The Genii Forum

Brad Henderson

I have been told people have tried to leave positive reviews for my lectures but they are apparently deleted by moderators.

Brad Henderson

I see that Bill was responding to a different brad. And I agree completely with his observation. I do think there is something to the point it inspired me to make and will leave it here. Brad, The effect built on perception not math. You should see the effect Max can get out of an either/or choice. ...

Brad Henderson

There are (at least) two problems with this study. First, the context of an experiment is different than the context of a magic performance. In the former you are dealing with people willing to be complant and there are no antagonistic power dynamics in play. Further, the experimental context change...

Brad Henderson

I am.

Brad Henderson

Bob - yes you can sometimes identify someone without seeing them by their voice. And you can also just as likely get the identification wrong, especially when you are emotionally predisposed to want to to believe that is the person to whom you are talking. Just as correlation doesn’t equal causation...

Brad Henderson

I’ve read the exact same defense by Qanon types who are convinced in their conspiracy theories. Even down to the ‘do you own research’ angle.

Brad Henderson

The confirmation bias in Bob’s work is clear. It reminds me more of Qanon and bible code ravings than actual scholarship. Bill Mullins (and most recently Sauerweb) has pointed out the reasons for this - until you find a baseline of usage for other authors in that time, the linguistic comparisons are...

Brad Henderson

Bob 1) don’t tell me what to do 2) monkey scale is not an insult. It’s a reference - and one to the example given and not to you May be employed advantageously under - is not a uniquely meaningful phrase even if you cannot find many examples of it. It conveys nothing unique as to content nor is it p...

Brad Henderson

In one noted case, the symbols were a combination of the maker’s initials. When someone knocked it off, they did so replicating the initials and that was how they got busted.

Brad Henderson

Your example is very low on the monkey scale. I don’t think you understand what a unique turn of phrase means.

Brad Henderson

Bob makes my point. In Shakespeare you see him repeating distinctive phraseology EXACTLY. Authors often plagiarize themselves. You don’t see that in the examples offered re sanders erdnase except in cases of highly common and trivial word pairing for what one could like find hundreds of authors who ...

Brad Henderson

Last year I reviewed in Genii a very similar sounding product by Patrick Redford. It was also a photo deck, With numerous applications and even expansion packs.

Brad Henderson

The brushes with which you choose to paint are far too wide.

Brad Henderson

Leonard If a word is unusual one would expect it be used used in the same manner - not in different ones. You can’t move a goal post that should be so obvious that one should feel their head smacked against it. Bob - you make my point. Drinking and picking up are both interesting metaphors and had h...

Brad Henderson

And YOU are stating your opinion as fact. It is a fact that Neither use of the word wisdom nor knowledge is interesting at all as neither word is unique or used in an idiosyncratic manner. I’m sure there are many authors who have used both words before. And Leonard offers examples where more unusual...

Brad Henderson

Bob - your case fails to convince. Take the copious draughts example - if that word choice had been repeated you would have a convincing case. But it isn’t. Just a paragraph on consuming knowledge which is hardly a unique concept. In your examples either the most interesting and idiosyncratic word c...

Brad Henderson

In my review of El3don, I carelessly refered to the effect of NYC opener as a variant of Chicago Opener when I should have said Open Prediction. Sorry for my carelessness. Especially since the method employed has always been one of my favorites for that plot.

Brad Henderson

The Incredi-go.

Brad Henderson

An unidentified poster makes unsubstantiated claims against unnamed individuals that occurred at some time and at some place in the castle. The only thing we know is that this undefined behavior is alleged to have occurred SEVERAL times, by members, staff and guests. We are told people were notified...

Brad Henderson

Joe Monti has several issues beyond any confrontation with the board that would make his reinstatement problematic. He’s burned a lot of bridges. The reasons for that can be discussed by others who know him better.

Brad Henderson

Machines don’t live in mansions.

Brad Henderson

I know many wonderful people who, if pressed to give a talk, become dull as dirt. Most people lack the skill set for being entertaining in front of a group. Magicians hide behind their tricks and use them to compensate for this lack of ability. We tolerate this. A comic who is boring doesn’t get see...

