Aspects of magic
14Apr07
After reading the Iliad last week I needed a break and picked up a fluff book – The Prestige by Christopher Priest. It’s entertaining. One part I found somewhat educational is where Priest breaks down the stages of an illusion and the categories of an illusion. I love it when someone can dissect something that otherwise seems expansive into something much more comprehensible and simplifies it to categories. Here they are paraphrased from the book:
The 3 stages of an illusion:
- Setup – the nature of what is to be attempted is to hinted at, explained, volunteers sometimes participate.
- Performance – the magical display.
- The Prestige – the product of magic.
The 6 Categories of illusions
- Production – the magical creation of something or someone out of nothing.
- Disappearance – turning something into nothing
- Transformation – the changing of one thing into another
- Transposition – changing place of two or more objects
- Defiance of natural laws
- Secret motive power – objects moving of their own will
Also, I learned a cool word – prestidigitation – magic tricks performed as entertainment.
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