talkmagic.co.uk

I already wrote about this several times in the past:

You have to learn how to use different methods to accomplish the same apparent effect. It's a basic concept of magic.

Many brilliantly deceptive routines do not rely on a single method. The different methods and images that they create fuse together in the minds of the spectators to make a single mystery. Miser's Dream, as Teller demonstrated in Mind Science, exploits people's instinct to learn from what they see to force them into feeling like they are seeing something impossible.

As an example, lets look at a basic ACR structure:

Spectators' reasoning are in brackets.

A card is selected. It's obviously a free choice. It's replaced in the center. Without any 'moves' per se (maybe a snap of the fingers- something that obviously can't be used to manipulate the cards) the card is on the top of the deck.

[It might be a duplicate card]

-Actually, a pass was used

The card is still face up. The spectator signs it. It is now unique.
The card is placed in the center again. With no moves, it it shown to be at the top again.

[It can't be a duplicate. It was signed. Perhaps it was switched...]

-A DL was used.

The card is held fairly in the magician's hand. The selected card is clearly the one being placed in the center of the deck. No moves, and it's on the top of the deck.

[Now I saw him place it in the center of the deck. I've no idea]

-Topper move or tilt can be used for this.

The card is bent and cut into the middle. The bend is displayed before the cut is complete. A snap, but no moves, and the top card of the deck, which was straight before, has a bend. The bent card is shown to be the signed selected card.

-Pop up move


The last bit eliminates the idea that the card was already on the top of the deck, while creating a visual image of the card jumping to the top of the deck.

When a spectator tries to reconstruct the effect, the different conditions in which the selected card arrived on top of the deck with no explanation mix together to create one mystery. If done well, the routine will leave the spectators wondering how the magician got the signed card, which he saw placed cleanly in the middle of the deck, jump to the top of the deck, at the moment when the fingers were snapped.

Using this type of deceptive structure and thinking, even a beginner who tries to heckle will be thrown off. If he tries to expose any one part of the trick, the other techniques will make his explanation seem incorrect in the eyes of the laymen.

I still like the killing idea

Hi Blacksoccer -
I think this is a sad lesson you have learned in blowing your wad ( ) too early. You will find you get quite a lot of people who, after seeing a few tricks, are inamoured with the idea of doing it themselves - why wouldn't they!
90% of them will say "I want to learn it properly! will you teach me?", to which your answer should be "suuuuuuure..." with a raised eyebrow. 5% of the remainder may actually bother to ask you about it at another time but will lose interest before even arranging another meet-up with you.

For the last 5%, you should start very, very slowly. Some self-working tricks, some very basic principles. 4% of these 5% will not have the patience and will realise they weren't really interested in putting in the work and back off with very little real knowledge, leaving you with a potential 1% - one little guy, perhaps - who you could actually work with and share stuff with. Even then, you do so cautiously, and only after he/she has show some degree of commitment - one of the FIRST "lessons" in magic to give them are not to reveal secrets and not to perform until perfect!

Getting someone round to watch two volumes of Daryl's Encyclopedia of card sleights after they've seen you perform a couple of times is, I'm afraid, not exactly a bright idea. Those DVDs run through sleights at a break-neck speed - this is why books are so good. He needs to learn one sleight at a time and practice it etc, not have 2 hours of secrets visually poured into his brain.

What I would do is take this guy aside and try to speak to him very seriously. Tell him he is ruining an art form, that everything he does in front of people and botches up prevents them from being amazed by it ever again (this is a white lie), and that there is so much more to being a magician than just knowing how tricks work. If he doesn't bite, leave him to it - you are clearly the better magician and I find it hard to believe he will be "drawing a crowd". As others have said, he will hopefully grow out of it.


Next time mate, start slow!

I would probably stop performing at school and concentrate on an effect, that blows people away - Practise until you can do it in your sleep, and then one day when someone asks you to show them something Do it once and walk away let speculation do the rest and when your mate asks you to show him deny the effect and say they must be mistaken.
He may well give up, if not keep denying it and never repeat the effect!

I think it would be best if you just explained to him that learning tricks on YouTube makes you look stupid when you perform them and he should really try to learn them correctly.



If that fails yoiu'll need a tub of water, rope, and some jumper cables . . .

Wow - thanks to everyone for the comments.

1st - the "kill him" comments were quite hilarious and helped me relax about the situation some, so thank you.

2nd - I realize (now) that I definitely should not have been so willing to dive into my knowledge with him. Next time someone asks for help I'm going to be a lot more cautious and a lot slower with introducing him/her to the art.

3rd - He still can't touch my ambitious card routine and I've convinced him to not even attempt it.

I'll also make a point of practicing many different methods for doing the same trick, as suggested. I think that's a brilliant idea, and it will certainly improve my situation.

I dont think its really a problem its a case of monkey see monkey do aint it.

