I should like to repeat those lines for the benefit of those who are not familiar with them. They are slightly changed here in the interests of clarity:
Can it be, as is popularly assumed, that this (the physical and mechanical side of magic) is the IMPORTANT part of magic?
I think not.
I think the mind of the performer, utilizing these elements intelligently and discriminately, influencing and guiding the minds of the spectators expertly and skillfully, contains the real secrets of magic, secrets beyond the abilities of anyone to reveal hurtfully.
The secrets of the mind, the REAL secrets of magic, cannot be exposed.
But these secrets of the mind may be explained.
There is a nice distinction in the diction involved. Exposure usually means a formal or deliberate revealing of something that is discreditable, detrimental, injurious or derogatory to the subject. An explanation makes plain or intelligible that which is not known or clearly understood, without the injurious implications included in exposure.
And why shouldn't the secrets of psychological deception become exposure in their mere explanation? Because the intent of the performer and the secret workings of his mind cannot be known by the spectator unless the performer is unskilled in the psychological essentials. Frankly, I dislike the use of the word psychological. It makes the processes seem too deep and obscure and complex. But in magic, where the simpler word mental would do, there is much danger of confusion with the standard carryings-on of those performers in the specialized field of so-termed mental magic.
But to get back to the idea I was trying to establish: Why can't the intent of the performer and the secret workings of his mind be known by the spectator? Simply because the spectators' own knowledge of the magician's thoughts must come through what the performer reveals to him. It must come from what he says. It must come from what he does. It must come from what he implies.
Whether the spectator knows the performer's true thought or something else is entirely within the performer's control. He may reveal or conceal as be sees fit.
So even though the spectator may know the secrets of psychological deception-all of them-he cannot possibly know when the magician is employing them. If the performer is skillful, there is no external distinction between deception and truth.
Probably the most important single phase of magic is in the field of interpretation for the spectator.
In SHOWMANSHIP FOR MAGICIANS the word interpret was used in connection with the performer's interpretation of a trick as an entertainment unit, or as a part of one. In this case, reference was made to the performance of a trick in such a manner that the entertainer arbitrarily gave it a sense that it may not have had ordinarily. He conveyed his conception as to how it should be presented, according to his views.
In this work it is necessary to give a new meaning to interpretation. We are no longer concerned with a trick as an entertainment unit. In fact, we are not now concerned with an entire trick at all. Our interests are upon the mental side of presentation for deception, not entertainment. Therefore, we are concentrating upon those portions of the operative part of the trick, wherein psychological principles are applied.
So now we refer to some stage in the accomplishment of a deception, not a trick. We now take interpretation to mean to construe the performer's words, actions and implications in the light of the performer's individual interests. The interpreting is not done by the spectator. It is done by the performer. It is done by the performer in such a manner that the spectator gets the sense that the performer wishes to convey to him. If the spectator doesn't understand the magician's words and actions as the performer wishes him to, the performer as an interpreter has failed.
Let's take a simple illustration.
The magician holds a small ball between his left thumb and forefinger. He apparently takes the ball from the left hand with his right. Secretly he has performed The French Drop. The ball is still in his left hand.
The capable magician will perform the apparent taking of the ball exactly as he would if he were actually taking the ball. He would not put stress on the sleight. He would give but casual-and passing-attention to his left hand. His eyes would rest momentarily upon the ball as he reached for it. Then his eyes would follow the right hand, follow it naturally, convincingly, still casually, just as they would had he actually seized the ball with his right. The words he would use-and his posture as well-would be exactly the same as they would be had he carried the ball away from the left. Also, the fingers of the left would relax naturally. They would relax, as would the arm, as if the hand were actually empty.
This business, this combination of controlled movements, calculated words, studied posture, shifting attention, convincing and natural in appearance, is the process of interpreting for the spectators. The performer construes it, this series of happenings, so that the spectator will understand it as the performer's individual interests require.
