A Method for the Invention of Magic Tricks

[Mitch Leary]

Dan Parez prompted me to write this post. He has it upon a a fertile
idea that I and many other magic inventors use to come up with new
magic tricks. I've talked about it but never really isolated and
expanded upon the method until now.

The method is very simple and is thus: Place a pile of junk in front
of you on the kitchen table or where ever you're comfortable, then
begin to play with it. Use the list of physical items and magician's
principles from my Inventor's List I published in June 2003 here in
this group. That list is far and away my most important contribution
to magic. If I never publish another thing I feel I've given
something substantial back to magic. Yes, it's a list anybody could
have come up with, but never did until now.

Also, the more tricks you own, especially the first 30 on that list,
the more ideas you'll come up with. To be a good magic inventor
requires that you know and understand how hundreds of tricks work.
But don't let that statement turn you away from inventing, even a few
principles are better than none. Lets say you knew five principles:

-Thumb Tip Principle/Gimmick
-Elastic Pull Principle/Gimmick
-Out-To-Lunch Principle
-Card Box Principle
-Paddle Move

With these five master principles you could invent new and
mind-blowing magic tricks for decades. These principles are so rich
with possibilities it staggers the mind just to think about it. You
could make a second living creating new and novel tricks around these
five principles; magicians, such as Steve Dusheck made enough money to
buy a couple of new cars just by inventing close-up tricks.

Learn to see magic possibilities in everything you look at. That has
always been a major staple for me, I look at the world through the
eyes of a magic inventor. Ask yourself questions. Give your mind
something to chew on. Often the answers don't come right away, only
after you've inserted the input. Incubation is very important to
inventing, the answer usually comes when you least expect it.

-Leary-

[ma...@lemezma.com]

ON a vaguely similar note

A friend of mine and I would often go into a store on our day off and
challenge eachother who could come up with the best new effects with
what was on sale.

One day it was a hardwarse store - the next a haberdashers etc..

Great fun and it does lead to ideas

MLM

[Dan Perez]

One addendum to this:

When you go to the hardware store, or electronics parts store, or ANY store
(including grocery), be thinking about what you can do with the items on the
shelves.

I build model kits as a hobby, and model and hobby shops can give you a
wealth of ideas.

Mitch, I don't remember if your list of supplies for magic inventors
included a Dremel roto-tool, but this has been indispensable to me. You can
cut, grind and sand with one with great ease. A silicon carbide cut-off
wheel will allow you to cut lengths of steel music wire like a breeze.

Also epoxy putty (sometimes called plumber's putty) is a two part clay-like
putty that sets up rock hard. It can be shaped into various objects, and
rigged with magnets inside or whatever. The kind sold in hardware stores
sets up too quickly, but your can buy longer-setting varieties (Magic Sculp
and Apoxie Putty are two brands) that give you plenty of time. You can
actually create a little sculpture with a magnet inside that would move
around when exposed to another magnet. Epoxy putty can also be sanded,
machined, drilled and worked into very useful shapes after it sets up.

Just tossing out some stuff.

--

Dan Perez

"Mitch Leary" <mitchel...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6d258eab.03070...@posting.google.com...