For decades, possibly centuries, magicians have fretted and argued over if and when it is acceptable to reveal the secrets of their tricks and illusions.
Now two British academics — who are magicians themselves — have written what is believed to be the first detailed study examining what is known in the trade as “exposure”.
Gustav Kuhn and Brian Rappert, academics from the universities of Plymouth and Exeter, asked hundreds of magicians from around the world about attitudes to exposure.
Photo: AFP
They found that exposing another magician’s trick when they are still alive was a big no-no, with fewer than 3 percent feeling this was acceptable.
However, it was deemed much more justifiable to expose a trick invented by a magician who was dead or to explain how an illusion you had developed yourself was done.
It was seen as wrong to reveal a trick for self-promotion and, while many thought it reasonable to pass on the secrets of a trick to a fellow magician, it was much less acceptable to draw back the curtain to someone who just wanted to know how it was done for the sake of it.
Photo: AP
Rappert and Kuhn, both members of the Magic Circle, are readying themselves for flak when their paper is published on Monday.
“It’s a huge, really controversial topic within the magic community,” said Kuhn, of the school of psychology at the University of Plymouth and an exponent of closeup and street magic. “Magicians get emotional about it.”
As in most aspects of modern life, money appears to come into it. Kuhn said: “If you pay for a magic trick, it’s OK to expose the magic secrets. If you pay me for the secrets, then I’m allowed to expose it, but if I give you the secret for free, then that’s not OK.
Photo: AFP
“Magic could only advance through the sharing of certain secrets and magicians need to make a living so that financial transaction seems to play a really important part.”
Kuhn was at the center of a storm in 2019 when the global charitable foundation Wellcome Trust ran a free exhibition called Smoke and Mirrors in London that explicitly explained general principles in magic, such as misdirection and forcing.
Kuhn, whose research featured in the show, said some magicians saw the free access to such information as a violation of the rules and he was formally investigated by the Magic Circle’s exposure committee.
“It seems very unlikely that the exhibition would have created the same kind of controversy had visitors been charged an entry fee,” he wrote in a paper.
It also examines some of the history of exposure, highlighting how the first president of the Magic Circle, David Devant, was forced to resign after extracts from his book Secrets of My Magic appeared in a popular magazine.
The paper investigates twisty tricks where some exposure arguably enhances a show. For example, the magician Caleb Morgan performed the classic trick in which he stuffed a silk bandana into his clenched hand only to open his fist to show the bandana had transformed into an egg.
Morgan then revealed the egg was plastic with a hole in the back for the bandana to enter — before cracking the egg to demonstrate it was, in fact, a normal egg.
Rappert, whose work includes using magic to convey how disclosure and concealment figure in everyday life and international relations, said this sort of exposure seemed acceptable.
“Some said it was perfectly fine to unveil a closely guarded secret if it’s in the context of performing a trick that relies on a different method.”
Kuhn and Rappert argue the study is needed because the internet has made it much easier for tricks to be exposed and therefore changes the rules of the game.
Their paper ends with a comment from the Magic Circle, which was shown the research before publication. The organization sternly makes it clear it was founded in 1905 upon the tenet of protecting the secrets of magicians.
But it adds: “The ramifications and implications of exposure are a grey area which are little understood and understudied. We welcome and applaud any research of this nature that helps us all to gain a better insight and understanding.”
The paper, Towards a Theory of Exposure, is available in the Journal of Performance Magic.
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
Even by the standards of Ukraine’s International Legion, which comprises volunteers from over 55 countries, Han has an unusual backstory. Born in Taichung, he grew up in Costa Rica — then one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — where a relative worked for the embassy. After attending an American international high school in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, Han — who prefers to use only his given name for OPSEC (operations security) reasons — moved to the US in his teens. He attended Penn State University before returning to Taiwan to work in the semiconductor industry in Kaohsiung, where he
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the
RSS