I've noticed different opinions from magicians on wheather or not you should claim to have magical powers. Some magicians say the have mystical powers even though every one knows they don't. Now I have heard different stances on this matter. I'm sure every one saw criss angel go crazy on that guy on his show because he claimed to be able to talk to the dead. But then again Uri Geller on the same show thinks its possible. I personaly don't think any magician of any type has the right to exspose another magician like that but, I guess I can't change they're opinions. what are your thoughts?

P.S. I don't claim to have any powers during my tricks!!

Good for you! I think that if you want to claim to have magical powers, you better had have some good junk to back it up. If your really good enough to pull that off though,(despite the fact i find it a teensy bit immoral), go for it!

Yeah, this one kid asked me to teach him how I did a trick. I responded with a "get magical powers". Then he went "seriously tell me". People don't believe that we have magical powers. And what you said about Uri GEller is 100% true. No magician has the right to rat another one out, especially while they are in the middle of a performance. I'll be performing a trick fully surrounded when a friend of mine(I hate him he just hangs out in my posee) starts coughing. "DL, cough cough." Then people find out what I am doing, get bored and walk away. So I agree with you all the way.

About your friend, he ain't your friend but I guess you already know that.

About your posse. I cannot claim to know about your performance. But my experience has been that when I focus on being as entertaining as possible as i perform, when the method is more than just a way to fool, but a tool used to amaze, and astound. When the method and the props are used as a way to connect with my audience... then my audience cares very little about method. Fact is, someone could say.." oooh she did a DL, " and what they would say is..' shut up and get lost, I want to see this."

Lastly, if they are walking off bored once they discover how it's done says that it is possible you are presenting the magic as a mental challenge. There is nothing wrong with how you present your magic, that is entirely up to you, it is who you are , and it is your art. I will say that the downside is, as you may have experienced that , if all it is IS a mental challenge, once the method is discovered there is no reason for anyone to stay and watch.

if it is not your intent that it be seen as a mental challenge but more as a piece of theatre that uses magic to tell it's story, then maybe you need to re evaluate your routine. because at least to me, it seems like that is not what is coming across.

I also agree it's just plain bad form to try and claim to have " real" magical powers. It's very fraudulent. I think it's also unprofessional. I think there is a difference between coming on stage and Acting, as though your powers are real...for the stage, and coming out and claiming that your powers are real.

One thing is, you may get a fellow magician that gets upset at you giving magicians a bad name with this fraudulent behavior, and while he may not expose your methods, he may let people know..' he's a fraud."

Secondly, many people, in fact most people know that these powers are not magical. But claiming that you are really magical, would just rub a lot of these people the wrong way. They will read arrogance in your bahvior, and they might feel you thinik them gullible, or credulous.

lastly, the ONLY people you will convince are the gullible and credulous. But these are also the ones that believe in UFO's that There are real Vampires controlling the world, etc... do you really want to be lumped in with this?

Just seems like too many negatives.

i believe in UFO's

Actually your the one being negative. Alot of people out there belive in UFO's and im one of them. Come on now, there are more stars then there are grains of sand on our beaches. Come on now you dont think that we are the only ones out there. The universe is huge, we CANT be the only ones out there. How did the egyptiansbuild their pyramids? people have different opions, Do NOT bash others because they think that their are UFO's out their. Whats Area 51? why are they so worried about one seeing what they are doing? if one saw EVERYTHING that was being done there, they would tell the public, the media, and then we would all freak out and kill each other. Im not saying that your a bad person, im just saying dont tell someone what they are because of what they believe in.

Many people do believe in UFOs; however, that's simply because they haven't taken the time to research the subject. It's a lot like if you were to ask someone if they were a Christian. Many would say yes, but that's simply because they were raised Christian. It doesn't mean much.

As for Area 51, it's long been known what they do there. A lot of their projects are no longer classified. They are known to test and build many spy planes, and work on new technology that is just being developed. The idea that anything else is happening there is based on hear-say and conspiracy theories that have no actual evidence supporting them.

Now to whether it's okay to claim supernatural powers. I have to say no. Someone else brought up Uri. Uri has conned the pubic and many people out of a lot of money by pretending to have powers he doesn't. For instance, he lead oil companies to believe that he could find oil by using psychic powers. The fact is, he couldn't. He cost the oil companies a lot of money. It's true, he was right on a couple of occassions, but the times he was wrong heavily out weigh that.

When someone cons another person, they deserve to be exposed for what they are. When someone takes advantage of another, they deserve to be exposed. Psychics are a great example of this. They do a lot of harm to people by not allowing them to deal with grief in the proper manner. And that's just one example.

then again, exposing psychics would be exposing mentalists. I agree that Psychics have to be called out as frauds but not exposed, If all they do is talk gibberish (is that how it's spelled?) than that's a different story. I do believe that we shouldn't claim to have magical powers though.

Ok I stand corrected. I apologize to the UFO believers. As to where the pyramids came from, I find it very arrogant for people to believe that we are the most technologically advanced we have ever been. If you believe in UFO's it should not be a stretch to believe that our technological base may have been a LOT more advanced in the past, and that we have since suffered a set back of some sort.

But if it makes you feel better I'll say Vampires, Elves, and Goblins, and the Boogyman. But now I'll get someone saying the Boogyman is real.

My point was...that the only people that will believe that your powers are real, are the credulous. The right thinking individuals will just be put off by your claims.

I also want to go on record saying that While the Universe is a Huge place... and while there is the potential in that huge place for there to be other life forms...either less or more technologically advanced. My feeling is, if they were visiting us... All of us would know by now. I do not think the Government has the resources to keep it covered up. All it takes is ..One UFO landing in the middle of Central park at high noon. And yet...

For some reason, they always appear in out of the way places, in the middle of the night... all the pictures turn out to be something else... In 60 years of sightings you'd think they would just land in the middle of times square and say.." Don't run. We are you're friends...ZZZZt ZZZZZT ZZZZZZZT"

Completely two different entities. A mentalist is not a psychic. A mentalist will either provide a disclaimer during his show, or when asked, will tell people they do not have supernatural powers. A mentalist is an entertainer, who isn't there to con people out of money by making people believe they have supernatural powers. They are simply an entertainer.

A psychic is completely different. A psychic, for the most part today, only uses cold reading or hot reading. Very few do anything else. But they do it in order to con people. If their frauds are not exposed, and their methods revealed, or even partially revealed, people will continue to believe in them just as before.

If I were to just call Sylvia Brown a fraud without having proof or evidence supporting my claim, I could get into trouble legally, and it would not be credible anyway. However, if I expose the methods that she uses, I cover myself legally (there would still be a possibility of being sued, but I would have a wonderful case on my side) as well as bring credibility to myself and my claims. Exposing psychics is necessary to bring them down. And it shouldn't hurt the mentalist.

yay clarissa gave us the right to believe

I thought i stated that... guess not.
Anyways, I see where you're coming from. But exposing a "psychics" techniques may then produce a couple of hecklers like the ones produced after seeing a "Magic exposure" show or a badly performed Youtube video. It's kind of a lose-lose situation (well, to me it is), But I see your point.

hehe, no i dont believe in goblins. i can see whre your coming from im not going to change the subject this form was for.

I was just talking about weather or not you guys claim to have powers.... exsposing performers is a different issue. If an entertainer claims to have power i would never exspose them but if a person is claiming to be a medium and perform some sort of seance I would be the first to chaalenge them. I'm not saying its impossible i like it to be proven