IanKendall wrote:Mark said: " I believe that when he gets it wrong he really does believe he thinks he got it right."
I can see this, but when he is presented with irrefutable, empirical evidence to the contrary (and not just subjective opinion) he refuses to even countenance it and launches into another tirade (or, as happened with me, simply repeats the falsehood over and over again, despite several people looking it up and realising that he was wrong).
That is because he is not handled correctly. If one does not use the diplomacy that I am renowned for you will get negative results. You should never tell a man he is wrong. I didn't come up with this wisdom. Dale Carnegie of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" said it. If you tell somone they are wrong an automatic defense mechanism kicks in. Especially if the one who made the mistake has an ego to defend. And I don't just mean Harry Lorayne. It applies to us all to a greater or lesser degree. Harry, admittedly to a greater degree.
However, if someone is approached in a kind diplomatic way and the mistake pointed out tactfully or better still indirectly, the error will often be realised by the person who will react in a more positive manner. It defies common sense to me, knowing what Harry's personality is like to correct him in a "ha, ha-I got you!" manner which is usually the way the idiots on the magic cafe go about it. I get the impression that in a lot of cases the posters are not correcting things for the benefit of historical accuracy but more to bait Harry Lorayne knowing that he is going to get mad. I don't see the point of it.
I myself pointed out on the Magic Cafe that Harry could not possibly have invented the presentation of "The Lazy Man's Card Trick" Did he get mad at me? No! And I discussed it with him for a page or two and he didn't get angry in the slightest. Why? Because I had the common sense and decency not to bait and harass an 85 year old man. I treated him with the respect that an old maestro, albeit a cranky one, deserves. It was only when all the braindead idiots decided to join in and use what I discovered through MY research to torment him unmercifully. Up to that point everything had been perfectly civilised. If I had foreseen what idiocy would erupt I would have kept quiet and not explained what I knew to be the case.
What on earth is the point of telling someone he is wrong? Sometimes it is best just to let it go. If you have to then do it in a tactful considerate way. I shall be happy to act as a role model for in this regard.