I stumbled across this in an e-mail and thought the last part of it applied pretty well to magic. Here is the e-mail:::
First year students at Purdue Vet School were receiving their first anatomy
class, with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery table
with the body covered with a white sheet. The professor started the class
by telling them, "in vet medicine, it is necessary to have two important
qualities as a doctor: The first is that you not be disgusted by anything
involving the animal body."

For an example, the professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in
the butt of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck it in his mouth.

"Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students. The students
freaked out, hesitated for several minutes. But eventually took turns
sticking a finger in the anal opening of the dead cow and sucking on
it. When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and told them,
"the second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked
on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention!!"

Learning to see the magic well is, to me, very important. Can you see the trick and not see the technical aspects but enjoy it for being a trick. That is one of my most desired magical wants. Not only was this an unusual little tid bit, but it also made me think that in a way this is what we do, but we have trouble watching it as the students, we have to be the professor. I think we could all be better magicians if we could watch a trick and see it as the trick, be entertained, not burn the magician to see what he is doing. Pop the ego, have fun as a spectator, enjoy the experience of magic. What do you all think?

Hi Ty,

I just loved reading this post and the example used! The first couple paragraphs gave me a chuckle! Thanks for that!

I fully agree with you regarding enjoying another magicians performance. I've often said, I belong to a very large ring and puposely don't want to know how some effects are done, if I can't use them in my shows. I still get a thrill and really enjoy viewing magic as seen from almost a laypersons eyes.

Good post!

Chrystal

I too liked the post. I was a little heatent at first to read to far but realized what was happening. A little starnge way to teach it but I'll bet the students watched with more intrest from then on.
I too like to go and see a magic show to be entertained not to say "Oh I know how he did that". I think we as magicians get to hung up on what I call the,"I can do that to" syndrome. I have been doing magic for about 30 years now and I am still amazed at seeing a good slight of hand artist or someone that does a really good act. I stll like to think as a kid and try to enjoy it from that point. Sometimes we get to busy to enjoy the things that mean so much to us.

Just my thoughts

Steven

I was wondering where you were going with this. It ended being very funny and practical.

The story does have a funny ending. However, I believe his point, although being supported by the story, has been made in the last paragraph of his post. Read it again and you'll understand. It's all about being able to look at things through the eyes of the students, a very important ability indeed.

You're right. I go to magic shows to be entertained, not to figure out what he was doing. My dad went to one, and afterwards he kept saying things like "When he was jabbing flaming spears through her, I kept waiting for her to fall out of the bottom of the box." Two things are wrong with this: 1. You're not going to have fun if all you do is try to figure the tricks out, and 2. Falling out of the bottom of the box? And the audience wouldn't notice the volunteer sitting on the floor under the box? He was misdirecting himself: looking for the secret of the trick in a really ridiculous place.

It's a good story but I first heard it 20 years ago and in that version the (London) professor stuck his finger in a sample of urine. I'm sure the story was ancient even then. I wonder whether it ever really happened.

I like it because I can relate to it,(funny as it sounds). I often find myself watching magic for performance skills, not entertainment. I should start enjoying magic more.
Magically,
Matthew Toner

You can realte to it??? What, do you stick your fingers up cows and lick em?

Probably not, according to snopes.com the story is so old, you can't establish the veracity of it.

http://www.snopes.com/college/medical/urine.asp

No, No, No... When I said I can relate to it I meant, "Pop the ego, have fun as a spectator, enjoy the experience of magic." Odd that could be confused!
Sorry for the mis- understanding.LOL
Magically & Hilariously,
Matthew Toner

As my opinion and personal experience, it's difficult to have fun in a magic show; after more than three decades of magic I don't act as a regular spectator anymore, instead all my toughts go to analize presentation, skills, music, coreography and effects... I don't think I could be entertained as a regular person anymore, and this happen not only for a magic show, but for any kind of spectacle.

The story is very keen in its message.
I pull the same stunt whenever a small insect crawls across a table. Never caught and always varied reactions.
As far as watching magic, I'm always in the spectators seat. I love being fooled!

I have been with friends when we happen to come across a young magician doing street magic in New York City and I see that each time the young magician did a magic effect my friend would look at me to see what I thought of his act, Now I own and do all the effect the young magician did, I told my friend that to me the magic is the reaction of the crowd, and the crowd had a great time seeing his magic.

Its like enjoying the magic for the first time you saw it when someone else is enjoying it. But that’s my take of seeing other magicians perform.


Maro