When he ran away from home aged 14 to spend two years on the road as a magician’s assistant, Persi Diaconis had little idea that his fascination with magic would take him to Harvard University and beyond. Today he is not only one of the world’s top sleight-of-hand magicians but a professor of statistics at Stanford to boot. He has used his skills to debunk numerous instances of fraud and trickery, and proved that it takes seven shuffles to perfectly randomise a pack of cards. He tells Justin Mullins about his strange journey.
How did you become involved in magic?…
