Let me rephrase that...
People think of magic in a certain way, and obviously have ideas and concepts associated with the art. They react in a certain way when they are fooled, they are tricked, they are astounded, they are impressed, they are impressed, etc.
Some people even say they "don't like" magic for a number of reasons, one of them being "because it's just a trick" or "because i don't like being fooled".
I believe that the general opinions/connotations regarding magic are going to drastically change in the next 50 years due to the rate at which our current technologies and sciences have been developing.
You have to bring to attention, first, a couple of reasons why people react the way they do to magic. One of the most influential factors, in my opinion, is RELIGION.
Religion is instilled into you the minute you are born. It is one with your identity. In the most popular and prevalent religions, it is taught that only something called "God" possesses the ability to defy reality. In other words, nobody on this earth can do anything impossible. Remember, this concept was conceived during a time when many things were unexplainable. Simple things such as the moon, the earth, "what is an earth?", what are we? etc. were unanswerable.
I believe that the way people thought of reality at this time was in such a way that could be described by something like:
"I will believe something if I can observe it, in some way, as it transpires. If someone puts a coin in their left hand, closes it, reopens it, and then the coin vanishes, then I would not be able to give you an explanation. Reality is composed of whatever I am able to observe with my senses. Anything that is unexplainable is spiritual and a work of a "God"."
-----Stop right there. Statistics tell us that the general population is mostly religious and in someway will identify themselves with a religion.
That is horrible for us magicians. We are now automatically trying to get someone to believe in something they will refuse to believe. This happens all subconsciously of course, as no one looks at a magician like this and makes these types of conclusions. Instead, they get a certain feeling generated by their prior experiences, thoughts, and knowledge that will then influence their opinion on the art of magic.
As time has progressed and sciences developed, education became more advanced and the general population more informed about the possibilities and impossibilities of this world. People, of course, by logic then started to question the existence of a "God" because religious truths conflicted with scientific truths.
How does any of this relate to magic? Well, it's simple.
Let's describe how the average person in present history thinks about reality:
"I will believe something if there is enough reasonable and conclusive evidence to explain it. Just because I can't observe something with my senses, doesn't mean it isn't there. Radio waves, air, pressure, gravity, etc are things that cannot be observed by my senses. I have no "real" way of knowing whether these things actually exist or not, but because they have not been disproved, I will accept and believe them. If someone takes a coin in their left hand, closes their hand, reopens it, and then the coin has vanished... then i would be immediately able to tell you that either I did not fully observe what happened, or that the explanation includes a method that is not observable."
Think about that.
The whole point of this thread is to discuss what and how "magic" will be defined by in the future.
I feel that as magicians we should start moving away from any explanation of "it's magic" or anything that alludes to things that are "supernatural". There is an innate sense to disregard any claim of the sort. In other words, most people would object to any explanation that is not of this earth. Any educated person would conclude that something happened that they were not aware of, if they had no choice but to answer the question "how do you think the magician accomplished that feat?". no one in their sane mind would conclude that what you did was unexplainable. they would know that there is a way to do it, and by nature, identity, social upbringing, and intelligence, would want to know HOW it was done. Think about why. The idea of being able to do impossible things conflicts with the current way people view the world, in addition to conflicting with many popular beliefs pertaining to religion, science, reality, life, and "what is possible and what is not".
As a result of this often overlooked way of viewing the world, I think we should start preparing the art of magic for a shift in definition. Merriam-Webster defines magic as "an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source". Due to your current knowledge of education and/or religion, anyone can automatically, logically, and reasonably conclude that there is no such thing as magic.
I think that the direction of this new way of defining magic should communicate something like "An art that seeks to entertain by accomplishing feats that are perceived to be impossible. These impossible feats are ONLY made possible by the magician having knowledge of secrets that are well-guarded, kept hidden, and rarely exposed. If the secrets are to be shared at all, then they are only shared with other magicians. These secrets are clever methods of action and/or uniquely created objects. They are slowly discovered by creatively looking at how to accomplish an action that, when carried out in a specific way, is inaccurately perceived, observed, and remembered. In order to make the performance of such actions appear normal and believable, they must be carried out in a natural way that often requires extraordinary amounts of practice or rehearsal. When one is enjoying the performance of magic, they are not experiencing reality. They are experiencing only their perception of reality."
To conclude, I think that magicians need to stop subtly referencing anything that is "impossible", "supernatural", "special powers or abilities", "unexplainable", etc. etc.
I think that it is reasonable enough to now revise the message that magic is supposed to communicate. We are no longer individuals that possess a mystical power. Instead, we are now artists called "Magicians" that possess rare knowledge, impressive skills, uncanny dedication, clever creativity, unique talent, and many other things that, when properly combined, create a piece of art that is experienced and enjoyed by not only all of the senses, but by the mind as well.
I think that this way of defining and explaining magic will change the view of magic to now rightfully attribute to magicians a lot of well-deserved yet-not-given respect, as well as, imply appropriate behavior for a spectator that demonstrates a sense of prestige, compliance, patience, and a will to participate. It will also credit magicians with more creativity and performance skill as well as many other things that will be advantages in regards to the evolution of the art of magic.
What do you guys think? Many of you are probably already starting to perform in a way that communicates ideas similar to what I'm trying to express. I'm not saying I have it right, though I am saying that we currently have it wrong by trying to pass off magic as something that is supernatural or unattainable by anyone else besides a magician. Actually, it is unattainable by someone who isn't a magician, though NOT because they don't possess special powers, but because only magicians are entitled to study such material that will reveal the secret. I think this also creates a much-needed desire to not only want to know "how it's done", but also a courteous obligation to not even ask.
You guys feel me? Any thoughts here?