It cannot be carelessly done. Great skill and nice judgment are necessary. It must be natural. It must be convincing. It must truly represent and express the action it seems to be. Any bit of artificiality will destroy the sense the performer is trying to convey. Any unnaturalness-whether it be of posture, action, comment or other-will reveal it to be false. If it is revealed to be false, it will not seem to express the performer's true thoughts and purposes. Therefore, it will fail to deceive.
The spectator must be thoroughly convinced that he knows the performer's true purpose and intent at every stage of the execution of the deception. Otherwise it will not deceive.
Let's dig into the elements of interpretation a bit deeper.
Suppose a man were standing with an uplifted arm, his hand clutching a heavy stick.
He could be threatening someone. He could be greeting someone. He could be inviting someone to come to him. He could, as well, be attempting to repel someone. His action could be one of triumph or of failure. He could be indicating the right way or directing the wrong way. He could be playing a game or fighting for his life. His purpose might be good or evil.
How would you know what he was actually doing, or what his purpose was?
By his posture. By his facial expression. And by what he says and how he says it.
If he were threatening you, his face would show enmity. He would clutch the stkk purposefully and menacingly. His body would be in position to use the stkk effectively. Yet, even though he menaced you, you might still advance. Perhaps something in his expression would reveal that he was afraid of you. Or perhaps you could see that he intended to flee if opposed.
Yet he could be motioning you to come to him, externally friendly, but with the secret intent of belaboring you unmercifully once you came within'effective range. In this case he would be interpreting his intent. He would be interpreting his intent for your express disadvantage. Also, he would be interpreting his intent for his distinct advantage.
Doesn't a good magician do that when he seeks to deceive his spectators?
Notice I used the adjective good. All magicians don't interpret effectively. I am now using the word magician to mean a performer of tricks of deception, I don't mean an entertainer. Because all magicians don't interpret effectively, all magicians are not good magicians. In fact, too many magicians are not good. Too many magicians are not good because they cannot interpret effectively. Too many of them do not know how to interpret with skill. Many of them can't interpret convincingly, even though they understand how it should be done. And a great, great many are not interested in how it may be done.
Skillful and effective interpretation, you must know, is possible only through skillful and effective acting. That's why the definition that a magician is an actor playing the part of a magician is so definitely valid. Without convincing acting you can't have effective deception. Without effective deception you cannot have a good magician.
Of course, this only refers to the magician as a mechanic. The essentials that lift him from the ranks of the mechanics to the spotlight of an entertainer, as I see them, are completely set forth in the first book of this series SHOWMANSHIP FOR MAGICIANS.
These psychological principles of deception are much more important than the mechanics of physical deception because they are much more effective. They are subtle. They rely upon powerful principles. They are insidious, irresistible.
By no means is the use of psychological deception confined to magicians. Unscrupulous politicians, dishonest tradesmen, unprincipled lawyers and equally untrustworthy financiers, officials, writers and others employ interpretation-construing in the light of their own individual interests-to accomplish deceptions for their own advantage. And effectively, too. Whole empires have been lost, and won, through skillful application of the untrue that seems true.
So in studying practical applications of interpretation for deception the magician is acquiring a knowledge that will be of value to him, aside from its application to magic, in escaping being victimized through these same stratagems, Since all magicians are honest, of course, they will not apply these principles unethically.
But the dishonest layman, applying mental deception, has an advantage over the magician. By the very nature of the magician's field of activity, his spectators are forewarned. This is not so of the others. Every art is used to prevent the usual victim from suspecting that all is not what it seems.
The ingredients of psychological deception are pretense, disguise, implication, misdirection, prearrangement, simulation, dissimulation, anticipation and all other resorts and stratagems calculated to lure the unsuspecting spectator along a path of ultimate victimization. But the magician must accomplish his objective with great skill and cunning because, as has been said before, his spectators know in advance that he intends to deceive them.
Just let me illustrate how important this phase of magic is:
We shall take an old familiar trick, The Diebox.
