talkmagic.co.uk

I love the explanations that, while not necessarily convoluted or 'out there', are completely devoid of logic. The spectators also seem to internally know their 'method' doesn't make sense because they refuse to elaborate past a single word or phrase.

For instance, I recall performing Dan Harlan's 'Hovercard' in which a selected card eerily floats almost two inches off the top of the deck. I would hold the deck on its side at eye level so as the gimmick would do all of the work and the card would seem to float in front of the deck as opposed to above it.

A man watching simply shouted 'MAGNETS!', which truly makes no sense. The card is floating away from the deck on its side. If the method did truly use repelling magnets, the card would simply be forced off the pack and flutter to the floor.

Some of these methods truly give us waaaay too much credit. Some people's method guesses make us sound like we possess technology that the rest of the world hasn't even seen yet, or that we possess the mental abilities of Rain Man. Like in the case of a simple divination of a selected card, I've had quite a few people tell me that I just look through the deck for which card is missing in the few seconds that I scan it. They don't seem to realize the sheer impossibility of that.