Why magicians keep their secrets.
In this blog I have been exposing some of the principles behind the art of magic. I have not revealed the methods for any magic tricks, but have educated the reader in general methods which they may use to their advantage in daily life. This caused me to think about why magicians’ secrets are so closely guarded, and I believe that many people have a misguided set of beliefs that I would like to address.
First of all, you can forget about any notion of smug superiority because we know things you do not. You may have gotten that impression from the one friend who knows some “bar tricks.” He probably loves doing “impossible” things and inviting you to try, only to laugh when you fail. While they may consider that to be “magic,” I think it’s a puzzle, which is a completely different thing.
In reality, most magic would lose any appeal if you knew how it worked. There’s no such thing as real magic, so “magicians” cheat. But it’s for a good cause. We don’t do it for our own pleasure, we do it for yours. Well, that’s not entirely true. We do it because we enjoy watching you enjoy it. So you see, all magic is altruistic.
Like in the movie “Liar Liar” staring Jim Carrey, life is full of small unpleasant things which are best ignored. Being 100% brutally honest is not virtuous — it’s harsh. I’m not an advocate of lying to children about dogs going to live on farms or — and I’ll get flamed for this one — Santa Claus, but erring on the side of “nice” every now and then makes the world a little more peaceful. Next time you see the opportunity, exaggerate the truth a little to make someone happy. And next time you see a magician, let him fool you; it’s a lot more fun that way.
