Yeah but you also have to account for the fact that most magicians never get the kind of initial investment it takes to be a decent stage act.
I started out learning stage magic. I performed for my first birthday party at age 7 with mostly stage material (linking rings, professor's nightmare, square circle mirror box). I used the magic from a thrift store magic set. I was a teenager before I performed much close-up magic.
As for your general point, close up certainly takes more pure skill than stage magic
I think if by pure skill you mean dexterity you might have a point. I think it takes a lot of skill to stand on stage and make people care about what you're doing.
and all of the pressure is on the magician. Stage magic is more difficult logistically, but that's why all of the stand out stage guys have large highly trained crews.
If anything more pressure is on the stage magician (a whole theater of eyes vs a small room or table). The logistics are definitely one of the things that make stage magic more difficult, and while a large crew is great it is not always necessary.
How is your ability to name magicians in close-up and on stage any indication of difficulty?
It's not, I named a few to suggest that there is a larger number of close up magicians that there are stage magicians. I believe this is true no matter how you measure it. This could be but is not necessarily an indication that stage magic is more difficult. Just like how there are more fast-food workers than there are doctors in the world. That might suggest that most people can work in fast food without taking any classes in college, the road to becoming a doctor is more difficult my most measures.
There are fewer famous pole vaulters than sprinters, so by this logic, pole vaulting is harder than sprinting?
Pole vaulting probably is more difficult than sprinting. For one, you have to go get a pole. I can sprint naked.
What is your criteria for competence, proficiency (which means competence), and entertainment?
Competency is not the same thing as proficiency. My master's degree is in education and the difference between testing proficiency and competence is stark. When we look at a student's competence we look at what is the least amount required for passable work. Competency means that they know all that they need to know. Proficiency carries with it more depth. They can perform what they need to and they have a bit more mastery over that specific skill.
Your argument doesn't take into account the trend of the last hundred years of magic moving from the stage to close-up, and parlour.
This is not a trend that I am aware of but it underlines my main point. If it is less trendy to be a stage magician it suggests that it is more difficult to become a stage magician.
Or the cost of putting on grand illusions versus walkaround. Or the effects of the internet and gig culture.
The cost is less than you might think. David Copperfield started his career with an excellent dancing cane routine. A dancing cane can be cheaper and more durable than a deck of cards. If it is more expensive, then again that is one way that it is more difficult to do than close up.
I don't think so unless you like, fundamentally changed society. The barrier for entry into stage magic is quite high, which is a big part of why there have never been as many people doing it, and most of the people who do started out doing close up and got lucky.
I don't think the barrier is all that much higher than close up magic, the most difficult thing to do is find a venue, and test new material. In both cases these are examples of some of the things that make stage magic more difficult. Jeff Mcbride, and Mac King, are stage magicians but the majority of their props aren't overly expensive. Cardini, and T. Nelson Downs were stage magicians and their props and needs were similar to the close up magician.
It sounds like you are doing a closeup show on stage, you can't even pay the lighting and sound crew for a stage show with $600.
Many stage shows don't require special lighting and many stage magicians either don't use music or cue their own. Most venues provide their own amplification. If a school hires me to perform for their student body I bring under a thousand dollars worth of props. The school provides lighting, and sound crews.
You could easily perform an inexpensive stage show with a deck of cards for manipulations, a rope, a couple chairs, and very little else.
Unpopular opinion? I thought it is a given that stage magic is very, very difficult. I can easily draw you in if I am a foot away from you, but then feet away under the garb of a 'performer' (and the unintentional role of the know-it-all), connecting with people seems so much more difficult.
Yeah, we agree. I am surprised too. If you look at some of the above comments it appears that it is an unpopular opinion.