I'd never heard of Hay's Paradox before, but it makes so much sense to me. I often think of tricks I know that require relatively difficult sleights such as a cull or a top change as being my "sure things", whereas there are plenty of self working tricks that I don't feel comfortable doing due to lack of what I consider myself to compelling presentation. Now I'll have to pick up "The Amateur Magician's Handbook"
I'm re-reading the book at the moment. It is a dense text, but every few sentences, he touches on something that feels quite profound (like his hard-easy and easy-hard tricks). As a book on magic theory, The Amateur Magician's Handbook is seriously underrated!
I believe sleight-of-hand routines feel more "secure" because, well, the mechanics and misdirection work on anyone. In contrast, a presentation can often fall flat if delivered to the wrong audience. For instance, "Double Happiness" would be ideal for a Chinese couple on their wedding day. However, a Jewish couple might associate "88" (code for "HH" or "Heil Hitler") with the far right and anti-Semitic views. The fundamental structure of the trick would still work for this audience, but the main presentation would need to be replaced (I've included some basic suggestions in the write-up).
I'd never heard of Hay's Paradox before, but it makes so much sense to me. I often think of tricks I know that require relatively difficult sleights such as a cull or a top change as being my "sure things", whereas there are plenty of self working tricks that I don't feel comfortable doing due to lack of what I consider myself to compelling presentation. Now I'll have to pick up "The Amateur Magician's Handbook"
I'm re-reading the book at the moment. It is a dense text, but every few sentences, he touches on something that feels quite profound (like his hard-easy and easy-hard tricks). As a book on magic theory, The Amateur Magician's Handbook is seriously underrated!
I believe sleight-of-hand routines feel more "secure" because, well, the mechanics and misdirection work on anyone. In contrast, a presentation can often fall flat if delivered to the wrong audience. For instance, "Double Happiness" would be ideal for a Chinese couple on their wedding day. However, a Jewish couple might associate "88" (code for "HH" or "Heil Hitler") with the far right and anti-Semitic views. The fundamental structure of the trick would still work for this audience, but the main presentation would need to be replaced (I've included some basic suggestions in the write-up).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic.
Love the double happiness artwork.
Thanks, Landon. It's incredible how various artists interpret this particular symbol; there are so many variations!