Got a rather rude comment a few weeks ago.

[Antonio Diavolo]

I was talking to someone about magic and he said "yea I used to be huge into magic when I was younger but I never had the dedication to get really good so I grew out of it." And this girl next to me says "So Anthony when are you going to grow out of your magic phase?"

Idk maybe it was deserved lol.

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

Despite what magicians think, the perception of most magicians to the general public is people who are either childish, dorky, socially awkward, or a mixture of the three. It is up to magicians today to change that perception. In my view, we have a lot of work to do.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Yeah. If you ask laymen, who don't know you're a magician, what the word "magician" evokes in their mind, it's rarely flattering.

And on top of that, it is generally something people just get into for a little while, usually when they are kids. The proliferation of YouTube exposure videos and piracy have only enhanced that, I think. Now anyone who gets the idea to learn a magic trick can, and often will, do so - then perform it to everyone they see, poorly, and then forget about magic all together when their friends stop thinking it's fun.

 

[RealityOne]

"So Anthony when are you going to grow out of your magic phase?"

Answer: "Hopefully never."

I start out my parlor show with an effect where the script begins like this:

When people find out I'm a magician, the first question they ask is "How did you become so interested in magic?" I suspect the question they are really asking is "Why is a grown man so interested in magic?" The answer to either question is the same. It is my Uncle Jim's fault.​

It always gets a chuckle from the audience, because they are thinking about asking the second question. I then let my performance speak for itself. At the end, they understand why.

As other have said, people have their preconceived notions. In casual conversation, treat it like any other hobby or activity you do. Explain what interests you about it. There are lots of people who don't understand why I love backpacking. I explain how I like the challenge of it, the ability to get away from it all and that I just think it is cool that you can carry everything you need to survive for a week in a backpack and take off. For people who don't understand my interest in magic I explain that I love the history, the creativity in the methods, how magic books provide an insight into the magician's viewpoint of what magic is, the dual reality of what the audience sees and what the magician knows, the ability to use magic to entertain and the sheer joy I get because for me, magic is play. When I respond to someone asking about either backpacking or magic, the response I get is that they wished they had more things in their lives that they are passionate about.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

Yeah. If you ask laymen, who don't know you're a magician, what the word "magician" evokes in their mind, it's rarely flattering.

And on top of that, it is generally something people just get into for a little while, usually when they are kids. The proliferation of YouTube exposure videos and piracy have only enhanced that, I think. Now anyone who gets the idea to learn a magic trick can, and often will, do so - then perform it to everyone they see, poorly, and then forget about magic all together when their friends stop thinking it's fun.

Yeah. I told someone I was a magician online and he called me a child and told me to go and play with my magic kits. And to me, the perception of magicians is kinda weird right now. There are multiple famous magicians that people respect like David Blaine, Penn and Teller, Mat Franco, Justin Flom, etc. and they've made magic cool for a lot of people. Hell, even the Now You See Me movies kinda made magic cool again.

But on the other hand, many people have this preconceived image of magicians being this over the top guy with huge ridiculous looking props and a big top hat who does magic at the circus or kids' birthdays.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

Answer: "Hopefully never."

I start out my parlor show with an effect where the script begins like this:

When people find out I'm a magician, the first question they ask is "How did you become so interested in magic?" I suspect the question they are really asking is "Why is a grown man so interested in magic?" The answer to either question is the same. It is my Uncle Jim's fault.​

It always gets a chuckle from the audience, because they are thinking about asking the second question. I then let my performance speak for itself. At the end, they understand why.

As other have said, people have their preconceived notions. In casual conversation, treat it like any other hobby or activity you do. Explain what interests you about it. There are lots of people who don't understand why I love backpacking. I explain how I like the challenge of it, the ability to get away from it all and that I just think it is cool that you can carry everything you need to survive for a week in a backpack and take off. For people who don't understand my interest in magic I explain that I love the history, the creativity in the methods, how magic books provide an insight into the magician's viewpoint of what magic is, the dual reality of what the audience sees and what the magician knows, the ability to use magic to entertain and the sheer joy I get because for me, magic is play. When I respond to someone asking about either backpacking or magic, the response I get is that they wished they had more things in their lives that they are passionate about.

