Another controversial topic that just occurred to me...

Many years ago, when I was starting out, most of us read about and studied "the classics," i.e., Hoffmann, Tarbell, and many others. It was part of getting involved in magic, either as a hobby or as a profession. It was part of knowing about the field.

But (because I admittedly don't have a clue), I catch myself wondering about this new generation of hobbyists who seem to just go for the latest advertised miracle.

Any thoughts? Any actual stories?

I'm not sure. I've always heard knowledgeable people praise the classics while know it alls call them hokey and outdated. There's even a Tarbell thread on here where I defended the work pretty passionately and I've done the same with Erdnase, Royal Road, ECT, Bobo, etc.

I can't be sure everyone watches the same channels or listens to the same podcasts as I do, but if they do then the classics are pushed hard in them. Top ten lists of classic magic books are everywhere. The "five foot shelf" (or is it four?) recommendations, etc.
It SEEMS to me so much easier to find guidance on exactly what books to look at and that's something I try to emulate when I give advice- "look in this book."

A big part of the appeal of magic to me is the history. (A story don't gotta be true to be good.)

I can't speak for the "kids these days" but some of the first things I bagged up to protect from the sprinkler system during this wildlife were my Tarbell, Annotated Erdnase, More Magic, Revelation, and Robert-Houdin books. They're invaluable to me.

Another benefit we have (though controversial to some) is the technology to help us interpret the classics better. Curtis Kam's Bobo lessons, R Paul Wilson's Royal Road videos, those Tarbell videos ol mohawk ponytail did, etc. These complement the essential books. They make them more accessible.

I think they're as relevant as ever, but I can't say for sure.

The world has changed dramatically in someways, George. Back then there were no videos, dvds, or downloads. All a very different teaching style from books already half a century old in the 70s and 80s.

Couple that with what I perceive as a general lack of interest by the current “youth” in much of the past. It’s in everything. Music, movies, and yes, magic. Their interest tends to run toward what is marketed toward them. They are good consumers in that respect.

The new generation also has much more broad access to deeper dives than generations 50 years ago. They’ll figure out what works for them. With the amount of new product on the market daily, it’s hard to imagine “old seminal works” being on their radar until they get pretty deep into magic.

I have noticed that old techniques, and old methods blow past many of them. I have noticed in discussing sources with younger magicians that the names of actual source material seems to not exist.

I have NO idea what this says as I don't want to take the time to interpret that. I just know that anecdotally it has happened to me.

You make some good points, Tom. Back then, we had the books, a few magazines, and maybe half a dozen catalogs that got updated a few times a year. Now we have tons of books, several mags, all the online stuff, and dealers pushing out new material by the day. Marketing magic stuff has become far more "in your face" than it was.

Are there any "magic influencers" out there yet?

There was a film class in my high school and the other kids complained about the black and white movies. This was a few decades ago. I wasn't even in the class but I went to watch the Buster Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks movies.
So my perspective is skewed, I was born old and liking old things.
I don't know exactly what happens in the minds of the youths, I just know there IS good advice available on the interwebs for those who listen. So many good reviews of old magic books.

I was incredibly fortunate. I didn’t learn too much from books. Rather I learned from the guys books were written about. I learned much of history from those who lived it. Jay Marshall had friends who all came to see him and we’d go to lunch and spend time. Magicians came into Schulien’s and we talked our I learned effects or something new. I’d ask where to find something new and the response was always “in an old book”. It is true.

I never understood the desire to chase the newest thing, that SO many others will have. It just makes no sense to me at all. Unless of course you look at it from a hobby perspective, then it makes perfect sense. It seems more important to have the latest thing to amaze and amuse friends and family than to be original or marketable. Not a problem.

Also with these parameters no real history is needed is it? I mean if all you are doing is what makes a few laugh and have fun, why bother with history?

The way most things are purchased now do they even include any sort of background?

In general most people's historical perspective begins with the day they are born. I remember when close-up guys in the 90's thought that research meant going all the way back to Paul Harris.

And to be fair, I know a few professionals who do not in any way understand history of magic. So it is probably not limited to the hobby only.

There was something in one of the Jurassic Park novels about predators such as T-Rexes not needing memory because memory was developed for survival purposes, and apex predators were at the top of the food chain. Something along those lines.

So much of the new material seems to be so self-contained that there's no reason to look at its history or understand how it fits into other material. I wonder how much of it leaves room for personalization or originality.

I also wonder how much of the material in all these new magic books is original and how much is adapted or taken from old books or magazines.

From what I've seen, I'd say about 99% of it is from old books.
Sometimes it's a new way of doing an old thing. Rarely, that new way is an improvement.

Ricky Smith I think improved the DPS. I've seen some nice refinement of the Zarrow shuffle, but I've also seen a lot of people make the Zarrow worse by trying to improve it with no eye for subtlety.

A more disturbing trend is newbies going to videos of legends and insulting them. It seems to be some contrarian edgelord trend with social media.

Yes, there is certainly a lack of respect for those that came before them, creators as well as performers. Its the whole going toe to toe with others they should be respecting and listening to not not criticizing with their limited experience and perspectives. This is a primarily an online occurrence.

Since you said "a lot of people" and "no eye for subtlety," I have to wonder how many of today's creators just create the material but don't actually perform other than demonstrating their creations.

Many of them. I believe they are the rule rather than the exception. Today people release things based on others creations as if their own.

I've had a sneaking suspicion about that, Mindpro.