Who is Harder to fool...Magicians Nonsense.

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Fooling Kids…Fooling Adults… Who cares?

 

Boston Massachusetts Magician   www.ferrantimagic.com   339-927-4710

Birthday Magician Joe Ferranti

OMG…I’ve actually been pulled into this conversation. What a waste of my time, Yet…Magicians continue to discuss/debate/argue, whether it is easier to fool adults or children. (BTW, the overwhelming consensus is that children are harder to fool.)

Why is this important? It is not! What is important is the understanding of the basics of critical thinking in children and adults.

Now let’s get this out of the way…Being fooled is not about being made to seem foolish. Every Magician should know this, those who don’t…not my problem or my intent here.

Alright, so…. we are not going to make anyone feel foolish. Can we agree temporarily that to “fool” will mean to give an audience a positive experience in which they will experience degrees of belief, disbelief, shock and awe? Good! So for the moment we will agree that “being fooled” is about being entertained by tricks and illusions which should be presented in an entertaining fashion.

Children Fooler # 1

If I were to tell a five year old that there is a creature that eats children living under their bed…well, suffice it to say, this poor kid won’t be sleeping well for at least the near future. (BTW, this is the bad “fool.”) The reason is simple, children have little choice but to believe what an authoritative adult tells them. Personally I’d prefer telling them there is a Santa Claus, but that’s just me.

Adult Fooler # 1

On the other hand, If a so called “medium to the Stars” tells people he/she can talk to their dead relatives…sadly, an amazing amount of adults will buy in. (Bad Fool) Sometimes the belief can be quite costly to one’s pocketbook. Why does this work? This may be an over simplification, but…who wouldn’t feel some comfort knowing their Mom is doing great, and further than that, she is eager to help you overcome a current obstacle in your life. (Feels good, huh?”)

This fooling stuff is easy…especially when used in a negative way.

More on Fooling Kids!

Let’s return to some entertainment. It’s hard to count the number of times I have “sawed a sponge ball into two” for five and six year olds. If you’ve done it, you know they will take a single sponge ball and attempt to saw it into two, for what seems to be an eternity. This is an easy “good fool”. Not so hard, right?

How about the “See, don’t see” premise. Those less than critical thinkers will scream and scream louder each time you turn around and don’t see the spider on your back. Meanwhile, the adults are amused and happy seeing the fun their kids are having. (Remember, the Adults are not “fooled” here.)

 BTW, this may border on making one look “foolish” but it won’t occur to any of them for at least ten years, and you’ll be long gone by then.

Additional note: I heard one “magician’s” explanation why kids are harder to fool…He explains that they have good eye sight and also view card tricks from a lower level, therefore they can easily spot a Double lift.   “O.K., I’ll give you a pass on this for one time, if it happens again, shame on you! Make an adjustment.”

More on Adult Foolers

Back to the adults, I love the “think of a card” effect. The adult thinks of any card they see in a widely spread (fanned) deck of cards…the Magician removes one card and places it in his pocket. That’s right, the card in the pocket is the very one the spectator is only thinking of. (“Good fool”) Yup, good fool, because no one has ever asked how I did that, or even ventured a guess as to how it is accomplished.

In fact, the only group who might “know” how this is done is an alien from who knows where, known as the teen ager. OMG, these are the hardest people to “fool”. Just kidding!

For the best sources to learn to fool with integrity, I suggest Reading Darwin Ortiz’s works,

Strong Magic and Designing Miracles

 

For Magicians Only...

Boston’s Best Magician   www.ferrantimagic.com       339-927-4710

Some thoughts on the card to wallet:

For several years I have performed, Jim Swain’s Air Mail Card for all my adult Birthdays. Since I needed a no table method, I was fortunate to find a handling by Shaun Robison. (Done Crediting)

I am sharing the different reactions I got, compared to my present reaction. Now, I have always got good reactions, that’s not what I am addressing…just the difference.
I used to prepare the effect by writing Happy Birthday, with their name on the back of the card. In case you don’t know the routine, the selection is made, and the spectator signs their name on the face of their card. The effect proceeds into a “triumph” routine with their signed selection being the only face up card in a face down deck. I then explain that I have brought them a card for their Birthday, and as you would expect in the zipped compartment of the wallet is a card with Happy Birthday [name] on the back. At this moment the card is handed to the spectator…and more often than not, they anticipate that this will be their signed selection. This is a shocking moment, but still it is anticipated. You may even get the reaction of “No #^*N Way!” This is fine, I never had any complaints.

As years go on, I started printing Happy Birthday Balloons on a blank backed card. Resulting in a “more unique Memento.” I also feel this is slightly more “professional” (IMHO)

The next progression was to have the signed card in a sealed envelope. Years earlier I remember Jean Jacques Sanvert, on his L&L DVD set…saying that the sealed envelope was a stronger effect. So I decided to give it a shot. Of course, Mr. Sanvert knows of what he speaks…reactions up a couple of notches.

This brings me to the last year of performing the effect. Since I was taking the small amount of time to prep the envelope, I decided to add staples on all four side of the envelope. Why not, it requires no extra effort, maybe 45 seconds of my time.
I had no particular expectation…the reactions were already over the top, but I got a surprise. Now I’m not saying the reaction is “better”, what I am saying is this has changed “the moment” in a big way. As usual, I tell the spectator I have a birthday card for them. They undo the Zip…I remove the sealed and stapled envelope, tear it open and hand them their Birthday card. This gets a moment of silence…I believe they are thinking, “this is nice…some Happy B’day Balloons”. So far, no one has turned the card over in expectation of seeing their signature. I have to give a little prompt, and when they do…”Boom!” Personally, I enjoy this a little more. Either way I am sure the client is happy. See for yourself, here is a clip showing the reaction.

Thanks for reading.

Boston Massachusetts Magician for hire    ferrantimagic.com