Antonio Diavolo

Elite Member
Jan 2, 2016
1,092
881
24
California
"Oh you can't fool me! I've watched every episode of Magic's Biggest Secrets/Penn and Teller Fool Us/both Now You See Me movies"

It might just be a teen thing. But I've also found that most of the people saying this are the ones who will call out "I saw that!" when you haven't done anything. They're also the most easily fooled.

Anyway, anyone else heard something similar? I know I post a lot of these audience reaction related things but I get a lot of weird responses to my magic. Mostly positive.
 
Aug 15, 2017
651
413
"Oh you can't fool me! I've watched every episode of Magic's Biggest Secrets/Penn and Teller Fool Us/both Now You See Me movies"

It might just be a teen thing. But I've also found that most of the people saying this are the ones who will call out "I saw that!" when you haven't done anything. They're also the most easily fooled.

Anyway, anyone else heard something similar? I know I post a lot of these audience reaction related things but I get a lot of weird responses to my magic. Mostly positive.
Nope...not actually.
There was this once an uncle of mine kept doing things like that, and it is a very simple thing, but this is how I emerged victorious...
I had let a brother of mine (it was a family occasion) choose a card. I had forced the card to be safe, because that man was getting on my nerves and the only reason I kept my mouth shut because, manners. And then just as I was gonna tell him to keep it back, the man shouted out "Do you know what he will do? He will see the card BEFORE your card. That's why when he spreads the cards he will see the card he saw and below that...", I cut him short as if he never existed and told my brother "Keep the card anywhere you want." and I handed him the deck. The man was speechless and had uselessly made himself seem stupid in front of everyone.

You never challenge a magician.
Never.
:)
 

Antonio Diavolo

Elite Member
Jan 2, 2016
1,092
881
24
California
One of my son's friends is very scientific and skeptical about magic. To him knowing there is a method is enough. One time, I performed the Omni deck for him. When he ended up with clear glass block in his hands he was speechless.
I think the best magic for skeptics is they type where they have no idea what to expect. Like the omni deck or David Blaine’s “Two Card Monte” which isnt really the two card monte but you know what I mean.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RealityOne
Sep 1, 2017
29
26
"Oh you can't fool me! I've watched every episode of Magic's Biggest Secrets/Penn and Teller Fool Us/both Now You See Me movies"

It might just be a teen thing. But I've also found that most of the people saying this are the ones who will call out "I saw that!" when you haven't done anything. They're also the most easily fooled.

Anyway, anyone else heard something similar? I know I post a lot of these audience reaction related things but I get a lot of weird responses to my magic. Mostly positive.
Definitely more of a teenager thing, I'm a teenager, I showed magic to my teenage friends a while back, and they claimed they were too smart to be fooled by magic tricks. ♤
 
  • Like
Reactions: Antonio Diavolo

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
I think sometimes it boils down to "how" you are performing the magic. There will always be hecklers and skeptics, but for the most part I take an attitude of not trying to fool you per say, but allow you to experience something really neat or different. They are coming along for the ride and doing the magic themselves. We experience the magic together both magician and spectator. That might be hard to understand what I'm trying to convey.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sendmindsacrosseons

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
It's a teenager thing for sure. I perform regularly for adults and never have any issues with hecklers. I also taught middle school for a few years, it was considerably harder.

In these situations I always keep a couple self working tricks no me that will fool them in a very hands free manner.
 

Antonio Diavolo

Elite Member
Jan 2, 2016
1,092
881
24
California
I think sometimes it boils down to "how" you are performing the magic. There will always be hecklers and skeptics, but for the most part I take an attitude of not trying to fool you per say, but allow you to experience something really neat or different. They are coming along for the ride and doing the magic themselves. We experience the magic together both magician and spectator. That might be hard to understand what I'm trying to convey.
Most people will ask "how did you do that?" but then follow it up with "Actually no I don't wanna know". It's just the nature of high school. There's always that one cocky kid who thinks he knows everything. I've been told I really pissed off this one girl I did a trick for because she can usually figure out anything. Something like that. This was Freshman year though.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
"How did you do that!" is very different to "How did you do that?"

Apparently all the skeptical people are going to y'all's shows, because I just don't get them. The reactions I get are almost always "That's incredible" or "That's really cool" or "That really made me think." People understand that I'm not trying to "fool" them, but I'm providing an experience for them to revel in. It's not a puzzle to figure out, but a story to tell later to their friends.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RealityOne
It's just the nature of high school.
I think that statement right there is the answer. Performing in high school is far different from performing out in the real world. In high school you already have an identity established so it's hard for people to see you in any other way than how they see you on a regular basis at school. Out in the real world you can be anyone so your presentations have much more impact.
 

Antonio Diavolo

Elite Member
Jan 2, 2016
1,092
881
24
California
I think that statement right there is the answer. Performing in high school is far different from performing out in the real world. In high school you already have an identity established so it's hard for people to see you in any other way than how they see you on a regular basis at school. Out in the real world you can be anyone so your presentations have much more impact.
Exactly!
 
