Muscle reading

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Muscle reading is a technique used by mentalists to "read" the responses of their audience or an individual by carefully observing their motor reactions.

This is sometimes done through physical contact, for example by holding the audience member's wrist. The theory behind the technique is that the unconscious mind will reveal what the subject is thinking about through involuntary physical reactions (i.e., will display ideomotor effect responses to their mind content), and by feeling/observing and interpreting those responses correctly, the mentalist can get a clear glimpse into what the subject is thinking. Supposedly, by coming into physical contact with the subject, a mentalist can gain a better link with the person's mind, usually by allowing him to read more subtle reactions in the subject's motor functions, such as muscle control and heart rate.

Because it relies so heavily on the subject's subconscious reactions to their environment and situation, this technique is a common one used when performing tricks dealing with locating objects, and as such, can be done 'clean' by the magician skilled in reading body language.

It's also reportedly a method (without the mysticism) used by champion poker players to better hide their reactions to different hands, as well as to read the other players for potential bluffs and/or better hands.

It is also known as Hellströmism, Cumberlandism, and contact mind reading.

Performers such as Kreskin have used muscle reading successfully in their acts. He describes it in one of his books as similar to the child's game of finding an object when someone says "hot" or "cold" while the searcher tries various options.

Basically, the performer reads very slight but discernible physical reactions that direct him to a hidden object or action. In a sense, it is mind-reading, insofar as one reads the physical reaction to thought.

In fact, performers often instruct the subject to "think directions. Think stop if I go in the wrong direction. Think that's it when I find it." Thinking directions has a physcial, kinesthetic reaction that guides the performer so he can place a pin in a hole in the wall, even though he has no prior knowledge of where the pin should go.

While this takes practice, it is much easier to do than one might think. Performers often test subjects before trying it in public, because some people give clearer physical responses than others.

Kreskin, one of the most accomplished performers in modern times, can tell a driver where to go in a car while a subject holds his wrist (or visa versa).