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It just made me laugh... i was at a bar tonight with my wife and a few of her friends from Uni so I was doingafew tricks to them.

Some time later I went to the bar and this guy was watching while I was doing colour changes and playing with teh cards. He asked me to show him a trick so Idid 2 card monte. He was well impressed. He asked for another. so i fanned the cards and said 'Pick a card'.. he looked at me stoned faced and said.... 'I've seen that one already' LMAO

I tried to explain there isa chance that other tricks start this way and he wouldn't have it! He asked for something different, without cards. I had a couple of rubber bands on my person so I got these out.. just to humour him.. I just held them out and.. to my shock.. he blurted out 'I've seen that one too.. ur rubbish' and stormed off!!

I was laughin so hard as he walked away.. he was well vex!!

Just wanted to share..

Wow!
This is reall funny... I've never had that strong minded person to show a magic to. I've had someone staring his eyes out, trying not to blink and really focusing on "trying to see trough the trick", but never someone so determined.
I've seen that one... hehehe...

Which reminds me... My parents were in Florida last year and they were asked, by a local lady, where they came from. They answered Iceland... and then added Europe to make sure she knew. The lady replied (to my parents surprise): Oh really? I was in your neighborhood last summer. I went to Athens (Greece). I did Europe in 10 days!!!

Sigh!

To a magician there are thousands of card tricks and elastic band tricks etc. To the non-magician there's probably about 3 card tricks and 2 elastic band tricks - the one where you find the card and the one where you change the card and the one where the card goes to a different place (to the top, in your pocket, etc.), and then the one where you fix an elastic band and the one where stuff goes through the elastic band (ok maybe a few more - but you get the point). What makes effects different for a non-magician isn't so much in the effect, or the technique - it's in who we are and how we go about making real magic..

Funny Gunnarker... just goes to show, people obviously dont know anything about what they dont understand or have not experienced!! Which is an abovious statement but true.

taneous wrote:To a magician there are thousands of card tricks and elastic band tricks etc. To the non-magician there's probably about 3 card tricks and 2 elastic band tricks - the one where you find the card and the one where you change the card and the one where the card goes to a different place (to the top, in your pocket, etc.), and then the one where you fix an elastic band and the one where stuff goes through the elastic band (ok maybe a few more - but you get the point). What makes effects different for a non-magician isn't so much in the effect, or the technique - it's in who we are and how we go about making real magic..

I agree with that, but this guy just wouldn't give me the time of day to get started. He was right there with me at 2 card monte, just silence. No words, but as soon as i asked him to pick a card or take the rubber bands it was a no no. If he stuck aroud for a second i would have said 'You haven't seen it before, not like this anyway' and went ahead but he just stormed off.

Oh btw, just to clarify.. I never actually laughed out loud at him, that would have been rude I was laughin to myself in my head.

I had a similar experience today, though not really a funny one - someone asked to see somem magic/mentalism so I thought I'd give Sean Fields' Out of Sight, Out of Mind a whirl; despite my repeated statements that this was a magic effect using invisible cards he wasn't having any of it and refused to watch!

I think it boils down to the individual.

I believe that there are people that truly do believe in magic, that magicians can somehow access a part of the brain that no one else seems able to and are therefore capable of doing things that 'normal' people just cant understand. // Then there are people that no there is no such thing as magic, but really appreciate the skill involved and see it as its own artform and dont ask questions because they just want to see beautiful effects unfold in front of their eyes!! They don't ask questions, they just appreciate. // Then there are people that are just to sceptical 'there is a perfectly logical explanation' type people that are so tuned into just trying to figure out the method behind the effect they completely fail to see it as art and so miss the entire point of what you are trying to do!! It eludes them as being art in its own form, and so they cant appreciate what you do. I think for these people you need to be truly skilled at sleight of hand and perform an effect so perfect so as to have them almost change their belief, just for a second for any effect to affect them in the way it should.

About a month ago I did out of this world for a girl at work. I had honed my presentaion to perfection.
I asked if she wanted to see some magic unexplained phenomina.
'Yer ok she said if you want too?' she replied
That was it and I was perfect (in fact better than that)
At the end I got her to turn over the cards and waited
silence
Good I thought she is truly stunned
I looked into her face and saw she was reading the notice board
So what did you think I said
Oh what? yes um, I dont get it. I mean not you but magic. I just cant see the point. Sorry? never have. I mean you can fool me so what, we all get fooled everyday.
And that was it, she was absolutely unmoved.
So much for perfection

I.D wrote:It eludes them as being art in its own form, and so they cant appreciate what you do. I think for these people you need to be truly skilled at sleight of hand and perform an effect so perfect so as to have them almost change their belief, just for a second for any effect to affect them in the way it should.

This is why we have 'sucker' type effects. They draw these types of people in and makes the magic work for them too. There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to know how you did it. Magic creates a sort of 'what?!' moment, a moment of wonder, that nothing else can really do in the same way. So it is understandable that some people try to see throught the illusion. These kind of people are irritating, but I think we can come down too hard on them sometimes.

True I agree Mahoney, I think its not so much that they wantto know how.. hey, thats how I first got started.. ''How the helldid you do that'' I was hooked.

I think theonly time it bothers me is when someone goes all out to catch you out. I mean at work for instance, I have a good memory and never do the same trick twice.. this one guy though is quite annoying. I was doing trick for my team while we awaited our manager, this other guy was no where around, half way through the trick he walks up, walks right over to where I am standing and looks from my point of view!!! I was performing torn and he had seen it before, but he just bowled overtowards me!! My audience management is quite good.. but how do you stop some one who walks in on a trick like that!!

Funnily enough (luckily).. I thought he was going to blurt out something.. but I just carried on.. hoping.. and after he just said ' I don't know how you did it, but that's amazing!! I dont believe you for a second, but thats amazing! I don't know whether it was just the fact I acted nonchalent about it all that helped me out there or what, but that couldhave been a situation where a good 17 people would have been stood there laughing at me!!