What happens when there is a conflict between what we see and what we hear? Apparently, instead of getting confused, our brain has a strange ability to construct a story which resolves the conflict. Unfortunately, that story is usually far from reality.
Who charges a hundred bucks for a ten-second magic trick?
In my case, it was a petrol pump attendant. He turned five 100-rupee bills into four bills in under ten seconds. Interestingly, I didn’t realize that he was showing me magic and was pocketing that missing 100-rupee note for his unsolicited magic services. In other words, he cheated me.
Demonetization was still a few years away and I didn’t like paying the fuel surcharge on my credit card, so cash was my favourite mode of payment in those days. When the vanishing money incidence happened 3-4 times in a row within a span of few months, and when I read an email forward about how some petrol pump attendants were scamming unsuspecting customers with their sleight of hand, I decided that I would keenly observe my next transaction at the petrol pump.
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