The magic present: gift wrapping our minds | Jackson Ridd | TEDxStGeorge

From the start of our day to the end, we are faced with the gift of the mysterious, of never truly knowing what we will encounter - just like receiving a gift wrapped present from a friend. How do we feel about the uncertainty of what’s inside? Jackson Ridd will illustrate the allure of the unknown.

Jackson Ridd is an award-winning, international, sleight-of-hand performing magician. He stays interested and engaged with the inherently psychological nature of magic and hopes to intrigue the participant of his performances on as many levels as possible, from the theoretical to the visceral.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.

Somewhere around the year 100 BC,

the very first documented use
of wrapping paper was found.

It was sort of a cloth-like paper mixture
used to enclose money as a gift

in China.

Now, this tradition has actually
continued throughout time

to modern Chinese culture,

where money is traditionally given
in little red envelopes like this.

But why, in the year 100 BC,
did they feel that need?

In current years, we seem to feel
the need to wrap our presents.

And among many cultures,

we feel the need to conceal
our gifts to others.

Staying true to form, I've chosen
to conceal something in here today

for all of you,

but I'll show you in a couple minutes.

First, let's try something.

Let's try to answer that question.

I want you to try to imagine
something in your hands right now.

Imagine anything.

It could be a pen, a notebook,
a sweater, air - it could be nothing.

But imagine it in your hands right now.

And take that item and place it in a box.

Seal it up.

Wrap it in a very beautiful
gold-foil wrapping paper

and then tie an elegant ribbon
right across the top.

Now you have that item
in that neatly wrapped package.

Take that same item
and hold it in your other hand,

bare, all by itself.

And give them both a friend.

What are we really giving someone
when we wrap something up and conceal it?

I think that we're giving
something more than what's inside.

Because both literally and figuratively,

we're giving something
in addition to the gift.

We're giving the idea of a gift.

We're giving the unknown,

anticipation,

which leads to excitement,

and we're giving what
Albert Einstein would describe

as the most beautiful thing
we can experience:

we're giving the mysterious.

And if that sounds heavy-handed,

it's still true.

And as someone who practices and performs
the art of mystery through magic,

I've become obsessed with that idea,

of giving that experience,

giving the unknown.

And when you start to think about that,

you start to pay attention
to not only what you show

but, almost more importantly,
what you don't show.

But what does that look like?

Well, I'll need the help
of a beautiful assistant

and these.

Sir, you're looking quite beautiful today.

(Laughter)

Will you assist?

(Man) Yes.

Wonderful. If you could
just select a card, okay?

You're just going to place your finger
on one of these cards.

Perfect. That one? Okay.
Great. You can have a seat.

And you didn't see the card.

I didn't see it.

No one else saw it as well.

So I'm leaving it right here.

I'm just going to place this
inside my jacket pocket,

leave it sticking out a little bit
so we can all keep track of it, okay?

Now, we can have a guess,

we can have an idea
of what is inside here,

but we don't really know.

Whether this has been manufactured or not,

we have created something essential
for the traditional gift -

anticipation.

Now, anticipation occurs
in a lot more places than this.

Every day when we wake up,

when we look into the day,

we have an idea of how it may end.

We have an idea of what may happen,

what's inside it,

but we don't really know.

We're giving ourselves a gift:

the gift of a day.

A gift of the present.

(Laughter)

So you might not always know

what is inside
this gift, this day, for you,

but you do know how it's all wrapped up,

what it looks like on the outside.

Brown postal paper.

Gold foil.

A red envelope.

And sometimes, how it looks on the outside

matters a little bit more
than what you think

because how long does a present sit,
waiting to be opened?

And how long does it take
to actually open it up and discover?

So consider this:

the next time that you receive a gift,

any gift,

pay mind to how you feel
when you hold it in your hands,

when you're holding the unknown,

when you don't know what's inside.

Because sometimes,

no matter how many
possibilities can occur,

no matter what the chances,

the beauty of our life
is not in knowing what awaits us.

The beauty of our life is in finding ...

It's in finding out.

(Applause)