talkmagic.co.uk

It's tempting to think of magic internet forums as the world of magic whereas in reality they are populated by-and-large by people who spend most of their time discussing minutae rather than performing.

It's funny that magic is a performance art but while their are hundreds of posters online discussing furiously the merits of gaffed over ungaffed decks and vice-versa there are almost no magic shows being performed in front of a regular paying audience in the UK.

copyright wrote:It's tempting to think of magic internet forums as the world of magic whereas in reality they are populated by-and-large by people who spend most of their time discussing minutae rather than performing.

It's funny that magic is a performance art but while their are hundreds of posters online discussing furiously the merits of gaffed over ungaffed decks and vice-versa there are almost no magic shows being performed in front of a regular paying audience in the UK.

No, but ther are many hundreds of magicians performing close-up at restaurants and events around the UK most every night. And a lot of those magicians are posters on this site, so the discussion is quite valid and relevant.

Personally I'm not comfortable working with a deck that couldn't be freely examined/shuffled by a spec. But that's just me, and each to their own.

many hundreds of magicians

That's a slight exaggeration

But even if it wasn't, how would the fact that many of them post on magic forums make threads on the minutae of magic relevent?

It it's interesting that you think that such discussions are valid and relevent and then offer "Personally I'm not comfortable working with a deck that couldn't be freely examined/shuffled by a spec. But that's just me, and each to their own" as your contribution.

That is about as indepth as the discussion can get, then it's not all that relevent is it?

Whether you like using gaffed decks is up to you and your performing style. It doesn't get more complicated than that.

copyright wrote:

many hundreds of magicians

That's a slight exaggeration

But even if it wasn't, how would the fact that many of them post on magic forums make threads on the minutae of magic relevent?

It it's interesting that you think that such discussions are valid and relevent and then offer "Personally I'm not comfortable working with a deck that couldn't be freely examined/shuffled by a spec. But that's just me, and each to their own" as your contribution.

That is about as indepth as the discussion can get, then it's not all that relevent is it?

Whether you like using gaffed decks is up to you and your performing style. It doesn't get more complicated than that.

I was merely defending their right to discuss such matters on a magic forum, that's all. Whether or not the discussion interests me is beside the point. It clearly does interest others who use this site, and is relevent to them.

I was merely defending their right to discuss such matters on a magic forum

No-one needed defending. I didn't say that people didn't have a right to discuss such matters. You inferred this from my post. The OP was about people who backbite and bicker over such things. I merely pointed out that it wasn't as big an issue as it might seem. Evidently, you agree.

Ok, I am late getting into this discussion, but I wanted to present my (hopefully) brief opinion:

First off, let me state that I am a purest. I use no gaffs or gimicks of any kind. I even do not like using a "stranger" in a deck. I chose this path of magical "purity" over 20 years ago, after using gaffs and gimmicks for over 10 years. I chose this path for the challenge. I do not think that it makes me a better magician than those who use gaffs or gimmicks, or even camera tricks and stooges (though, as I have stated numerous times before I do not think that camera tricks or stooges are good for magic). It is a personal choice made for personal reasons. As others have stated in this this thread, the key in the audience's enjoyment of the performance.

I know, nothing new has been said in this post, but I wanted to, at the very least, be counted as a purest who does not discredit or otherwise disrespect magicians who use gaffs or gimmicks.