People think of magic in a certain way, and obviously have ideas and concepts associated with the art. They react in a certain way when they are fooled, they are tricked, they are astounded, they are impressed, they are impressed, etc.
Some people even say they "don't like" magic for a number of reasons, one of them being "because it's just a trick" or "because i don't like being fooled".
I believe that the general opinions/connotations regarding magic are going to drastically change in the next 50 years due to the rate at which our current technologies and sciences have been developing.
You have to bring to attention, first, a couple of reasons why people react the way they do to magic. One of the most influential factors, in my opinion, is RELIGION.
Religion is instilled into you the minute you are born. It is one with your identity. In the most popular and prevalent religions, it is taught that only something called "God" possesses the ability to defy reality. In other words, nobody on this earth can do anything impossible. Remember, this concept was conceived during a time when many things were unexplainable. Simple things such as the moon, the earth, "what is an earth?", what are we? etc. were unanswerable.
I believe that the way people thought of reality at this time was in such a way that could be described by something like:
"I will believe something if I can observe it, in some way, as it transpires. If someone puts a coin in their left hand, closes it, reopens it, and then the coin vanishes, then I would not be able to give you an explanation. Reality is composed of whatever I am able to observe with my senses. Anything that is unexplainable is spiritual and a work of a "God"."
-----Stop right there. Statistics tell us that the general population is mostly religious and in someway will identify themselves with a religion.
That is horrible for us magicians. We are now automatically trying to get someone to believe in something they will refuse to believe. This happens all subconsciously of course, as no one looks at a magician like this and makes these types of conclusions. Instead, they get a certain feeling generated by their prior experiences, thoughts, and knowledge that will then influence their opinion on the art of magic.
As time has progressed and sciences developed, education became more advanced and the general population more informed about the possibilities and impossibilities of this world. People, of course, by logic then started to question the existence of a "God" because religious truths conflicted with scientific truths.
How does any of this relate to magic? Well, it's simple.
Let's describe how the average person in present history thinks about reality:
"I will believe something if there is enough reasonable and conclusive evidence to explain it. Just because I can't observe something with my senses, doesn't mean it isn't there. Radio waves, air, pressure, gravity, etc are things that cannot be observed by my senses. I have no "real" way of knowing whether these things actually exist or not, but because they have not been disproved, I will accept and believe them. If someone takes a coin in their left hand, closes their hand, reopens it, and then the coin has vanished... then i would be immediately able to tell you that either I did not fully observe what happened, or that the explanation includes a method that is not observable."
Think about that.
The whole point of this thread is to discuss what and how "magic" will be defined by in the future.
I feel that as magicians we should start moving away from any explanation of "it's magic" or anything that alludes to things that are "supernatural". There is an innate sense to disregard any claim of the sort. In other words, most people would object to any explanation that is not of this earth. Any educated person would conclude that something happened that they were not aware of, if they had no choice but to answer the question "how do you think the magician accomplished that feat?". no one in their sane mind would conclude that what you did was unexplainable. they would know that there is a way to do it, and by nature, identity, social upbringing, and intelligence, would want to know HOW it was done. Think about why. The idea of being able to do impossible things conflicts with the current way people view the world, in addition to conflicting with many popular beliefs pertaining to religion, science, reality, life, and "what is possible and what is not".
As a result of this often overlooked way of viewing the world, I think we should start preparing the art of magic for a shift in definition. Merriam-Webster defines magic as "an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source". Due to your current knowledge of education and/or religion, anyone can automatically, logically, and reasonably conclude that there is no such thing as magic.
I think that the direction of this new way of defining magic should communicate something like "An art that seeks to entertain by accomplishing feats that are perceived to be impossible. These impossible feats are ONLY made possible by the magician having knowledge of secrets that are well-guarded, kept hidden, and rarely exposed. If the secrets are to be shared at all, then they are only shared with other magicians. These secrets are clever methods of action and/or uniquely created objects. They are slowly discovered by creatively looking at how to accomplish an action that, when carried out in a specific way, is inaccurately perceived, observed, and remembered. In order to make the performance of such actions appear normal and believable, they must be carried out in a natural way that often requires extraordinary amounts of practice or rehearsal. When one is enjoying the performance of magic, they are not experiencing reality. They are experiencing only their perception of reality."
To conclude, I think that magicians need to stop subtly referencing anything that is "impossible", "supernatural", "special powers or abilities", "unexplainable", etc. etc.
I think that it is reasonable enough to now revise the message that magic is supposed to communicate. We are no longer individuals that possess a mystical power. Instead, we are now artists called "Magicians" that possess rare knowledge, impressive skills, uncanny dedication, clever creativity, unique talent, and many other things that, when properly combined, create a piece of art that is experienced and enjoyed by not only all of the senses, but by the mind as well.
I think that this way of defining and explaining magic will change the view of magic to now rightfully attribute to magicians a lot of well-deserved yet-not-given respect, as well as, imply appropriate behavior for a spectator that demonstrates a sense of prestige, compliance, patience, and a will to participate. It will also credit magicians with more creativity and performance skill as well as many other things that will be advantages in regards to the evolution of the art of magic.
What do you guys think? Many of you are probably already starting to perform in a way that communicates ideas similar to what I'm trying to express. I'm not saying I have it right, though I am saying that we currently have it wrong by trying to pass off magic as something that is supernatural or unattainable by anyone else besides a magician. Actually, it is unattainable by someone who isn't a magician, though NOT because they don't possess special powers, but because only magicians are entitled to study such material that will reveal the secret. I think this also creates a much-needed desire to not only want to know "how it's done", but also a courteous obligation to not even ask.
You guys feel me? Any thoughts here?