MiloCast

I have come under heavy fire from some local magicians after I called for a vote to remove an officer of my local magic club from office (but not from the group) for a major ethics violation. Of course, those who are attacking me haven’t been able to find fault with what I said — the guy is guilty and they all know it. So they have resorted to ad hominem attacks against me. For fun, and to bridge my freethought and magic categories, let’s talk about them today.

An ad hominem attack is an argument against something a person says to try to discredit the person themselves. Someone says something you don’t like, so you point out what a bad person they are to try to convince others they’re not worth listening to. There really isn’t much more to it than that.

The mistake I made was to stand up and have the guts to say something about someone who is very popular. As is so often the case, people respond emotionally instead of intellectually. They see an attack on “one of their own,” and instinctively rally around them and fight the accuser. It’s a good thing to help out your friends, but it’s not a good thing to spread lies about the person making the accusation in the process.

This is a sad and pathetic thing to do. For example, I have received private e-mail from several people congratulating me for having the courage to do this. However, not one of them has e-mailed the group supporting me. Why not? I’m guessing it’s because they don’t want any backlash. However, the people who are using ad hominem attacks are sending them to the group in some cases, and posting them as comments to this site in others. Considering I never e-mailed the group about my article regarding the case, this is a clear attempt to defame me in retaliation.

One of them even went so far as to make an anonymous comment on one of my older posts about religion and told me I’d have to answer for this deed in heaven. That goes to show you how well-thought-out their argument was. I know those same people are going to read this. I just wonder how they’ll respond.

I am currently embroiled in a messy ethics situation in my local magic club. I’ll get more into the specific details another time, but basically, I have called for a vote to remove an officer of the club from their position for a major ethics violation. The response has been forceful — and most of it is personal attacks on me. A few have congratulated me for standing up and taking action, but they are in the minority.

A major problem in the magic world is that magic is not trademarked or copyrighted. Anyone can read a book or watch a DVD, and then write their own book or record their own DVD teaching the same material, and it’s not illegal. As a result, it has become necessary for members of the magic community (if they care about the art of magic), to support magicians and publishers who produce original work, and shun (and boycott) those who rip off others.

However, the situation is in a continual crisis, as more and more people take up magic as a hobby every day, and have no idea that any of this is going on. In their innocent ignorance, they purchase the knock-off items because they’re cheaper (in every sense of the word), and keep the scumbags in business.

For those who don’t quite see what’s wrong with selling magic instruction knock-offs, let me use an analogy. Let’s say a guy named Jeff wrote a dictionary. He didn’t invent any of the words, but he spent years gathering them into one place. He even learned to pronounce them all and use them properly in conversation. Then let’s say a couple of guys name Eddy and Robby read that dictionary, then published their own dictionary, mostly made up of the words in Jeff’s dictionary. They didn’t use all the words — they skipped the ones they had trouble pronouncing or understanding. They also added in some words not in Jeff’s dictionary, although they weren’t the same language. Then they published their book and called it a thesaurus, so it wouldn’t be so obvious that they copied most of it.

This kind of thing goes on all the time, on both a large scale and a small scale. In some cases, it’s not even obvious which product is the more ethical choice to purchase, and some research is required. But the biggest problem is that too many people just don’t care. Most people aren’t clever enough to write a dictionary, and know they’ll never accomplish anything themselves, so they aren’t worried about any personal loss due to this. So they happily buy the cheaper items and call themselves magicians.

They should be ashamed, but they are not. And they know who they are.

Every magician has one or more heroes or idols. They may be living magicians, or magicians of the past whose skills reached new heights or brought more prestige to the art. We also have great respect for those magicians we have personal access to who have been into magic for many more years than we have, or who have achieved success in their magical careers. Take, for example, Denny Haney. Denny has earned tremendous respect from magicians worldwide, and those of us lucky enough to be within driving distance of his shop constantly hound him for advice and opinions. His decades as a professional performer, unflinching devotion to ethics, and broad knowledge of every aspect of magic is very valuable to us all.

However, I think we have a tendency to take such resources for granted, and in doing so we limit ourselves tremendously. Consider the computer programmer seeking help from an online group. If he doesn’t demonstrate that he has worked hard on the issue before asking for answers, he is unlikely to be handed the solution. Even if he is handed a working solution, the benefit is minor because it doesn’t force him to improve himself. The same goes for magicians asking Denny what they should buy. He probably knows, but the book he recommends will often go unappreciated, even if we do buy it. We can only improve as magicians once we have earned a solid footing at our current level through study, practice, and thought.

