Alex Elmsley (2 March 1929 – 8 January 2006) was a Scottish magician and computer programmer.
He was notable for his invention of the Ghost Count or Elmsley Count, creating mathematical card tricks, and for publishing on the mathematics of playing card shuffling.
He studied physics and mathematics at Cambridge University; whilst there he was also secretary of the Pentacle Club.
He was a patent agent, and later a computer expert, in his day job.
[9] In 1975, he briefly toured the US giving a highly praised lecture known as the "Dazzle Card Act", which consisted of a magic act followed by a detailed discussion of routining.