Yeah I think my immediate response was "I won't?". And I've gotten the response about passion before. A lot of people say they have had a passing interest in magic at some point but never had the passion or dedication to keep practicing sleights and stuff. But a lot of them follow this statement with "I wish I had the dedication to learn that stuff."

I think I've mentioned it in another thread but my least favorite response is "I'm not smart enough to do magic". Many people see me as smart but I don't try to act like I'm smarter than them when I do tricks for them so I don't think it's the way I present my tricks. It just sucks that people are discouraged from magic because they think they have to be smart to do it.

 

[Lord Magic]

I was talking to someone about magic and he said "yea I used to be huge into magic when I was younger but I never had the dedication to get really good so I grew out of it." And this girl next to me says "So Anthony when are you going to grow out of your magic phase?"

Idk maybe it was deserved lol.

I feel that she probably meant it as a joke...is this girl your friend?
Then no matter what her tone is, it was a joke.
But if she is not a friend, not even remotely, then it depends on how she said it.
It may still be a joke, or maybe she really asked that.
I don't think there's anything too rude abt it. Maybe her definition of magic is still the stereotypical one, that's why she just wondered out aloud something.
Has she seen your magic?
Remember, when we show magic to someone and NOT the stuff they expect (like a simple "pick a card" or a trick which screams "MATHS")... then we become their only connection to a world the know nothing about. Because many see magic tricks, but few get to have a magician friend or talk to a magician in an informal setting. So she probably just asked you something hoping you would help her understand this whole "Magic" thing better...maybe she thought that close-up magicians like this are MEANT to grow out of magic...maybe she had a little sibling who grew out of it.
So all in all, if she's a stranger, I guess she was just being a slight bit ignorant, but nothing I would feel offended about

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

I feel that she probably meant it as a joke...is this girl your friend?
Then no matter what her tone is, it was a joke.
But if she is not a friend, not even remotely, then it depends on how she said it.
It may still be a joke, or maybe she really asked that.
I don't think there's anything too rude abt it. Maybe her definition of magic is still the stereotypical one, that's why she just wondered out aloud something.
Has she seen your magic?
Remember, when we show magic to someone and NOT the stuff they expect (like a simple "pick a card" or a trick which screams "MATHS")... then we become their only connection to a world the know nothing about. Because many see magic tricks, but few get to have a magician friend or talk to a magician in an informal setting. So she probably just asked you something hoping you would help her understand this whole "Magic" thing better...maybe she thought that close-up magicians like this are MEANT to grow out of magic...maybe she had a little sibling who grew out of it.
So all in all, if she's a stranger, I guess she was just being a slight bit ignorant, but nothing I would feel offended about

She's an acquaintance. I know her well, but we aren't friends really. And she's seen quite a bit of my magic. She's actually bugged me about showing her tricks in the past.

Now that I think about it, she's just annoying in general. I shouldn't have taken it to heart.

 

[Mattxdfa]

Now that I think about it, she's just annoying in general. I shouldn't have taken it to heart.

Got me LOLing! I feel you though, I just recently got into magic and when people that have known me for a long time find out that's what I have been up to I get some really weird reactions about it! The older I get the less I care about what anyone else thinks. If you enjoy it,who cares!

 

[Josh Burch]

I was talking to someone about magic and he said "yea I used to be huge into magic when I was younger but I never had the dedication to get really good so I grew out of it." And this girl next to me says "So Anthony when are you going to grow out of your magic phase?"

Idk maybe it was deserved lol.

