I think we have come to a very interesting stage in human history where the availability of information has brought us to a point of saturation. Consequently, if we know how and what to look for and how to research for it, you can find out almost anything. And some things that you do find out could be very dangerous if you have the means and courage to share it. Just ask Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowdon and John Doe amongst many others that we haven't even heard of. One of the problematic by-products of this saturation is that it is overwhelming ( - it is no wonder that people seek short play and short engagement content via online media platforms ). It is greatly problematic because this saturation and bombardment of information gives rise to a lack of trust in everything. When you have cause to doubt the veracity of most news, because there is always a competing viewpoint, and many events are shown to have an equally viable explanation, the erosion of trust in your source of information means that the sands are continually shifting. And yet, the flipside of this mistrust is that people now hold more steadfastly to whatever anchor core belief they have, whether right or wrong. The cognitive dissonance that a challenge to a belief structure creates is a very real psychological threat that can undermine or even overwhelm the sense of self as well as the sense of structure and place in the world. This then engenders a search for information and channels of information that serve this world perspective, which is 'confirmation bias' in action. Media, real or otherwise - and take my meaning here to be the minefield of information, misinformation, false or fake news and subtle propaganda, not to mention real bias and omission, that can find it's way in front of our eyes through the vast streams of media that compete for views and relevance, is a scary and everyday questioning of what is true...
Which brings me to a question that I am sometimes asked as a magician and that is :
Is magic real?
Well, of course it is.
Well, of course it is not.
It is, and it isn't.
Magic exists as a concept, it exists as an artistic discipline, but that discipline uses deception to create an illusion. An illusion of something actually happening that is impossible. So, it is an art of contradiction. But it is a very human art. Almost more than any other art, it uses deceit for entertainment, to create thrill, wonder, joy and enjoyment.
But is it real? Well, if you can have the experience of magic ( which is what a good or great magician can do ), then it is a real experience, is it not? I know this is going to devolve into semantics, but it is a consideration, not just of magic, but of life itself. If you have the experience of something, you would say it's real. But you could be wrong. What if the reality of it is known to be a deceitful construct? Magic proves this; as do many scientific studies on the fallibility of the mind and of our memories. As humans we are ultimately suggestible, ultimately fallible, prone to mistakes and faults and parts of our lives are as real and unreal as dreams. The beauty of magic is that it is pure in this sense. It is not deceiving you that it is something else. It is what it is; a construct of deceit. It is there as an experience, for its own sake and not for ulterior motives. There are not many things that can claim the same honour.
So it is real. ...And it is not, it has a dual reality.
But seriously, I can tell you that after over 25 years in magic, magic is not real.
And neither am I.
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