Magic + Neurosurgery

I’ve been dabbling in the dark arts for five years.

My weapon of choice: a set of Bicycle Cards, blue if I want to draw attention to the faces, red if I want my audience to focus on the backs. Though my tricks start the same way (square up the deck with my left hand, ask my spectator to shuffle), each then takes on a life of its own: sleight-of-hand, mathematical and self-working, or a combination.

After watching Matt Franco perform on America’s Got Talent five years ago, I was hooked on the thrill of the unexplainable in card magic. I wondered why people liked magic so much, and rather than sit and ponder, I decided to follow my curiosity into the world of magic itself. When first learning the double lift, I watched tutorials for endless hours on end, constantly rewinding to determine exact thumb positions and wrist motions, fascinated by the nuanced distinctions between success and failure.

Eventually I grew dissatisfied with the full magic routines I saw. They weren’t my style: not enough audience interaction, not enough intense sleight-of-hand distractions. I decided to develop my own tricks. My first original was a big one–transport a randomly chosen card from the deck into a sealed basketball. I stayed up late every night for three weeks, planning out every wrist turn and card palm. The thrill of sacrificing my sleep and health for something that was my own and finally seeing the finished product made me fall in love with inventing.

And my love for inventing and exploring didn’t stop there. I once spent three days studying the science behind Rock Paper Scissors, for example, searching for logic behind why humans play as they do, and discovered why ⅔ of males choose rock on their first turn and why people on a losing cycle almost always choose rock, then paper, then scissors. In my junior year internship, I saw that my mentor was always late to meetings because of his chronic knee pain. After hearing his story and struggles with the healthcare system, I was inspired to come up with a solution to my mentor’s knee problems. I worked with a team to create the SmartSleeve, a wearable device that aids post-surgery healing by monitoring a knee’s activity and sending doctors weekly reports. As a kid who’s always loved science, I use my scientific inventions satisfy my urge to explore the unknown.

Not content to pursue invention simply for the sake of it, I also invent to make people happy. Cooking three course meals is my way of spending uninterrupted time with my parents. When we have cause for celebration, I grill veggie burgers topped with my signature sriracha-sour cream sauce. When we want to relax, I whip up fluffy scrambled eggs on sourdough bread with veggie turkey. Food, like magic, is my offering to my community.

Even when I started, magic has never been just a hobby. Each new trick, each discovery, has been an essential way I bring vivacity to my life. But of all of my tricks, my favorite is this essay. I said before I use blue cards to focus the audience on faces, red to focus them on backs. The words in this essay have been my red cards, and performing magic is the part I’ve made you focus on.

You’ve just been fooled by a classic misdirect, for although magic has been my life for so long, what I dream of doing professionally is becoming a neurosurgeon. And magic has actually played a big role in this: it has led me to questioning why people make the choices they do, taught me to approach life with attention to detail, dexterity, and care, and has inspired me to invent with passion.

I am addicted to the adventure and journey of making my own creations, something I will continue to do vigorously in the ever-evolving field of neuroscience.