The idea also seems to come from a personal obsession with human endurance and the Holocaust. Blaine, who is Jewish, keeps dozens of copies of Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz in his apartment, along with books on Einstein, magic and logic puzzles. His walls are filled with pictures of other magicians and celebrities (the Clintons, Orson Welles), and a giant poster of Houdini is affixed to his office ceiling.
"I think a lot of people are unable to accept that they're able to do what they can do," he said. "That we can survive. The human organism is an amazing creation."
Not everybody of course believes that Blaine is able to do what he seems to be able to do. There have been several attempts to debunk his stunts, including a Fox program that offered an elaborate explanation (secret compartment, body double) of how someone might manage an ice stunt like Blaine's.
All of which bothers Blaine more than a little, especially since he says that his fans might be swayed by such programs. During the interview, he showed the Fox program and laughed aloud at its explanation, but then added, "A lot of kids who used to believe now think it was just a trick."
While some other magicians may scoff at Blaine's unapologetic celebrity and success -- despite his current anti-network mood, he has a new deal with ABC for four more specials -- few magicians would question his impact.
"I think the thing about David Blaine is that he was able to take close-up magic and brought it to a whole new, tremendously large audience," said Steve Cuiffo, 25, a performer and magician who has known Blaine for more than 10 years. "And I think these stunts are just a continuation of that."
Still, it is likely that Blaine's latest stunt will receive more than a modicum of ridicule. Last May, during the pillar stand, The Late Show With David Letterman ran a Top 10 list of Least Impressive David Blaine Tricks. ("No. 8: Using fiber-optic cables, can transmit his voice anywhere in the world.")
It was just such a trick that Blaine used on Monday afternoon to expound from London on his next feat. He and Korine, the filmmaker, have been in London for more than a week, shooting segments for Korine's documentary.
Less than three weeks before his highly publicized deprivation begins, Blaine sounded confident, if a little biblical.
"I believe it is completely possible to exist peacefully with absolutely nothing, as it was in the beginning and as it will be in the end," he said. "It will be a public isolation that I will have to endure by adapting and surviving as an animal would. On instinct."
And of course on television.
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