(This is a great discussion!)

The "marvelous black art that does not pretend to be anything else" does away with the mystery of method seemingly in order to highlight other dimensions of the art. Part of the charm is that these "Matrix"-like, computer graphic - type effects are accomplished ingeniously by less technical, more human methods.

The experience is similar to some of Penn and Teller's work when things are exposed artfully--the clear cups, for example, or their levitations on live television when the camera pulls back to reveal they are hanging upside down.

The experience is also similar to watching "Columbo" because the traditional mystery of who-dun-it is done away with as the murderer is exposed from the beginning. The entertainment begins to arise from other dimensions--the characters, the cat-and-mouse game, the revelation of how Columbo will figure it all out.

On the other hand, I am always sad when something from my personal repertoire is mass-marketed or exposed. The other night I performed pen-through-bill during my street door-way act and received a great reaction as usual. The next day I saw the item for sale as a "MindFreak" on the toy shelf at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure how this helps the industry.