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dorian wrote:Greetings Matias

Looking at your profile it says that you have only made one post which will be the one I am now replying to.

Please do re-post as I would love to read your comments also if you would like to post a brief introduction about yourself in the introductions section that would be a great way for everyone to get to know you.

Dean

Well... I did post previously. If you look above, you can see both aporia and, indirectly, Craig Browning quoting my first post.

But, ok, in summary; I recommend the book but with reservations. It is often recommended to beginners or magicians beginning with mentalism. The problem at this stage is that you don't quite have a sense what makes good mentalism. The book contains some definite nuggets but it also contains some definite c*** (not the best) (I gave an example of each), and as a beginner, or "tricky magician", it may not be so easy to tell them apart. The book contains no, or at least very little, philosopy so you're pretty much get just the tricks without a context. I commented that showmanship obviously plays a part but not only is this one of the more difficult things for a beginner but it is *still* a fact that some tricks are weaker than others.

This is why I recommend it, but not as an introductory book to mentalism or mental magic.

I speak as a professional mentalist.

Greets Matias

Looking back your right your post did disappear but I suppose that's the downside of a magic forum as there is supposed to be some things on here you can't always explain

I agree with you about the lack of showmanship advice and forgive me if I am wrong but I presumed they are things that come with practice and learning from each performance.

I bought the book with the intention on seeing what different routines were out there and I have taken a few that I like and will now see if I can put my own spin on them.

Highest Regards

Dean

Matias... I have to disagree about you NOT recommending this book to a beginner.

It's a JOURNEY to some simple mentalism principles, and self-working effects are generally the bait which people need to progress.

Heck, how many people who go on to become coin magicians or card magicians start out with simple self-working effects?

I have to reinforce that *higher* level mentalism often seems overbearing to beginners. Indeed, the methods and dedication required are at possibly the higher end of magic skill.

So, as said, this is a perfect INTRODUCTION to mentalism, in my opinion.

Let's step back a bit and have another look.

Now, we all have to start somewhere, and one man's journey of discovery is another man's gettting lost, but why? Well, the other man has already trod his own path, knows it to be a good one, and knows it's a good one to follow. We must always remember, however, that there are as many journeys as there are people taking them. There's no right or wrong way to get into mind magic, for want of a better phrase.

If someone wants to be an atom smasher at CERN or Stanford, they'd obviously start with high school physics. This book is high school physics, and it's a good place to start getting results that could enthuse the reader and lead him anywhere. What the next step on the journey should be depends entirely on the person making the journeyand what he decides he likes.

I think it's safe to say that there's no right or wrong way in magic: There's only your way, and everyone's way is different.

I have just read Self Working Mental Magic and I have to say it is a wonderful book.
I would say that all of the effects are easy to do and I have tried several already with my spectators left wondering how I could possibly do what I did.

For instance, by combining two number guessing effects, one from SWMM, and the other one I think I picked up elsewhere, the other night I was able to write down predictions for three persons selected numbers and then reveal that my predictions were correct.

Some of the effects described look so easy that I was thinking that they would be easy to see through. However after trying this and some other card magic from other books for a couple weeks I have learned that most people are simply not looking where they would need to look to understand how the effect was pulled off.