Brad Henderson

Bill, I took ‘random’ to mean that the cards are in a specific prescribed order BUT that order is NOT in numerical sequence. If that order is xA6xxx then you can designate a red card with any roll of a die. Either by counting from left or right for 2-5 or using the designated value if 1 or 6 is roll...

Brad Henderson

Description says cards are dealt in random order. I would position the cards so you have essentially a hot rod force (Counting from the left or right to the chosen card) OR you use the number that appears on the die to designate the specific card.

Brad Henderson

Just curious why you think the clear cups is worthy of mention. It’s a trick that’s only relevant or interesting to people who already know how the trick is done. It’s mutual magical masturbation at its finest. Isn’t it?

Brad Henderson

“Everybody knows that geller does not have psychic powers” - well this statement is false on face value. Clearly people do or Randi would have never had to go on his crusade and you wouldn’t be so adamantly condemning Geller. If no one believed him, then there would be no conversation to have “Nobod...

Brad Henderson

No discussion of Randi will ever not forever be linked to Geller. If it weren’t for Geller likely no one today would even know the name Randi, other than a few magicians. And while it’s true Randi was the greatest publicist Geller ever had, Geller and his work maintains a cultural relevance independ...

Brad Henderson

URI geller gave the best magic lecture I’ve ever seen. Period. Indeed, a magic lecture about how to fool yourself must be a really good one. Uri didn’t fool himself. He knows What he is/was doing. Which is why bent spoons will be forever associated with the supernatural and Randi will be forgotten ...

Brad Henderson

URI geller gave the best magic lecture I’ve ever seen.

Period.

Brad Henderson

Correct. You lead the spectator to the same original bank of 5 cards. When the computer sees four of the set it knows the fifth. Also / there are two routines with the calculator. The one as sold originally and Bloom’s. The original (if I recall) is essentially the Fitch Cheney twice followed by the...

Brad Henderson

Joe. How many issues of the invocation have you read? Tell me it’s not exactly what Andy is allegedly doing. Someone shows up to the magicians house. There is a strange object or letter. A familiar and emotionally charged concept is introduced in conversation. A demonstration occurs. Exact same thin...

Brad Henderson

And he’s wrong.

Or at least looking at possibilities small mindedly.

if ghosts can be a thing, why can’t lonely coins be a thing?

For many people, either are just as much a ‘thing’ as the other.

Brad Henderson

I’ve seen lot of magicians who had interesting plots but in practice delivered awful performances because no one could follow what was happening because the person had not carefully considered how he or she would present the information required, in what order etc. and if you haven’t decided that - ...

Brad Henderson

Your problem as I said is you are choosing to arbitrarily re define words that reveal a misunderstanding of how they are traditionally used in magic. All of these things you want to say aren’t presentation ARE elements is the presentation. And you are also assuming that Andy’s performances are inter...

Brad Henderson

By not worrying about scripts - you can be truly present in the moment.

Also no.

It is precisely because one has a script and deep understanding of their vision and the piece that allows one to be in the moment.

If you have to think about what to say next - you aren’t in the moment.

Brad Henderson

Your understanding of the essence and history of bizarre magic is also limited. Many of the pieces in The PT rep would be considered part of the bizarre genre when understood properly. All of the jerx is a modern version of the literary approach developed in the bizarre magic literature. The problem...

Brad Henderson

Joe. You are using a lot of terms and it’s not clear that you understand them in their most common usage, which leads to great confusion when you want to arbitrarily redefine them for whatever reason you are choosing to do so.

Brad Henderson

“Magic is defined by its relationship to secrets. So a lot of the power and intrigue of magic is removed once the public can satiate their desire for secrets with a simple google search“ No Live magic had never been more popular than ir was prior to COVID The beauty of the goddess magic is she is an...

Brad Henderson

The first rule of magic is intention, and it’s foundational Postulate is engagement. Have you seen my penguin live ACT show/lecture. It is an exploration of the whys behind my magic castle act and takes into account things such as the mental state of those who are viewing it depending on factors suc...

Brad Henderson

The idea that personality and stage presence and showmanship and how we treat our audiences etc has never been addressed is simply untrue It is true that most magicians never think about their relationship to anything other than how magic serves to give them pleasure. But any skilled performer who u...

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