shows here are for private events Simon opens to the public a few times each year. This truly unique show takes place in Simon's house, a museum to magic and the macabre. Explore the curiosities, enjoy dinner and drinks and top it all off with an unforgettable magic show. This is a show like no other.
THE GENTLEMAN CHEATER MAGIC SHOW - This one seems to move around a bit but at present it can be seen at the Radisson Blue on Mercer Street on the last Friday of every month. Performed by Christian Gambin, he presents an interactive close up magic show with an emphasis on cards and demonstrations of card cheating in a gambling environment.
THE MAGIC HOUR - An evening of Victorian/Edwardian style parlour magic performed in the intimate setting of the Grand Royale hotel near Hyde park. Generally seems to be on a Thursday or Friday evening. Tickets are limited so book early.
If you're after an old fashioned Music Hall type event I heartily recommend checking our Brick Lane Music Hall. Magicians can often be found on the bill, including myself on very rare occasions.
Whilst this isn't a permanent show I can't write this post without mentioning the Magic Goes Wring show currently in London. One of the funniest nights I've had in the theatre for a long time. Highly recommend catching it whilst you can.
If you have a show in London, let me know and I'll add it to my list.
Edward Crawford is a magician and mind reader performing throughout the world at private and corporate events. He specialises in the esoteric field of magic known as mentalism (reading minds and predicting thoughts). Edward is based in LONDON but spends most of his life travelling to shows around the world. On the rare day Edward isn't performing or stuck in traffic/an airport lounge he likes to spend his days napping.
Each year I perform at over 200 events with the majority of those in London. Below you will find the reasons I think a magician is the ideal choice to entertain your guests at your next event. If you’re having a party in London the following may be the ideal entertainment for your guests.
Edward Crawford is a LONDON based Magician and mind reader specialising in a style of magic known as mentalism, reading minds and predicting thoughts. He has been a full time professional magician for over 10 years and performs around the world at corporate and private events.
Charity Magician - Blog entry
If you're organising a charity event and looking for entertainment a magician is the perfect choice. Magicians at charity events are often seen as the perfect entertainment as they can offer a diverse range of performance styles including a CLOSE UP act or TABLE MAGIC and a full STAGE SHOW. I also offer an MC service throughout the evening.
Each year I perform at about 30 events for charities. Many of these charities I perform for on a regular basis and many have been repeat clients for over 10 years. This is in part due to the fact I have a performance created specially for charities that not only offers unforgettable entertainment but can also get people to make further contributions to the charity. Below is a brief description from a performance as a charity event magician at Twickenham Rugby Stadium in London.
The event was for a small private charity. There were approximately 160 guests who would be having a formal 3 course meal followed by a band. I was hired to perform at the tables during the dinner followed by a short (15 minutes) show at the end of the meal. This is a fairly standard way for me to work and typical of most of the corporate events I work at. Each table received a 10 minute private performance in which I would include all the guests at the table. The main issue with performing at charity events of this nature is that there is generally a lot of stopping and starting for auctions and speeches throughout the meal. I’m used to this though and always ask the MC to give me a nod before any speeches so I know to stop for a few minutes. This does cut into my performance time though so I always need to be very efficient with time and get from table to table as quickly as possible. Was very pleased to make it to every table. For my final stage show performance I used a routine I have developed specially for charity events which will entail people putting their hands in their pockets and donating more money to the charity whilst being entertained. Always a popular way to end a show.
Here’s what the organiser of the event had to say in an email sent the following day.
“Thank you so very much for Saturday. Everyone, myself included, thought you were absolutely brilliant and we are all still trying to dissect the final performance....!”
The question I get asked most often regarding charity events is whether I offer a discount. The simple answer is yes. I have a couple of charities I actively support and perform a couple of free shows for them each year. For everyone else I offer a discount. My preference is to work for small independent charities where I know all the money raised will be going to good causes and not to pay the charity directors wages or give a celebrity a bit of free publicity!
If you require a magician for your charity event please get in touch for more details.
Edward Crawford is a professional magician and mind reader. Each year he performs at over 200 events throughout the world for corporate and private events. Head over to the main website HERE for more details.
A few weeks prior to the Coronavirus lockdown I performed at a wedding at the beautiful Eastwell Manor in Kent. They kindly gave me permission to film whilst performing. Here's the first video. More to come which will include full routines (go to the video page for these). Eastwell manor is an absolutely stunning venue with the most helpful staff. A huge thanks to all of them for their help throughout the day. Look forward to going back once the world re-opens!
