Upon Examinations...
One of the things I often get asked when lecturing or teaching a trick is “What happens if someone says ‘Can I examine it?’ or a similar question?” It’s a strange question because these days, lay people simply never ask me to examine the props I am using. I like tricks that end clean, but even when I use them, and overtly offer the props out, people often refuse. And yet, it certainly wasn’t always like that - I definitely remember starting out, and lots of spectators were very ‘touchy-feely’ and often wanted to check out whatever I happened to be using. Coming to understand the change is difficult - there was certainly no sudden tip or secret that I could credit the change to - the shift was instead so gradual that I have no recollection of the actual process. So, to my mind, that means a combination of several things. I’m going to take a look at three of them now. Confidence. This is the big one, and time really is the only thing that progresses it. When ...