On 2012-10-22 00:16, Zombie Magic wrote:
About 40 years ago I used to carry 4 aces ( regular aces ) in an envelope envelope that I wrote on in large letters with a stencil template: MAGIC TRICK: MIRACLE ACES

I would do Twisting The Aces and The Last Trick Of Dr. Jacob Daley and watch them try to peel the cards, etc.

On 2012-10-20 13:18, Dannydoyle wrote:
Well I also am not a fan of an audience member constantly being wrong. Tough sell.

But you REALLY said that if they touch the cards "the magic will wear off"? To an adult?

Lets get by using that line for a moment and think about the situation it set up. They have been losing and being wrong. Then you give them an opportunity to mess it up and tell them how to do it. I am not shocked they took the opportunity.

On 2012-10-21 22:59, S2000magician wrote:

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On 2012-10-21 22:32, Dr_J_Ayala wrote:
As soon as you approach a table . . . and pull out a deck (or even a packet) of cards, you are already creating a challenge in the eyes of your audience . . . .

That's an interesting observation.

I don't believe that it's true. Some people might in some situations create a challenge, but universally? I'm skeptical.

Do you have some meat to add to these bones?

On 2012-10-22 11:36, Dr_J_Ayala wrote:

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On 2012-10-21 22:59, S2000magician wrote:

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On 2012-10-21 22:32, Dr_J_Ayala wrote:
As soon as you approach a table . . . and pull out a deck (or even a packet) of cards, you are already creating a challenge in the eyes of your audience . . . .

That's an interesting observation.

I don't believe that it's true. Some people might in some situations create a challenge, but universally? I'm skeptical.

Do you have some meat to add to these bones?

I can certainly attempt to. First, I want to change one word from the above quote: "eyes" will be changed to "minds".

Unless someone lives in a city that is just plum full of magicians and they see magic every single day, as noted by Danny, most people are pretty much singly familiar with "pick a card" effects, where cards are concerned. In the minds of those spectators, what do magicians do 98% of the time when they have someone pick a card, when all is said and done? They 'lose the card in the deck and then they find it again'. It does not matter how they lose it and find it.

That whole circumstance, between the selection, remembering, losing and rediscovery of a card, is at least some sort of challenge between you and the participant - even if it is not played as such. This is why some spectators will try and foul you up by forgetting their card, lying about the identity of their chosen card, not admitting to it when you actually do find it, etc. They test you. "Can I beat this magician? Is he/she for real"? This does not just apply strictly to cards and card magic, but I would say that when your average layperson thinks about magic, they think of 'card tricks'. The social status of magic and magicians varies around the globe and exactly which "level" they occupy depends upon the society and the culture in any given area. In some areas they are

I use the word 'challenge' because to probably 80%+ (not an exact figure - I am guessing at a ballpark percentage here) of the general population, magic is a psychological game or a puzzle - something to be solved. To others, it is simply a true and believable mystery - something that cannot be explained so simply. The social status of magic and magicians varies around the globe and exactly which "level" they occupy depends upon the society and the culture in any given area. In some cultures/societies/countries they are revered and in others they are very low on the totem pole.

I hope this makes sense and helps further explain what I meant.

On 2012-10-22 12:20, S2000magician wrote:
...It does. But what I read suggests that it's the audience creating the challenge, not the magician.

I can speak from little more than my own experience. I occasionally encounter a spectator who wants to make a challenge out of magic, but only occasionally; it's a rarity for me. Perhaps the fact that I seldom do anything incorporating the you-pick-a-card-I-lose-your-card-I-find-your-card motif has a lot to do with that.

In any case, we can agree that it's not universal.

On 2012-10-22 11:36, Dr_J_Ayala wrote:
This is why some spectators will try and foul you up by . . . lying about the identity of their chosen card . . . .

On 2012-10-22 16:35, S2000magician wrote:

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On 2012-10-22 11:36, Dr_J_Ayala wrote:
This is why some spectators will try and foul you up by . . . lying about the identity of their chosen card . . . .

One of the funniest moments I've ever had performing came during the first phase of Larry Jennings' The Visitor: I looked at the card that (I'd claimed) had jumped between the red queens, looked at the woman who had chosen it (who was feigning innocence at that point), and simply said that, "Mary wasn't being quite truthful about the color of her card." Followed by roars, finger-pointing, he-got-yous, and so on.

We relish these moments.