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Edward Crawford is a professional Magician and Mind reader performing throughout KENT and the UK. For more details please get in touch.
In the last 10 years I've performed at over 2000 events but last week was the first time I have performed at a Sheva Brachot dinner. The honest truth is I had never heard of a Sheva Brachot before. For anyone else who is as equally ignorant it's a Jewish celebration which takes place during the week after a wedding, usually a dinner (and there can be up to 7 of these, one each day of the week) in which the Sheva Brachot (Seven Bessings) will be recited. This dinner is for family and friends of the bride and groom and I was hired to provide the Sheva Brachot entertainment.
This particular event took place at a restaurant in London, the entire restaurant had been hired for the event so it was closed to the public. From my point of view I performed at the event in the same way I would at a typical wedding reception. This was a perfect event for a close up performance, as the guests arrived for the drinks reception I casually mixed amongst them performing what I refer to as mix and mingle magic. After the drinks the guests were seated for dinner. At this point I went from table to table performing (no surprise here) table magic. More details regarding my close up act can be found HERE. Towards the end of the dinner I performed a routine from my stage show which included the bride and groom . This was for the whole audience to watch and constitutes a mind reading routine that demonstrates the love the couple feel for one another. A perfect way to end an event of this nature.
Here's an email I received from the person who booked me for the event:
"I just wanted to thank you once again for your performance at our event on Sunday evening. Your acts were amazing and the grand finale with the young couple was astonishing!!! I really appreciated the fact that you tied it all in with the connection between them as a couple. It was simply amazing and everyone enjoyed themselves. People have been talking about it and many have asked for your details. All said it was refreshingly different to any other entertainment they’d seen. So thank you for a wonderful evening, and I will definitely keep you in mind for any future events."
Aurelia Eitje
I also received a couple more bookings from this event, one of which was at a Purim event which was another amazing event to perform at. I had such a fun time performing at the Sheva Brachot, and met so many lovely people. Now I've done my first I hope to be able to perform at a lot more Sheva Brachot dinners in future.
Edward Crawford is a professional magician and mind reader, he specialises in a style of magic known as mentalism or as he prefers to call it, mind reading. he is a London based magician but spends each year travelling the UK and the world performing at over 200 events each year for corporate and private clients. If you're looking for a Magician for a Sheva Brachot dinner (or any other event) please contact Edward for more details.
A question that seems to get asked all over the internet is "How much does it cost to hire a wedding magician?"
All the articles I've read have gone on to describe what a wedding magician does but none of them seem to give an actual answer to the question. They all seem nothing more than click bait to get people to buy things! Here I'm going to try and give an actual answer, without giving you pages of nonsense to wade through. This is quite a hard question to answer exactly as my prices vary depending on a number of factors such as date of wedding, location and time of day a performance is required. There are times of the year such as the Christmas period when prices can increase. Most weddings take place on a Saturday and I will often perform at two in one day, performing at the drinks reception at one and the evening reception at another. If the times you require mean I can only perform at one event all day this can push up prices. Obviously travel is a factor, generally I can drive to most places and home in a day, but just occasionally a hotel may be necessary. So here we go some actual prices:
My basic rate starts at £390, this is generally for a 2 to 3 hour performance during one period of the wedding. If you were after a longer performance during say the drinks reception and wedding breakfast prices may go up to about £450. If the wedding is at a particularly quiet time of year, February being my slowest month or a quiet day, Monday and Tuesday, this can push prices down a bit to about £350. Whereas if it's a really popular day, such as a Friday in the run up to Christmas prices can go up to about £700 (generally I'm performing at corporate events at this time of the year).
If you take £390 as my average price, plus or minus £30 for travel etc that should give you a fair idea of how much it costs to hire a wedding magician. For an exact quote please get in touch using the contact form which can be found HERE. One thing I will mention is that many performers, venues and suppliers to weddings will push up their prices for a wedding. I do the opposite. Most of my work during the week is at corporate events for large multinational corporations. My prices for a wedding will always be lower and far more affordable than for these events.
For more details on hiring a wedding magician please go over to my wedding page HERE.
Edward Crawford is a professional magician and mind reader. Each year he performs at over 150 events throughout the UK and the world. Over the last 3 years he has been awarded the best UK wedding magician by Lux magazine.
