talkmagic.co.uk

Hi everyone,

I would be interested to know what everyone's opinions were on selling sleights and moves which are hundreds of years old. Theory 11 and other websites do this and I was just wondering what you guys think of this.

http://www.theory11.com/tricks/snap-cha ... ankins.php

Thank you.

I guess you are paying for the tuition.

People have paid for Magic Classes for hundreds of years, even serving as apprentices for much of their own lifetime in order to learn at the feet of the master conjurer (and that was in the 20th century, mind you). It is part of our world just as it is common with all facets of "The Arts" only that all of it has become crassly commercial and greed driven in today's era. . . this too shall pass!

Especially as more and more "new" magic is becoming harder to get your hands on; not just by way of price but by way of association. I'm amazed to find the number of closed circles that have surfaced in the past 3 years alone and more seem to be on the horizon as magic developers seek to protect themselves. Where this is good it is likewise a negative in that it's opened the door for replication and generally "Reinventing the Wheel"; I'm looking at a manuscript right now that has absolutely NO originality to it whatsoever; the inexperience of the writer alongside age, is grossly obvious and yet, he believes he has a gem. Probably because of lack of physical footwork given the subject matter, but it is a sign of the times; lots of rehash being coughed up, especially from certain areas of the globe which the more seasoned have become more than put-off by. Nonetheless, people will buy it and praise it because they've yet to learn it or of its antiquity or more specific, the essence of its source. On so many levels its a reprise to what we endured in the 80s and the famed "mine is different because it's blue and not red, like his" arguments.

So NO, it's not wrong, unheard of, or unethical though there is a huge amount of buyer's remorse attached to it. Given my ties to some of these groups I have pointed out to them just how much a negative it can be and I do believe some are making the kind of changes needed when it comes to correcting such views. But the fact remains that it's part and parcel a part of the craft.