It doesn't sound incredibly mean when it is written down but I'm sure it hurt when she said it. I tend to be very self deprecating while performing. I'm very aware that other people view what I do as a geeky thing, I don't think it's geeky but that does little for what other people think. Hopefully you changed her mind and they were all impressed that you had stuck with it.

I've heard a lot of hurtful stuff while performing. My favorite was a comment on my hairline. Someone once said, "You have the hairline of someone who has never had a girlfirend"

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

It doesn't sound incredibly mean when it is written down but I'm sure it hurt when she said it. I tend to be very self deprecating while performing. I'm very aware that other people view what I do as a geeky thing, I don't think it's geeky but that does little for what other people think. Hopefully you changed her mind and they were all impressed that you had stuck with it.

I've heard a lot of hurtful stuff while performing. My favorite was a comment on my hairline. Someone once said, "You have the hairline of someone who has never had a girlfirend"

I make self deprecating jokes too. Just stuff about how I'm lonely or have no girlfriend and that's why I've gotten so good lol. I don't really make any about magic being childish or geeky. Just jokes about how I am geeky and awkward.

 

[kennethcmerrill]

We live in a society where it's socially acceptable for grown men to spend hours (literally cumulative YEARS of their lives) watching other people chase inflated pieces of rubber. If you have an ounce of curiosity, intellect, or creativity, don't expect to be understood or gratified by most of the world. People appreciate genius when it serves them, but most people (even me!) are lazy and unmotivated. Dedicating your life to the mastery of something (other than inflated rubber) is so radical in our culture that you're bound to run into people who are practically offended by it. It's because they have a deep, subconscious sense of their inferiority.

Note: I have nothing against sports! For me, play is play, and it's really what we live for. I just wish more kinds of play were ok by most people.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

We live in a society where it's socially acceptable for grown men to spend hours (literally cumulative YEARS of their lives) watching other people chase inflated pieces of rubber. If you have an ounce of curiosity, intellect, or creativity, don't expect to be understood or gratified by most of the world. People appreciate genius when it serves them, but most people (even me!) are lazy and unmotivated. Dedicating your life to the mastery of something (other than inflated rubber) is so radical in our culture that you're bound to run into people who are practically offended by it. It's because they have a deep, subconscious sense of their inferiority.

Note: I have nothing against sports! For me, play is play, and it's really what we live for. I just wish more kinds of play were ok by most people.

I don't get watching sports either. I'm not very athletic but I'd much rather get some friends together to play a game of basketball rather than getting a group of friends together to watch it on TV.

 

[DavidL11229]

I think the original comment that started it was very much on point. But since you have the requisite dedication, growing out of it is not the issue. And you're probably right, she was just being annoying.

 

[Jason England]

True story: in early October of this year I sat across a private dining-room table from Barbra Streisand for 20 minutes. When she sat down and was told that I was there to entertain with card magic she said, "I love magic and especially card magic." She had seen Derek Delgaudio and Helder's Nothing to Hide at the Geffen theater a few years back and still remembered it fondly.

If anyone tells you to "grow out of magic" you should hang out with a better class of people.

Jason

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

True story: in early October of this year I sat across a private dining-room table from Barbra Streisand for 20 minutes. When she sat down and was told that I was there to entertain with card magic she said, "I love magic and especially card magic." She had seen Derek Delgaudio and Helder's Nothing to Hide at the Geffen theater a few years back and still remembered it fondly.

If anyone tells you to "grow out of magic" you should hang out with a better class of people.

Jason

Thanks man

 

[Justin.Morris]

Great responses.
I say just own it. Even if it's just friends trying to rib you a little, the best response is to have confidence in who you are and roll with it a bit. They can't tease you if you agree with them.
Them: "when are you going to grow out of it?"
You: "I know right? I'm like Peter Pan, and I just never want to grow out of it! Perhaps more adults need to stop being so serous about themselves!"
That applies to any time someone tires to tease you. Agreeing takes away their power.