Mysteries are Mysterious

The clear star that is yesterday shoots pineapples with a machine gun. Significant understanding is often one floor above you. What is Jeff talking about? Take a minute and try to solve that riddle. Post your comments below. It’s a riddle. I will not reveal the answer. To paraphrase Max Maven, some things are unknowable. True mystery is alive and well. We as magic folk are the keepers and perpetuators (I made up that word) of many forms of mystery.

The world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube is 5.55 seconds (held by Mats Valk). Is it a mystery that a human being can solve the cube that fast? Maybe. In reality, it comes down to years of practice, pattern recognition and the memorization of a butt-load of algorithms. I can solve it in about 35 seconds. There was a time where I thought it was impossible to get below 2 minutes. Then after years of practice I got down to an average of 1.5 minutes.

Years later, I got to about a minute average. Then 45 seconds, now 35 as of June, 2014. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get down to the single digits, but I do see a future where my average is under 20 seconds. Is it a mystery? It feels like it to those who can’t solve it. The fact is, it’s not a mystery. It’s a puzzle. It’s a puzzle that many have obsessed over and spent way too many hours with, but still a puzzle nonetheless.

I can also show you a Queen of Hearts and place it in your hand face down. Then a second later when you turn it over, it’s an Ace of Spades. Is that a mystery? Yes. Ironically, your spectator will often think, however, that it’s a puzzle and the Rubik’s Cube is a mystery.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Perform mysteries, not puzzles. Right off the bat, I’m sure that some of you are thinking that puzzles have a place in a magic show, and you’d be right. As part of my close up show, I solve the Rubik’s Cube. No trickery, just a demonstration of skill that leads into a trick/mystery with the Rubik’s Cube. So, I’m not saying that you can’t have puzzles in your repertoire.

What I am saying is that magic done poorly comes across as a puzzle rather than a mystery. By poorly, I mean many things: poor presentation skills, poor use of a gimmick, fumbling, etc. For example, take the old classic drawer box prop. You open the drawer; it’s empty. You place some object in it; close it; reopen it; the object is gone. Then you close it again, reopen it and the object is back. It’s there; it’s gone; it’s there; it’s gone; open; close; open; close, etc., etc.

Presenting as I just did above is not magic. It’s not mystery. It becomes a puzzle for the audience to figure out. Here is the puzzle: How does this box hide stuff that he puts in it? That’s a puzzle folks, not a mystery. The drawer box may be too far gone to ever be more than a puzzle. Or not. I leave that to you. I use it only because it clearly demonstrates the point.

What kind of connection are you making with your audience. Are they too busy trying to figure out (i.e., solve the puzzle) of what you just did, or are they trying to enjoy the moment of astonishment as it attempts to wash over them? Though you don’t have 100% control of that, you do have a huge influence on it.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: To quote the greatest metal band ever, “Seek and Destroy.” Examine your presentation, demeanor, verbiage, material, props, dress, etc. Seek for anything that leads the spectator to think that you’ve just given them a puzzle to solve and destroy it. If they think that they’re supposed to solve the puzzle, it’s partly your fault. Granted we’ve got a long history of crappy “magicians” who’ve made the beds we lie in. We need to wake up, and get some new sheets.

Rewrite your scripts. Restructure your tricks, Rethink your patter, Rework your wardrobe. Do what ever is necessary to communicate (both verbally and non-verbally) that you are offering something mysterious, not a puzzle to be solved. Like the meaning of that clear star that is yesterday that shoots pineapples with a machine gun, and the true location of significant understanding, some things are simply unknowable, and it’s your job to educate your audience and open their minds to this critical role that they play in the world of magic.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.