Jul 26, 2016
571
795
I think Christopher is fortunate and most likely has a very good understanding of human psychology, so that the presentations he has constructed do not trigger the "challenge" aspect or the defense mechanism some people have to being fooled. Now, there are those magicians out there who are cocky, or show-offs, and do come off a bit of the wise guy (and by no means am I suggesting that Antonio could be one of those). And this can taint peoples' view of magic and magicians, and sometimes prejudice them against a performer they don't even know and who isn't like that at all. That being said, there are people out there who want to prove how smart they are and/or be the center of attention (such as Lord Magic's uncle - proving, BTW, that it's not just necessarily young people), and they may resent the performer for taking the spotlight. It's an ego thing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Antonio Diavolo
Nov 8, 2017
21
10
I live in a college town and when I hit the bars I invariably run into engineering students and other people who think very analytically and are skeptical of anything I am doing. Rather than try and overcome that directly I borrow a piece of advice from Ramsay and say something along the lines of "Look, sorry to bother you but my nephew is turning six next week and he asked me to do a magic trick for him. Would you mind if I gave it a try with you all?" I have yet to have someone tell me to go away and I have yet to have someone try and rip apart the effect afterwards. Very few people, aside from sociopaths and the like, want to ruin a six year old's birthday or make someone who is doing something nice for a six year old's birthday feel like garbage.

Naturally I am lying through my teeth as my nephew is only 18 months old but a little psychology goes a long way when it comes to disarming people in a public setting.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
I'm still waking up so this may be a bit meandering.

I do know a decent amount about psychology and behavior and I do use that knowledge to create scripts and presentations that I think will avoid the challenge aspect. But I'm not a super hero or anything like that; anyone can learn this stuff. All I did was observer people for a while, and then study some behavioral psychology.

The thing to remember to create scripts and presentations that aren't challenging is just to respect the intelligence of your audience. Give them an interesting thing to think about, show them something unusual, and they will usually go along with it - analytical or not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Antonio Diavolo
Nov 7, 2017
4
1
"Oh you can't fool me! I've watched every episode of Magic's Biggest Secrets/Penn and Teller Fool Us/both Now You See Me movies"

It might just be a teen thing. But I've also found that most of the people saying this are the ones who will call out "I saw that!" when you haven't done anything. They're also the most easily fooled.

Anyway, anyone else heard something similar? I know I post a lot of these audience reaction related things but I get a lot of weird responses to my magic. Mostly positive.
Actually, yes. Whenever I perform magic at school, "I'll say something like, "Pick a card" and someone says "I know that trick!". Like there are so many tricks with "Pick a card", it just doesn't make sense
 
  • Like
Reactions: Antonio Diavolo
Jul 26, 2016
571
795
@Baran: "Actually, yes. Whenever I perform magic at school, "I'll say something like, "Pick a card" and someone says "I know that trick!". Like there are so many tricks with 'Pick a card,' it just doesn't make sense"

You are right, it really doesn't make sense to US, as magicians. But laymen think differently, and they don't know enough to differentiate in their minds among all the many tricks that could take place after they pick a card. Learning how they think and react, even if it's not what we would expect, is an important key to success.

This is why I avoid card tricks that begin with "Pick a card." Their uncle, or grandfather or some friend along the line (maybe all three or more) have done tricks for them that begin that way - and usually poor tricks, at that, like just getting the bottom card on top of the selection and then finding the card. Big deal, right?

As an alternative, you can hand them the deck in the beginning and say, "OK, Just go through the cards and find one you like, and when you do, please remove it and hand me the rest of the cards." Or you can dribble the cards from above into your hand and tell them "Just say stop anytime you like." And at that point you can let them decide whether they want the top card of the cards in your left hand or the bottom card of the cards remaining in your right hand. This will throw them off - it's not something they have seen and you will not get that response, "I know that trick," or "I've seen that one." Then you can control the card and go into your trick. Or you could just force the card doing, for example, the Hindu shuffle force or cross-cut force. Those are not "pick a card" either. And that way, you can even have them put the card back anywhere in the deck they want and even shuffle themselves afterward - which to a laymen is very strong - because they generally suspect we are controlling the selected card.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Baran
Nov 7, 2017
4
1
@Baran: "Actually, yes. Whenever I perform magic at school, "I'll say something like, "Pick a card" and someone says "I know that trick!". Like there are so many tricks with 'Pick a card,' it just doesn't make sense"

You are right, it really doesn't make sense to US, as magicians. But laymen think differently, and they don't know enough to differentiate in their minds among all the many tricks that could take place after they pick a card. Learning how they think and react, even if it's not what we would expect, is an important key to success.

This is why I avoid card tricks that begin with "Pick a card." Their uncle, or grandfather or some friend along the line (maybe all three or more) have done tricks for them that begin that way - and usually poor tricks, at that, like just getting the bottom card on top of the selection and then finding the card. Big deal, right?

As an alternative, you can hand them the deck in the beginning and say, "OK, Just go through the cards and find one you like, and when you do, please remove it and hand me the rest of the cards." Or you can dribble the cards from above into your hand and tell them "Just say stop anytime you like." And at that point you can let them decide whether they want the top card of the cards in your left hand or the bottom card of the cards remaining in your right hand. This will throw them off - it's not something they have seen and you will not get that response, "I know that trick," or "I've seen that one." Then you can control the card and go into your trick. Or you could just force the card doing, for example, the Hindu shuffle force or cross-cut force. Those are not "pick a card" either. And that way, you can even have them put the card back anywhere in the deck they want and even shuffle themselves afterward - which to a laymen is very strong - because they generally suspect we are controlling the selected card.
Yeah, I never really thought about it like that, thanks for the tip :)
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results