Magicians have a long-held code that no magician will ever reveal how to perform a trick or illusion. These magicians guard this oath at all costs. During the last 10-15 years, magicians have been breaking that code of silence. That makes old-time magicians very upset. They are worried about new magic tricks secrets revealed and how that will impact their careers. Are they justified in their concerns? Let us see.
A huge critic of Spiritualism, Harry Houdini spent a great deal of his later career discrediting people claiming to be able to contact the dead through a seance. The people who fell for the Spiritualist's trickery were often in mourning and desperate to see their loved one again. Unlike debunkers and trick revealers that were to come, Houdini did not upset other magicians.
Penn & Teller began their magical duo in 1981. In 1996, they appeared on television for the first time in a show in which they exposed numerous tricks. Most of the tricks were old school and many people already knew how they worked. Penn & Teller re-worked these tricks, added their own bit of illusion to them and then exposed only the part of the illusion that they had added on. Still in all, Penn & Teller aggravated old-time magicians who believed that a reveal of any magical illusion was tantamount to sacrilege.
The Amazing Randi, also known as James Randi, began working in the media in 1966. He is currently a retired magician who has debunked fake magicians and mentalists, including Uri Geller, the famous Russian spoon bender. He has also exposed several prominent faith healers as frauds. Randi is offering one million dollars to the person who can prove his or her claims of supernatural powers when put under the gaze of science. This money is currently still in the bank.
In the early 1990s, a magician going by the stage name of the Masked Magician, did a series of television shows for the FOX network. He claimed that the mask was to conceal his identity from fellow magicians who would shun him if they knew who he was. Eventually the public found out that Val Valentino (also not his real name), was the Masked Magician. He exposed some of the more famous magic tricks including how magicians look like they can fly and the trick when the lady is turned into a tiger.
Mr. Valentino's fellow magicians are angry and state that he completely ruined their careers when he revealed how the tricks were performed. These magicians think that he sold out the profession for money and that people will not come to magic shows now that they know how the trick is done.
In 1994, Barry and Stuart, two citizens of the United Kingdom, began a series of television shows that showed how biblical miracles were done. As can be expected, this did not go over well with the religious establishment, but the public was very interested.
Has breaking the magician's code and showing the world how magic tricks are performed really ended careers of other magicians? Or, is the opposite true? Has magic seen a rise in performers? It is difficult to gauge accurately if a particular magician's career has been thwarted. What we can say is that despite knowing how tricks are performed, the public is still eager to suspend belief for the few minutes it takes to do a trick. People still like the look and feel of mystery that surrounds magic. - 30320
A huge critic of Spiritualism, Harry Houdini spent a great deal of his later career discrediting people claiming to be able to contact the dead through a seance. The people who fell for the Spiritualist's trickery were often in mourning and desperate to see their loved one again. Unlike debunkers and trick revealers that were to come, Houdini did not upset other magicians.
Penn & Teller began their magical duo in 1981. In 1996, they appeared on television for the first time in a show in which they exposed numerous tricks. Most of the tricks were old school and many people already knew how they worked. Penn & Teller re-worked these tricks, added their own bit of illusion to them and then exposed only the part of the illusion that they had added on. Still in all, Penn & Teller aggravated old-time magicians who believed that a reveal of any magical illusion was tantamount to sacrilege.
The Amazing Randi, also known as James Randi, began working in the media in 1966. He is currently a retired magician who has debunked fake magicians and mentalists, including Uri Geller, the famous Russian spoon bender. He has also exposed several prominent faith healers as frauds. Randi is offering one million dollars to the person who can prove his or her claims of supernatural powers when put under the gaze of science. This money is currently still in the bank.
In the early 1990s, a magician going by the stage name of the Masked Magician, did a series of television shows for the FOX network. He claimed that the mask was to conceal his identity from fellow magicians who would shun him if they knew who he was. Eventually the public found out that Val Valentino (also not his real name), was the Masked Magician. He exposed some of the more famous magic tricks including how magicians look like they can fly and the trick when the lady is turned into a tiger.
Mr. Valentino's fellow magicians are angry and state that he completely ruined their careers when he revealed how the tricks were performed. These magicians think that he sold out the profession for money and that people will not come to magic shows now that they know how the trick is done.
In 1994, Barry and Stuart, two citizens of the United Kingdom, began a series of television shows that showed how biblical miracles were done. As can be expected, this did not go over well with the religious establishment, but the public was very interested.
Has breaking the magician's code and showing the world how magic tricks are performed really ended careers of other magicians? Or, is the opposite true? Has magic seen a rise in performers? It is difficult to gauge accurately if a particular magician's career has been thwarted. What we can say is that despite knowing how tricks are performed, the public is still eager to suspend belief for the few minutes it takes to do a trick. People still like the look and feel of mystery that surrounds magic. - 30320
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