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cosmicplay
Wizard
| Joined: | 08-15-2004 |
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Posted: 01-04-2009 04:12 |
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http://erlandish.blogspot.com/
"The Value of a Secret"
Really really worth the read... especially the part from December 24.
Thank you Andrew! That was really uplifting and inspiring!
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erlandish
Wizard
| Joined: | 11-30-1999 |
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Posted: 01-04-2009 05:15 |
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| Kwen-chan-a-yo. I'm glad if people like it.
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Derob
Conjuror
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Posted: 01-04-2009 15:14 |
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Some very interesting thoughts...
Magic is not very different from any other type of intelectual work: it needs time and opportunity to develop away from the spotlights. Once a new product is made public (be it an MP3player, a jet plane or a magic routine), the competition will be all over it attempting to make copies and figure out the mechanics behind it.
But unlike commercial products, that eventually are sold in the market place and end up with anybody being able to own a copy, magic can be kept 'hidden' in a way. By limiting access to it, by not letting anybody make registrations (e.g. video) or hard-copy renderings of the gimmicks involved, by not publishing the method through any means, exposing the secret can be made more difficult. If you want to copy a volvo, you buy one and figure out how it works. If you want to copy a magic routine you've only seen performed, it will be more difficult to back-engineer the effect.
I stated in another thread (on Josh Jay) that magic should continue to reinvent itself in order to stay a step ahead, to survive. I think this blog article refers to one way of doing just that: develop magic without crying from the rooftops. The future of magic probably lies in the hands of those who work in such a way.
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cosmicplay
Wizard
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Posted: 01-04-2009 16:24 |
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Derob wrote:
I stated in another thread (on Josh Jay) that magic should continue to reinvent itself in order to stay a step ahead, to survive. I think this blog article refers to one way of doing just that: develop magic without crying from the rooftops. The future of magic probably lies in the hands of those who work in such a way.
I think so too... it is rather pointless to reinvent magic, if one week later someone will expose it on Youtube. So reinventing helps.... cause no one you perform for will actually know it.
However, here is a challenge. I cannot phrase it better than Jerry Sadowitz:
"I still believe magic is about keeping secrets. But the challenge is to establish material without going too 'overground' about it."
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TylerErickson
Wizard
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Posted: 01-04-2009 16:40 |
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Andrew,
This is exactly the kind of post I was looking forward to. Your own personal magic journey. Thank you for sharing. 
When it comes to what you can and cannot share, I think these posts give readers more of what they need vs. what they want.
Withholding information gets easier with practice. Over the years of teaching, one of the biggest lessons I learned for myself was how to withhold information for the betterment of the student. They want everything, but they are not equipped to absorb it. Telling them everything you can about any given subject can lead to the exact opposite of the desired result.
Feeding out information in bite-size pieces is the key to quick and effective teaching. If you dislike assuming the role of teacher when you convey knowledge, think about this: if you aren't in it to teach something, you are in it to hear yourself sound smart.
It is a perfectly believable scenario in which you play the part of teacher to one of your friends in magic, and then moments later, those roles reverse and you must defer to their judgement on what will and will not be shared. At the very least, you end up with some kind of barter system that reinforces the value of the traded commodities.
If the end goal it to help someone become better at what they do, there is no malice in withholding; it is actually a kindness.
T
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