A few days ago, I saw someone mention that a guy is writing a book about how not to lie while being a magician. I couldn't remember what his name was or the book title so I couldn't find it in the search. Does anyone know what book I'm talking about? Thanks!

Truth has no hour of its own. Its hour is now – always. - Albert Schweitzer

cardboardninjas -


Great topic for discussion here under FCM. I don't know the book of which you reference. But here are some thought on the subject.

We manage to accomplish not lying by the simple act of scripting. Saying things in a way that is not lying. "In a moment you will believe you will see a person float." That is not saying they will be floating...but simply that the audience will believe it.

When I do an ambitious card effect, lets say the person points to a card and you put it to the top of the deck. Then you double lift and show the card you are forcing. "Great, we will use the King of Clubs." Then you turn the double lift over and take the top card off and bury it in the deck. "Now we will take the card you selected and place it in the middle of the deck." Now that is telling the truth. It is the card they picked. (It just doesn't happen to be the King of Clubs) And then when you say, "Look...the King of Clubs is now on the top" you again are being truthful. Now in their minds they think the card they picked is the King of Clubs. But you never actually said it was. Those are examples of careful scripting.

So the question is..."is this over kill?" I think for a standard performance where you are a magician...and they accept the fact that you are a person doing magic tricks...yeah...a little over kill. However when you do gospel magic...there is a slightly different level of accountability. We become Hebrew National "a higher standard" if you remember that old television ad. So for that, I say...be honest. Be truthful. You may say things in such a way that they may interpret it differently, but you are not "lying." My ministry partner and I have written a book entitled "77 Thing to Forget When Sharing the Gospel with Illusion" and we addressed this issue as follows:

Forget about not telling the truth

The art of illusion is dependent upon misdirection. Getting folks to “not see things.” However, it is not necessary to lie in the process. In an effect where you have a box with a secret compartment holding something, don’t say the box is empty. Show the box, say you have a box, and let them conclude on their own that it is empty. This thinking works for two reasons. First, if you say something is “empty” they will often be suspicious or that it is a clue something is going to “appear” later which will take away from the surprise later in the performance.
The main reason is that there could be those in the audience who know it really isn’t empty, due to some experience with illusions. So if you are not being truthful about this, can you be trusted when giving an invitation? Proverbs 14:5 says, “A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.”

Thanks for the advice!

I agree that with presenting the Gospel in a show comes with more accountability.

Now, what about when someone asks you how you did a trick and suggests what you actually did. For example, a person might say after an ambitious card routine, "I know how you did that, you did a double lift." If I don't want to give a way the secret, is it best to just keep silent? It seems like if I just keep silent, they will see my silence as affirming what they asked.

Do a silent act to music, then you do not have to "worry" about lieing.

Remember, "Many a true word is spoken through false teeth!"

Garry Hayes

If that happens, you need to respond in the moment with something like, "I suppose that could work." You've really said nothing false in that statement. I would suggest following it up immediately with something that doesn't use a double lift. Make an off-hand comment and move on. That response would get others to think, and perhaps the person as well, "interesting, but that must not be how he did it." The key is don't let them shake you. "Don't let them see you sweat" as the old commercial used to say.

Remember, the best off the cuff responses are the one's practiced ahead of time. What ever you do, don't insult the person who made the comment...or the audience will turn on you and think you are a jerk who has been caught and trying to cover it up.

Cool, thanks for the ideas guys!

I really like the idea of just doing a silent performance, but the only thing I am worried about is people thinking that I can actually perform magic. Maybe I could do a silent performance with a disclaimer at the beginning or end.

I believe Richard Osterlind told me that he is working on a book along those lines

From The Principles of Magic

The Biggest Lie in Magic

There is a huge lie about the art of magic that is held not just by some non-magicians, but, and this is an incredibly unfortunate development of recent times, by some magicians themselves. It is the belief that magic is the art of deception. Or, to put it in even a more derogatory way, that magic is the art of lies. It is easy to understand how the poor performances of some would-be magicians would cause the lay public to think this way, but it is only in the modern, dogmatic world of shallow perceptions and lack of any artistic appreciation by some of magic’s actual participants that this atrocity can even exist. It is an incredible shame and, if it were true, would put the art of magic just one step above the actions of the criminal with the only difference being that no thievery or harm was done to the spectator. If this were truly the case, we should all put away our wands and bury the art of magic forever. This is an unacceptable viewpoint.

Perhaps this deranged perspective is a natural consequence of magicians having called what they do, illusion, for so long. Although never really an accurate term, in light of today’s widespread contempt for the finer and more delicate approach to life, it is a natural evolution. You can almost hear the young, arrogant newcomer in magic saying, “Don’t give me that illusion crap! It’s really just lying!” Part of this attitude, in all honesty, has to be attributed to some the new generation of the stars of magical writing and performing. Youngsters follow what they see and, at the moment, they are led to believe this is the way to act.

Nonetheless, magic never was the art of illusion, deception or lying. Yes, illusion plays a part in the construction of magic, but it is not the goal of the art. If that were true, then all art must be considered in the same light. Paint on a canvas is not the object itself that the painting portrays, but simply a representation of that object. The physical substance of the painting, i.e. the actual paint and canvas, has nothing to do with anyone’s real life or feelings. It is just pigment on some animal skin, even if it were Rembrandt who put it there. If it somehow moves you or affects your emotions, in holding with the above mindset, it is a type of illusion.

Likewise, words written over one hundred years ago in a form of English that no one speaks today and whose stories are only fabrications, are not real life. The characters and plots never existed and should have no power to control your emotions or give rise to inner searching. As a matter of fact, to be completely consistent in our thinking, any fiction is only illusion if you view art in this limited fashion.

Finally, when you hear the great symphonies of Beethoven on a CD you are really hearing an electronic reenactment of an orchestra playing music written by a composer who has been dead for many, many years. The vibrations of your speakers are not the actual vibrations of the instruments themselves and represent only an illusion of what you would hear at an actual concert. Even if you were at the actual concert, what you would hear are noises made by wind blowing across reeds, catgut scraping against wire and other wind blowing through pipes. These physical manifestations have no connection to the great themes of life and any resemblance is, again, an illusion.

This is all, of course, simply facetious. It is not necessary to even argue the point. Art itself, is not a type of illusion, it is a moving force. Whatever the form it takes, it does not trick you into feeling; it actually causes you to react by its wonderful nature. You must look beyond the physical part of art to the spiritual. The corporeal aspect of art is no more the art itself than your body is your own spiritual self. Magic is no different. Magic’s intended destiny is the creation of mystery. Its practitioners should do this on the highest artistic and moral levels.

I knew someone would quote the proper reference. I would have said that anyone who can't tell the difference between acting and lying, or writing a work of fiction and lying, or the difference in being a willing audience (or reader) or a sucker -- well, let's just admit that the Principles of Magic says it better and be done with it.

*jeep!
--your friendly neighborhood Grandpa Chet

Thank you Richard for chiming in...he is a man I have deep respect for and is a high caliber individual!

Thank you everyone for your responses. I really appreciate them.