Mailbag #116
/I just came across your post on the Hoy book test and I was wondering how you justify the need for a specific page from a second book in a [traditional Hoy situation]? (Incidentally your ‘Take me to a random blog post’ feature is brilliant, and has led to me reading so many posts that would otherwise either be buried in my memories or never even have read otherwise.)—YG
Personally, I don’t try and “justify” the need for a specific page from a second book.
Justification is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you’re giving people a rationale as to why you’re doing the thing you’re doing. On the other hand, you’re drawing attention to the thing you’re doing, which might otherwise fly by people.
I generally don’t pre-justify unless I know it’s going to come off as weird in the moment (which I don’t think the Hoy test does). Like if I have you think of a three-digit number then reverse the digits, then subtract the smaller number from the larger, then reverse the result and add it to the result. Etc., etc. That needs justification. That needs some kind of rationale because it’s so beyond what you would do to have someone think of a “random” number.
It seems I’ve already addressed this, specifically in relation to the Hoy Book Test in this post, Justification in Social Magic. (Don’t worry, I didn’t remember it either.)
To give you a short version, I would say that flipping the pages in one book to randomly select a page number, and then looking at a word at that page number in that book on the other side of the room, actually feels like a relatively fair way to identify an unknown “random” word.
If I was going to justify it, it would happen afterward and only if someone was openly questioning it.
But I don’t get people asking why we used the second book. I will occasionally get people who question things like this.
“So you can just read my mind of any word?”
“Like just by thinking of it? No, not really. You really need to see it in print. Your occipital lobe is the part of the brain that identify symbols when you read, and that’s the part that is also capable of projecting thoughts.”
“So if I look at any word in this book, you’ll be able to tell me what it is.”
“If you read through and consciously pick a word? Hmm… possibly, but probably not. That involves you specifically choosing a word that appeals to you or one you find challenging. That’s a whole different thought process and area of the brain. That’s why we just do it with a random word like we did. But we can try it if you want. If you think you can focus your mind in that way.”
I have a question about an upcoming gig, but could be just as well applied to any magicians' gigs.
I have agreed to do walk-around magic at a couple of school proms, and I wanted to expand my repertoire beyond card tricks. I was looking into chop cups and linking rings, but want to avoid the 'series of meaningless impossibilities' that you have written about before. Also, while those tricks are visually fun, they definitely have a certain...aesthetic.
I know that your blog is mostly about a unique blend of immersive, social magic, but is there any way that some of the qualities of good magic as you describe it can be applied in a professional, walk-around setting? How do you make 'instant-reset' tricks performed in a professional capacity look anything other than 'look at this thing I was paid to do'? Is it possible to give even a glimpse into the kind of Jerxian, reality-bending experience you write about? Or is it a fool's errand to try and adapt the principles on your blog into a paid gig, like walking into a bar and showing everyone a video of a shooting star you and your girlfriend saw after you first kissed and then asking for money? Is it about having that one or two unrepeatable, seemingly experimental tricks that will leave a couple of particular groups with something truly special?—JB
Two or three times a year, I will hear from a professional magician who tells me that I’m underestimating the potential to which some of the ideas I write about here could be used in a professional performing situation. I don’t know that it’s a matter of me “underestimating” something as much as it is a matter of me giving it no thought whatsoever.
“How do you make 'instant-reset' tricks performed in a professional capacity look anything other than 'look at this thing I was paid to do'?”
I think that’s a losing battle. Your last sentence is probably your best bet. Have a couple of items in your bag or briefcase that you can go grab and perform that you supposedly hadn’t intended to show anyone. Don’t carry them in your pockets. Make it a little awkward for you to excuse yourself and get something. Maybe you have to run out to your car. You hadn’t planned for this. But this couple or this group happens to have the “right energy” or for whatever reason is “perfect for this thing [you’ve] been working on.” That’s the best case scenario of making a moment or two feel “special.”
Beyond that, I don’t know what to tell you. I personally would lean into having some non-magical “bit” to do with the groups. Like I’d say to the group, “So, my manager really wants me to get some performance footage while I’m out on this gig, but he really likes those big, over-the-top reactions. So can I record you reacting like I just showed you the world’s greatest trick? Before I leave tonight, I’m going to find whoever gave the best fake reaction and give them $50.” Then give your phone to someone else in the group and have them record as you say, “Is that your card?” And the group goes wild. With the biggest ham in the group screaming and pulling his hair and jumping all around, “Oh my god!!!!!” Then as you go from group to group, people will be waiting to hear you exclaim, “Is that your card?!” And see how their friends go absolutely bonkers. It could be a fun running bit throughout the night. (And you could then edit these obviously fake reactions together for your youtube or your website. “Here are some real, genuine,, reactions to my magic.”)
I don’t know if that’s the best idea I’d come up with. It’s just a first thought. My point being, I don’t think in that situation you can get the magic to feel fully spontaneous and personal. But you could introduce some other type of interaction with the groups that is genuinely out of your control and unrehearsed.