Briefly, the effect is that a large wooden die is placed in a two-compartment box. The performer seems to pretend to vanish the die. Actually the spectators have good cause to believe that he has simply allowed the die to slide from one compartment to the other, alternatively, as he shows the opposite section empty. Finally, after the spectators become insistent that he cease evading their demands to open all doors at once, all four doors are opened simultaneously. The die has disappeared. It is found in a previously empty hat.
That is the effect as the spectators are expected to see it.
But what actually happens?
The performer shows an actually empty hat. He places it to one side. A large wooden block, encased in a four-sided shell, is shown. The shell, while loose, covers the two sides, the bottom and the front of the die. But it covers and fits in such a manner that it seems to be the sides, bottom and front of the block. Both the block and the shell are painted black. The block is made to appear to be a die by means of large white round gummed spots. These are pasted on the die, arranged as are the spots on a real die. The corresponding faces' of the shell are spotted in a similar manner to simulate the proper sides of the block.
A wooden box is exhibited. This box contains two compartments, each sufficiently large to accomodate the die and its shell. There are four doors in this box-one for the front of each compartment and another for the top of each section. The box also has a sliding weight in its double bottom. As the box is tilted from side to side the weight will slide to the lower end with an audible thump. Some boxes have a metal flap attached to the rear of one of the front doors. A secret catch allows the flap and door to operate as the door only, the flap becoming the rear of this door. Or, by releasing the catch, the flap will stay in the front opening when the door is opened. The audience side of the flap is painted to represent one side of the die. But, of course, when the flap is held to the door, this is unseen.
After showing the box, the performer shows that the die and shell will fit into It. Then he places the die and shell into the hat. He takes the shell from the hat, leaving the solid die behind. He takes it from the hat in such a manner that the sides, front and bottom of the shell are towards the audience, with the open spaces at the back and top
He turns the back of the box towards the audience and puts the metal shell into it, trying to keep the open sides of the shell from showing and also trying to keep the metal from clanking.
This done, he closes the top and front doors-so that the box will not seem to be empty, as indeed it would seem, if the spectators were to look in. This is because the shell now corresponds to the contours of the solid sides, bottom and back of one compartment of the box.
If this diebox has the flap feature, he will open one door, releasing the flap as he does so, and let the spectators see that the die is apparently in the box. After which he closes the door, tilts the box and allows the weight to thump against the opposite side. The spectators are expected to mistake this for the die. So when he reopens the door; this time keeping the flap attached to the door, the compartment will seem empty.
He closes this door, tilts the box, allowing the weight to slide to the opposite side, and opens the front door of the higher compartment. Of course, this section is empty. But the audience is expected to think the die has been tilted behind the door of the now lower compartment. When it is demanded that he open both doors, the magician knows very well what is meant, but he pretends to think that the spectators want the top door opened as well. So he swings open the door at the top of the higher section, leaving the front door open. Of course, if the audience reacts as expected, there will be demands that he open the other side. So, closing the top and bottom doors of the higher side, he tilts the box. The weight whacks again and the front and top doors of the opposite side are opened.
This by-play may go on for some time. In fact, it has been known to go on too long. Ultimately, however, the magician eventually opens all doors, showing the inside of the box, showing also the inside of the metal shell. Then the solid die is retrieved from the hat where it had been placed in the first place, right in front of the spectators eyes.
The foregoing is actually what takes place. It is obvious that all facts cannot be revealed to the spectators. In fact, it is equally obvious that some parts of the true state of affairs must not only be concealed but that it is absolutely necessary to substitute a number of false impressions. The apparatus can't do that. Left to the deceptions built into the mechanical part of the trick, there would probably be no deception.
The magician could not handle the die and shell as if they were a die and shell and expect to maintain a mystery as to how the trick is accomplished. He can't handle the box as if it were a box with a sliding weight built into the bottom. Neither may he handle that flap door as if it were a flap and door. He may not even place the die and shell in the hat originally, just to be placing them in there.
Well. What must he do?
There you have the subject of this whole work.
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