Cerca Trova Ideas

May 11, 2008
2
0
"magicians code"

we have all heard the saying "a magician never revelas his secrets" and the unwritten rule of the magicians code which i am a full supporter of however this is a contradiction to an extent. None of us were born magicians and some way on our way to discovering magic we were revealed a secret to a trick and it went from there. so for the cerca trova forum i just want peoples thoughts on the unwritten rule and code does it exist? whats the difference between exposing and teaching? how do we decide who to reveal and not to reveal to? i guess it could be a thread on exposure but i was wanting a discussion on the magicians code itself than on exposiure if that makes any sense.
 
Jul 22, 2008
20
0
Hillsboro, Oregon
we have all heard the saying "a magician never revelas his secrets" and the unwritten rule of the magicians code which i am a full supporter of however this is a contradiction to an extent. None of us were born magicians and some way on our way to discovering magic we were revealed a secret to a trick and it went from there. so for the cerca trova forum i just want peoples thoughts on the unwritten rule and code does it exist? whats the difference between exposing and teaching? how do we decide who to reveal and not to reveal to? i guess it could be a thread on exposure but i was wanting a discussion on the magicians code itself than on exposiure if that makes any sense.


Wow, that's a really good question. I've always though that a magician should never reveal their secrets regardless, but at the same time I wouldn't know any tricks if every magician followed that rule. Perhaps you, the performer, should only reveal tricks to other magicians who you know will use the trick to amaze, not to show off that they know the secret.

I never show my methods to spectators, even when I'm offered money (that's only happened once). As for unwritten rule, I don't think there is an unwritten rule. Most magicians learn someplace or other that they shouldn't reveal tricks to spectators. That's always been what I believed until I discovered people exposing tricks rampantly on YouTube and Metacafe.

Needless to say, people have been exposing tricks long before these websites came into existence. However, since they've been created, video sharing sites have been the biggest platform for magic exposure, and as a result the "magicians code" has been destroyed by little ten year old kids with webcams.

Long story short, I believe the magicians code is a great concept but definetly not an unwritten law, not any more.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
I have an idea to throw onto the table:

Why do we, as magicians, often feel the need to fool other magicians? Why is it that we have to over complicate things with gimmicks and intricate sleights in order to prove that what we say "really" is what we say?

What will it take for us to forget that not every layman has the 'magician's eye' that we supposedly have to spot a double lift a mile away.


It often annoys me when I see others say, that's too obvious or I figured it out therefore it's rubbish and laymen won't like it, I'd like to see what others have to say on the matter.

- Sean

In light of Danny Gizzle's comment on the podcast last night, I thought I'd try and bring this one to the forefront again.

- Sean
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dec 13, 2007
69
0
34
Atlanta,Georgia
typically i will never tell how to do a trick... but i will teach a trick only if i can tell the person is as devoted to the art as i am...but if its another magician i will make him swap me for a trick
 
May 3, 2008
864
3
33
Singapore
www.youtube.com
in light of the constant arguments going on in the forums, I'd like to suggest a cerca trova topic.
Simply, what makes magic stick in peoples minds? The actual magic (i.e sleights ect) or the way youve presented the effect.
 
Dec 13, 2007
69
0
34
Atlanta,Georgia
i think the thing that sticks in peoples mind is the fact that they cannot comprehend what just happened which is why they call it magic...
people have called things "magic" since they couldnt comprehend that the shaman was simply fooling their eyes with simply trickery
 
I believe the next "Cerca Trova" should be about self expression. I would gladly share some thoughts on this from my upcoming book. Let me know what you guys think.

Matthew Sims
 
I think the question of teaching vs. exposing is interesting but, for me at least, simple. If I think the person in question really wants to learn the trick and is willing to put some good effort into it, then I'll go ahead and show them. To date, I've never shown anyone anything.

Seeing that there are a lot of youths in the magic community, I think it's good to discuss more about the issue between education and magic. What I mean is, some of the young members think that the importance of education in life is rather low comparing to practicing their magic.

e.g. I remember someone said that they have played with his deck of cards during class and the deck was confiscated by the teacher after all. Other people said that they decide to become a professional magicians, so why bother listening in class. Yet, it seems to me that not many professional magicians have ever address their opinions on such topic. I would like to see more discussion on this, if possible.

Education and magic is interesting, but again I think is simple resolved. Do you really want to become a professional magician? Is the best way to do that to skrew learning and just do magic, or get a good education, a job, and slowly let yourself into a magic profession so that you have your old degree/job to fall back on if necessary? It's more of a practical question than anything and depends on the person. I for one am just doing magic as a very serious hobby, so this isn't an issue for me. My conduct record is spotless besides practicing with cards in class. :) Pretty cool, I think.

Here's my pet topic that hasn't been suggested so far and is rather important to me: isolation. I come on here and see all these people with MAD skills, but have never seen one in real life. Even just plain magicians are scarce, let alone "underground magicians", let alone underground magicians my age. Unlike other art forms, finding a person like yourselves, in my experience, is rare. By a random stroke of fate I found one on a recent trip, but he's gone now. Tragedy.
 
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Sep 3, 2007
2,562
0
Europe
That would be something more suited for a Saturday Night Contest rather than a Cerca Trova. Cerca Trova's, IMHO, are just more for discussion about a certain topic.
 
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