Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

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Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby kevmundo » Nov 22nd, '12, 00:22



Now then TM,

I was wondering if anyone would like to share their experiences of having magicians guilt, and then completely ignoring it with the contempt it deserves?

1) I once tried to do an Aciduc Novus peek. I asked the spec to write something down and then re-fold it. They did re-fold it - in a totally impossible fold that I never even imagined. I said "ah, I recognise what you've done" I actually opened it completely in front of every one, read it, sealed it again, and handed it to someone. Then I revealed it to mass applause. It was totally bizarre but no-one saw what was happening right in front of them. (Incidently, I do have a way for dealing with this now!!)

2) I once made a mistake with a deck switch. I placed the deck in my left pocket but the switching deck was in my right pocket. Totally different colour. No-one noticed.

3) I regularly use the extractor gimmick with totally different cloured decks - no-one has ever noticed!!!!!!

I conclude that bxxxs are more important than skill - Discuss?

K :D

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Re: Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby TonyB » Nov 22nd, '12, 00:47

I was doing a gig last week and picked up the billet for the centre tear, and accidentally opened it. I read it, re folded it, tore it and continued with the routine. No one spotted it. I make nothing of the tear, so the audience didn't.

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Re: Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby kevmundo » Nov 22nd, '12, 00:54

TonyB wrote:I was doing a gig last week and picked up the billet for the centre tear, and accidentally opened it. I read it, re folded it, tore it and continued with the routine. No one spotted it. I make nothing of the tear, so the audience didn't.


Haha!!! Love it when that kind of thing happens!!!

K ;)

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Re: Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby Craig Browning » Nov 22nd, '12, 14:40

Here in the states we have the Jay Leno show as late night Tv. One of the things he does every now and then is bring in a young magician (don't recall his name) who will work behind the counter of various stores and as he talks with customers, changes clothes and all sorts of things . . . even to the extent of going from his very Irish complexion to one of a more "African" tan level . . . and yet people don't notice. It's an amazing thing that benefits us and what we do for fun or a living but likewise benefits the ardent criminal -- one of the reasons why an eye witness account isn't always accurate.

But I don't recognize such boldness as being an aspect of "Magician's Guilt" but more so, bold and at times, psychological skill. "Magician's Guilt" is just that; someone that feels guilty because of the deception that's afoot. The late Gerry Andrus was known for never lying; when he did a DL he'd say something like, "What we have here appears to be your card" this is because he felt "dirty" claiming that the DL was really a single card. Many a mage is struck with guilt when it comes to Cold Reading as well as Muscle Reading and the psychological explanation is typically the same -- they are afraid of the method and how it affects them; how it can give them reputation for being more than a mere trickster, which few magicians seem to have the brass to carry; it's certainly one of the contributing reasons why Mentalism trends are short lived compared to the more traditional modes of magical performance -- manipulation & illusion acts (real illusions like the Sawing, not parlor tricks which have been mislabeled in recent years).

I think maybe the "guilt" side of things comes about as the result of one's own sense of just how far they are willing to push the boundaries of "right & wrong" -- what is morally & ethically acceptable to them when it comes to the art of deception. Mohamed Ali loved visiting Hollywood Magic for years and would do tricks for the store patrons all day long if possible. But, his Islamic faith and related morality wouldn't allow him to extend the deception; he would always explain how each effect worked after performing it. . . between you and me, who's going to tell the Heavy Weight Boxing Champ of the World he can't do that?

It was an accepted fact by the shop owner & management because of the media attention it gave the shop and more. They however, had that magician's remorse where Ali was able to let go of such because of how he followed things up. . . he freed his conscience. This is where the "Guilt" factor comes into play; for some of us doing a bar betchya never results in drinks because we think about being "fair" and "honest" vs. being the con-artists magicians really are . . . let's face it, we come from a very long line of rapscallions, do we not? Even now, we strive to learn how to manipulate people by way of this or that communication technique, suggestion and pseudo sciences like NLP. We want to reach into a person's mind and life in a more literal sense . . . but only some of us. Most of us draw a line that we will not cross because of the guilt it sets upon us. . . this is my understanding of the idea of Magician's Guilt :wink:

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Re: Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby kevmundo » Nov 22nd, '12, 15:35

When I started out (not too long ago) whenever I was about to perform a sleight, or a move or whatever the dirty work was, a little voice came on in my head and said, "surely everyone is going to see this - it's obvious." Then panic sets in and draws attention to what you were trying to avoid. However, the more I've successfully achieved efects, the more I've enjoyed the difficult elements. I have tried to change the little voice to something more positive. Now I think, "I'm going to trick you here, and you won't see a thing." It works for me. I think the more confident you are, and the more you believe in what you are doing is 'fair' then the audience will believe it too. They have to!

K :)

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Re: Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby Mandrake » Nov 22nd, '12, 15:46

Richard Wiseman has a great example of how observant we are - or not. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAntzB7EwE

The only time I do anything like this is to drop three palmed cards on top of the deck as I pass it to a spec for dealing. At the same time as placing my hand on the cards, I point to, and tap on, something else on the table and look at that object. Everybody's eyes follow and nobody ever spots the 'move'. The more you perform this sort of thing, the easier and the less worrying it becomes.

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Re: Magicians guilt/bxxxs of steel.

Postby Randy » Nov 29th, '12, 21:54

I remember watchting Doc Eason perform his Card Under glass and Mutliple selection routine and during the routines. He palms, TC's, and does other moves that people would be scared of. Yet nobody seemed to catch him (accept the camera. lol).

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