Frankly, I was hugely disappointed with the first Star Wars and I haven't seen any of the later ones. But I'm certainly not disappointed with well made movies that enlighten, regardless of whether or not they are fiction. I don't think sucks to be me?
Firstly, the example of Star Wars was just that an example.
The whole movie industry much like the magic industry is based upon a make believe that is globally accepted.
When you walk into a cinema to see a movie you suspend your disbelief.
The exact same thing happens when people walk into a theater to see a magic show. There is no expectation that the magician will really break the laws of physics in the same way that there is no expectation that Frodo will really drop the one ring in a real volcano.
You've failed to understand what I said in it's proper context and most likely deliberately.
Not deliberately at all, sorry if it came across that way.
You said:
Don't we all wish that even the extraterrestial sightings would for once pan out to be real? Or maybe not all of us?
And I pointed out that I for one would certainly welcome an extraterrestrial sighting to be real, because it would be the most important scientific discovery of all time. I would also welcome finding out that David Copperfield could really fly, but as he fully acknowledges that he's an
illusionist, we can be certain that it's just an illusion.
I agree that the showmanship is necessary and that's the part I dislike the most.
I'm guessing here, but I think that is because that's the part you don't and can't understand. You may be very good at the mechanics of the trick, but dealing with how a magician can alter the audience's perception isn't as cut and dried is it?
You can't figure that bit out sat in your bedroom.
Really, the only redeeming quality I see in the magic acts is what Randi uses for his purpose. Therefore I disregard the phony showmanship which always fall short because of it's dishonest intent.
There is nothing dishonest about showmanship. It's at least implied by the fact that you go to see a
magic show.
Funny thing is, I would find looking at the parts of a racing car more interesting than watching it go around a track. There would be so much more to learn from it! To each their own.
Well there's that disconnect with emotion and perception again.
Yes, each to their own, some people enjoy a magic show and learning how to perform magic tricks, other people don't.
I explainled what I meant and it seemed that you agreed. It's not so much the magic trick that's disappointing, it's that the method is usually so simple and mundane as to be disappointing.
But what is it that you are expecting?
They're called "tricks" because you get tricked into thinking that something amazing is going on when in reality, something else (much more mundane) is going on. The "Method" is only one small part of what is going on, try analysing how such a simple and mundane method can create amazement in people's minds, it must after all also create a level of amazement in your mind too at first, the amazement in your case being equal to the disappointment you feel when you learn how it's done.
I drew the parallel with religion and ID in particular. ID is a catchy idea until one investigates it a little and then it becomes hugely disappointing in the fact that it's not even well thought out. It's just creationists trying to use science to their advantage in a dishonest way. One would at least expect they would come up with some sky fairy nonsense that could have the backing of at least some of the scientific community! What fools! They did their cause of religion more harm with it than they benefited their cause.
I'm still not seeing what magic
tricks have to do with people making serious claims based upon their faulty and illogical belief in a beardy pretend friend.
Magic is entertainment, the vast majority of entertainment is escapism and as such the suspension of disbelief is temporary, ID is not entertainment, it's a blind belief and as such the suspension of disbelief is permanent.
In a way I feel the same about socalled magic tricks.
Why do you keep calling it "
so called magic"?
It's as if you are implying that it is pretending to be something other than some tricks.
They make asses of themselves and do more harm than good for their cause
What do you think their "cause" is?
Because their cause is to entertain the people who go to see magic shows.
You may not find them entertaining and that's fine, but to claim that they are doing some harm for their cause is you not understanding that is all just entertainment.
unless they are totally honest about what they are doing.
They are honest about what they are doing, they may not be honest about the way they are doing it but as you have found out yourself, if you strip it down to the mechanical method, it's no longer interesting or entertaining, and interest and entertainment are prerequisites of a magic show.
What Randi has done in the past (and to an extent what Penn & Teller still do now) is make entertainment out of the method. The
entertainment is still very much to do with perception and human interaction and little to do with the mechanical method... This is why magicians are classed as entertainers.