If you are lucky enough to know an experienced magician willing to help you advance, consider them to be a last resort. If you think about a problem on your own, you may invent something new, or improve upon something old. By asking for the solution, you may be robbing yourself (and others) of your own creative contributions to the art. Those you respect didn’t earn that respect by mimicking others — they earned it by making a contribution.

Also, allow yourself to question or disagree with their advice. What is best for one person may not be best for another. If you and your mentor are different (and you are), their carefully selected repertoire may be perfect for them, but it’s almost certainly not perfect for you.

It’s rarely a good idea to “re-invent the wheel,” but if we use something without ever really understanding it, we necessarily limit its usefulness, and our own success.

The Magicians’ Alliance of Eastern States is holding their annual convention in Trevose, PA next week. Some of the greatest (if not best-known) names in magic will be in attendance. I learned about this recently, or I would have posted sooner. However, I do plan on being there, and I’ll try to get some photos and audio interviews for MiloCast.com and my podcast. Hope to see you there!

I experienced quite a treat last weekend. At Denny Haney’s magic shop, I got to see performances by Tommy Wonder and Fred Kaps on DVD. I knew both names of course, and even have Tommy Wonder’s books. But nothing had prepared me for what I saw. Pure entertainment, absolutely thrilling magic, and I was completely captivated. Usually, as a magician, I watch a magician perform and I’m aware that I’m watching a magician perform. But with these legends, I was just entertained.

Sadly, neither Wonder nor Kaps is still with us, but I hope that the work they each left behind inspires other magicians to be great entertainers. There are some magicians today whose work is just as entertaining, but there are a great many more whose minds are more on the magic than the entertainment. May we all aspire to be like Kaps and Wonder — not an imitation, but performers in the truest sense.

One of the endless debates in the magic community is the book versus video controversy. Some of us prefer books, and some prefer videos. Others argue that both have their place. The most common argument against videos is that they tend to teach not only the tricks, but also the performance style of the teacher. Since we are all different, performing in the style of another has an air of falseness which is obvious to the audience, and detracts from the entertainment potential of the performer.

In this age of celebrities from sports heroes to screen idols, it is seen as normal to latch onto role-models in the media. My generation is constantly quoting lines from “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.” The irony is that we all love those characters because they’re different from everyone else. Think back to the person in school you secretly respected. Was it the kid who didn’t care what others thought of him? Or maybe it was the teacher who truly inspired you to learn by being honest and intelligent, instead of pretending to be your buddy. Think of your favorite actor or comedian. Is it the way they can pretend to be anyone that you enjoy watching, or the fact that they make themselves part of every character they play and every joke they tell?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by others. But once you begin performing as a magician for the public, it’s time to make your magic part of yourself and yourself part of your magic. And for non-magicians, or a magician who is currently working at his day job, being yourself instead of the kind of person you think people expect you to be will probably be surprisingly effective. Give it a try.

You can usually identify the people who are fairly new to magic as soon as they enter the shop. The first thing they ask the shop owner is “What’s new?” Soon they will learn. To abuse an overused analogy, the new stuff is a snowflake on the tip of an iceberg. Not only is this an accurate visualization for the usual reason (it hints at how much more there is than meets the eye), but it’s also accurate in that the enormous bulk of magic history supports the “new” stuff, which would be nothing without it.

It is often said that there is “nothing new under the sun.” In magic, this is also a safe assumption. Any new effect for sale is just a new combination of old elements. Improved in some cases, but probably nothing that is going to shake the magic community. There are only so many principles in magic. Once a magician is familiar with these, seeing most tricks for the first time gives a pretty good idea of the method*. A magician also sees the world a little differently than most people for the same reason; these insights are what I’m trying to share with my readers, to help them make more educated decisions in their daily lives. The lesson here for magicians is that you have plenty of amazing magic already — just take the time to study the material you have already bought. The lesson for us all, however, is much more important.

In magic and in life, there is a tendency to collect. Get a better car, get the newest magic book, get the fastest computer, get the coolest mobile phone. There is nothing wrong with wanting or acquiring any of those things, but what about the things you had wanted just as badly, but now have? Spending time with friends or family, or reading the classic magic texts, or just sitting outside reading a book and drinking iced tea are all experiences you will enjoy, and they can’t be bought. This is not intended to be a “stop and smell the roses” article, however. I personally enjoy looking ahead to the unknowable and unobtainable. But consider whether your object of desire will fulfill your true ambition. Will that newest magic trick make you a better magician? Will that newer cell phone really help you communicate or organize your life better? If so, go for it. But if you have gold sitting at home on your shelf or in a drawer, try dusting it off and letting it shine.

