The Epidemic of Beginner Ignorance

"You remember that trick you did before? By Sam Finch?"

This was the question. An aspiring magician, fresh into his journey to greatness, asked me something that baffled me. Who the hell is Sam Finch?

"Umm, what was the effect?"

That was my reply... hopefully his response would help narrow it down.

"Well, I named any card, you tossed the Ace of Spades high into the air and caught it in the center of the deck... and it turned out to be right next to my card."

Now I knew what he was talking about. The Robin Hood Card. By STEPHEN MINCH.

This wasn't a fist-time occurance either. I'm too often riddled with odd questions and remarks about "The Elmer Count" and "The Shizbo Vanish", having no idea what they are talking about. How on earth do these people live their lives? How did they get through school? How difficult is it, with an arsenal of 2 basic magic effects, to remember the appropriate names of the moves and effects, as well as the creators they study?

New magicians know of Frank Everhart's Chicago Opener by the name of "The World's Greatest Card Trick". They perform Triumph routines, thinking they are called "Renegade". Where these names come from, I shudder to think.

You may accuse me of nit-picking... but I'm really trying to embody a bigger picture here. Beginners are working with mis-information (usually from the internet) and it's our job as more experienced performers to push them in the right direction.

The bottom line is, if you know of new (or even old) magicians that make common ignorant mistakes, don't grin and accept it, HELP THEM. Don't be afraid of sounding "holier than thou", it's your job to guide and educate. These people are the future of magic once the rest of the Marlos and Vernons vanish, so we might as well get them started in the best way possible. Have them already beginning toward a road of greatness. They'll be plenty of steps ahead of the ill-informed. An example of this would be my good friend in magic, Reuben, who I met in my first year of high school. He had begun to study magic over the prior summer and was very much the kind of person I describe in this article. He's an exceptional magician and performer now, and he has often said to me that, if it hadn't been for me pushing him away from the crap he'd led himself to and pointed him toward worthwhile resources, he probably wouldn't be in magic still. There you have it.

Stop this epidemic. Educate a magic neanderthal today.