Poison or another format, like sponges, really easy and visual but he wont be able to do it himself cos its just to much work!

I have a couple pennies here...

Although I agree with much of the above, one aspect has caught my eye.

If a friend wants to learn magic, I do not see any benefit to sitting him/her in front of a video that explains every technique known. Often, when one claims they want to learn, wht they really want is to satisfy curiosity - they want the inside scoop. To perform magic, even one effect, takes a lot of time and serious practise. It can not be accomplished through knowledge. Knowledge is only one facet. Performing magic well can only be accomplished through hard work.

By teaching a single sleight, and perhaps a single effect that employs that sleight, and refusing to go on until that particular effect is perfected, a "friend" will get a dose of what it really means to perform even a "simple" trick. Often, many will quit right then - because they didn't realize there would be work involved, especially in our push-button world.

This holds true, really, for any art. I have known so many people who wish to play an instrument, and when they begin and see how much work is involved, they quit soon.

Does it matter what the notes are if you cannot hold your hand properly? Does it matter the paint if you can not yet hold a brush? Does it matter the "secret" if you have not the tools to execute it?

Folks who really get into magic, have really caught the bug, will put the time in. To simply inundate someone with "secrets" who has not demonstrated enough interest to even do one of them well is a mistake. Some folks will credit themselves with skill, who only posess some rudimentary knowledge. The real knowledge of magic comes from the doing, not the reading or watching.

If you treat your magic as something respectable - even sacred - you will avoid this predicament. If someone wants to learn, start with a self-working card trick, maybe. Can they present it in an interesting way? The revelation of sleights is not only unnecessary, but to some extent wrong - when it does not coincide with something practical - the current effect in question.

A wannabe, who is inundated with information, but does not realize how much work there is, will eventually drop this suposed hobby. The sad thing is, magic might now be permanently ruined for that individual.

There is a reason magic is kept secret - for the benefit of all. Sad how youtube has taken what might be the highest art form, and lowered it for many, all because there is no longer much value put on the "secrets", and even less value put on the work to perfection.

Do we want our magic to be high art? Then we must treat it that way.

Magic is not the secrets. But, of course, no secret, no deception. You can fool someone with a secret they already think they know. But it is reapplied secretly.

Shufton wrote:I have a couple pennies here...

Although I agree with much of the above, one aspect has caught my eye.

If a friend wants to learn magic, I do not see any benefit to sitting him/her in front of a video that explains every technique known. Often, when one claims they want to learn, wht they really want is to satisfy curiosity - they want the inside scoop. To perform magic, even one effect, takes a lot of time and serious practise. It can not be accomplished through knowledge. Knowledge is only one facet. Performing magic well can only be accomplished through hard work.

By teaching a single sleight, and perhaps a single effect that employs that sleight, and refusing to go on until that particular effect is perfected, a "friend" will get a dose of what it really means to perform even a "simple" trick. Often, many will quit right then - because they didn't realize there would be work involved, especially in our push-button world.

This holds true, really, for any art. I have known so many people who wish to play an instrument, and when they begin and see how much work is involved, they quit soon.

Does it matter what the notes are if you cannot hold your hand properly? Does it matter the paint if you can not yet hold a brush? Does it matter the "secret" if you have not the tools to execute it?

Folks who really get into magic, have really caught the bug, will put the time in. To simply inundate someone with "secrets" who has not demonstrated enough interest to even do one of them well is a mistake. Some folks will credit themselves with skill, who only posess some rudimentary knowledge. The real knowledge of magic comes from the doing, not the reading or watching.

If you treat your magic as something respectable - even sacred - you will avoid this predicament. If someone wants to learn, start with a self-working card trick, maybe. Can they present it in an interesting way? The revelation of sleights is not only unnecessary, but to some extent wrong - when it does not coincide with something practical - the current effect in question.

A wannabe, who is inundated with information, but does not realize how much work there is, will eventually drop this suposed hobby. The sad thing is, magic might now be permanently ruined for that individual.

There is a reason magic is kept secret - for the benefit of all. Sad how youtube has taken what might be the highest art form, and lowered it for many, all because there is no longer much value put on the "secrets", and even less value put on the work to perfection.

Do we want our magic to be high art? Then we must treat it that way.

Magic is not the secrets. But, of course, no secret, no deception. You can fool someone with a secret they already think they know. But it is reapplied secretly.

That's good. I like that.

I have to agree with sleightly and Markdini. You got yourself into this mess. Never eat where you poop. Idealy you just have to be better then this guy, better presentation, better sleight of hand and better at dealing with people. But be better for yourself not to compete. If its a competition then you have already lost.

Well I guess you can perform something new and different. Don't tell him what the trick is called and try to stay clear of the E stuff for a while. As far as I'm seeing it, kids only expose E and Penguin tricks in youtube most of the time since it's their only source of "cool" magic.