Colleague Hartling

Pit Hartling was born in 1976 in Frankfurt am Main. Since early childhood he enjoys "doing things that can't be done". After numerous experiments with the nature of reality he came to the conclusion: "The laws of nature are overrated". Aged 17, Pit Hartling won second prize at the world-championship of magic.

In between shows he haunts the faculties of philosophy, psychology and literature at Johann Wolfgang Goethe university in Frankfurt am Main. Most professors like him but are secretly glad that the completion of his studies is imminent.

In Metamagicum, Pit Hartling, together with Thomas Fraps, unashamedly confronts the audience with first-rate impossibilities and everybody thoroughly enjoys the ride.

Colleague Fraps

Thomas Fraps was born in 1967 in Munich and has been a professional magician for several years. His colleagues think, first having attained a degree in physics was a little over the top, but that's just the way he is: Thomas Fraps likes to understand what he effortlessly turns upside down every night on stage. And besides: "Finish what you start." In 2001 Thomas Fraps ran the New York Marathon.

In addition to his theater projects, he surprises trade show audiences and creates custom-made concepts for different kinds of business events.

For Metamagicum, Thomas Fraps, together with Pit Hartling invented several very practical devices about which he has to say: "Until main stream science proves that the machines are impossible, we will simply continue using them."

Read the feature 'Science as Illusion' ( Nature | Vol 434 | 14 April 2005)