*By the way, consider this before taking up magic as a hobby. If you love watching magic, and don’t plan to perform magic regularly, maybe reconsider. It gets harder and harder to be fooled, and that takes away most of the fun of watching magic.

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.

I dropped by the magic shop last night, and witnessed an all-too-familiar scene. A young lad of about 12 was visiting the shop with his father, and wanted to get into magic. He was shown a dizzying array of card tricks, coin tricks, and mentalism effects. Each effect suggested for his purchase was a cheap, easy to use prop: a trick deck or something along those lines. I casually asked the kid what kind of magic he was interested in. He replied that he was new, and generally interested in everything. I recommended a single book; an encyclopedic work which would give him not only a foundation in magic, but hundreds of “tricks” he could perform. He left after buying a trick deck of cards and a booklet containing variations on the limited effects possible with the cards.

What bothers me about this experience is that this kid is going to go home and do tricks for his friends and family without a clue about the world of magic. His presentation (such as it is) will more likely than not present a challenge to his spectators, rather than an experience of magic. If the first trick is successful, he must decline doing anything else, because he doesn’t know anything else except maybe another trick or two with the same deck. Should a friend ask to see the deck of cards, he must refuse, without any graceful transition to another miracle which will divert attention from the deck. In short, what we have here is not a magician, but a guy with a trick deck of cards.

I do not worry that this trick deck will become “exposed” to members of the public; it’s already widely known, and yours for the asking and about $5 at any magic shop. I worry that his spectators will see magic as simple trickery, and not as an experience designed to temporarily free your mind from its daily routine and ordinary perception of the world. But even more, I worry that this would-be magician will quickly bore of his trick deck, and dismiss magic as a dumb hobby. All because his tricks do not inspire great reactions. Even worse, his spectators may encounter an experienced magician one day, and dismiss him as soon as they see a deck of cards in his hand, because they have “seen that trick already.”

While I usually try to tie in a magic topic with something relevant to daily life, I have no tie-in today. All I hope to accomplish is to relate the idea that magic is not about tricks. It’s about an experience. As I stated in a recent post, you must develop a relationship with the audience, and then you are free to provide them with an experience they will remember long after they have forgotten the “tricks.”

Nearly everyone has heard about magicians using misdirection to perform their magic. However, this topic is frequently misunderstood by both magicians and laymen. First of all, the term “misdirection” is a misnomer. As the great Tommy Wonder pointed out, you do not misdirect; you direct. If someone points over your shoulder and you look away, then when you look back they’re holding a rabbit, you know something is up. That’s “misdirection.” Direction is when you’re watching the red handkerchief which just appeared out of nowhere, then suddenly realize there is a vase of flowers on the table which was not there a second ago.

Awareness of this concept is important for the average person, because it may help to protect your safety and property. For example: Did you know that pickpockets will often touch you, or have an accomplice touch you, to focus your attention in one place while they steal your valuables from another? When someone bumps into you on the street, they could be working with a guy behind you who is taking your wallet. The concept is used sometimes by carjackers. You’re driving at night in a place where there aren’t a lot of people around. The car behind you at the traffic light bumps your car lightly, and you immediately get out to look at the damage and to see if they have insurance. That’s when they pull a gun and leave you stranded. Now, would you have ever gotten out of your car alone otherwise? Of course not, but the thieves knew how to focus your attention where they wanted it, so you could make their job a lot easier.

Confidence men (con men) will often use emotional manipulation in much the same way. Inspiring greed in a victim makes them easier to scam, because they lower their defenses. I saw a great documentary on cons going on in Las Vegas. One exposed a very clever swindle: A man wanders about in a public place, offering to sell a digital camera for $50. Now obviously, this camera is worth hundreds of dollars. Upon receiving this offer, you are likely to assume it is stolen. If you let your greed overcome your concern for the victim, the shifty salesman places the camera into a box, and the box into a bag, and hands you the bag. Before you can open the box, he is nowhere to be found. Why? Because he switched the bag for one with a rock inside of an identical box.

The point is, a little “inside knowledge” will cause you to see the world in a whole new light. All magicians know this. My goal is to spread these principles a little further, changing the way more people think, so we can all make better-informed decisions about what we believe and do.