Opinions on lying in a youtube video

[Albert]

Originally Posted by Rokk

Isn't all magic about faking abilities we don't have? Like faking the ability to make a card come to the top with just a snap?

NO! Of course not! Magic is all about entertaining people, not just deceiving and lying. Deceptions and lies are used to entertain in magic; however, if one's only motive in doing magic is just to lie and deceive people, no offense, but I would never ever accept that person as a magician. That's just pathetic and a waste of a life. The difference is minimal, but those are difference that change a person's entire perspective on things. Here's an analogy "It doesn't matter how much money you stole. It's the fact that you stole it that matters."

Originally Posted by Rokk

Well, about that enigma-thing. His video is not really magic in that way wich we tend to expect magic to be like. It is more like meta-magic, magic for magicians or something... But should magic really be confined into our narrow definition? Why not broaden our art?

What do you mean "it's not magic in that way which we tend to expect magic to be like"? Using terms like meta-magic to try and justify one's unethical action is not justifiable in my opinion. You ask 'why not broaden the definition of magic?' But, what's the definition? Unless that's cleared up, I can't say anything about that. No offense at all Rokk, but what you just said above really doesn't convince me at all. I don't care how crappy one's DLs are, or how terrible he palms a card; magic is magic. There are other categories of magic, but they branch off from the idea of magic as a whole.

Originally Posted by Rokk

Well, we can't really be sure what his ultimate motive was (unless you are a real mindreader Albert! ). Maybe he is a immoral lier, maybe he isn't. But, most propably, many people who watched his video was fascinated and entertained by it. And what was fascinating wasn't that he had invented a move, but the move itself. And here's the thing: in the same way that we might fascinate laymen by decieving them into thinking we could do impossible things, he fascinated magicians by decieving them into thinking he could do an impossible move! It's the same thing! Only difference is that now we are the fooled ones instead of the foolers (IF you were fooled that is).

True, I'm no mindreader, but I don't think I'm too far off. Given that Tom explicitly described this as a new and advanced palming technique, what do you think he tried to accomplish? If he really just wanted to perform his new move like it really was magic, he wouldn't say something like "it's a new palming technique I made". Almost every magician wants to eventually contribute to the art and make their names known. What's the easiest way to do that? Lie your ass off. This lying is not for performing; it's for faking an invention that was never invented. What for? I'm sure the entertainment value was not the biggest factor. If that's the case, what do you think he wanted to accomplish?

Here's a perfect example. Do you ever perform for a spectator and say "Look! This move I'm using here is an advanced palming technique". No magician in the right mind would ever reveal what they are doing in the middle of a performance, unless their patter flowed nicely with it. I don't think Tom is that stupid or senseless to include the word 'palm' as part of the patter.