Recently, on the Genii forum, there was a discussion of what I have referred to as Darwin Ortiz’s Rules ( Cardshark, page 11). Darwin wrote: “To justify its existence, I feel a new trick should be different from what has come before. And, to the extent that it resembles any previous tricks, it should be superior to them either in plot, method, or presentation (or in more than one of those categories).” What then followed (on the forum) were posts from people agreeing or disagreeing with Darwin’s suggestion. Although one post referred to Darwin’s Rules as “nonsense,” I have been a proponent of it for many years. I’d like to explain why I think it is a useful guideline, particularly now, when the magic marketplace is flooded with products. With the advancement of technology, anyone can self-produce any book, ebook, video, or prop. This, of course, was not always the case.
In the 1960s, if you wanted a book of your magic routines to be published, you went to someone who had the funds and the resources to do that: a Louis Tannen, a Jay Marshall, or a Lloyd Jones. In making the decision whether to publish or not, those men were basically following Darwin’s Rules; they decided if the material was original enough to warrant publication. Was their decision subjective? Of course it was.
But it was a decision based on years of experience bringing magic to the marketplace. Today, that editorial board can be bypassed. With desktop publishing and video-editing software, products can flow directly from the creators to the purchasers.
This allows a staggering amount of mediocre products to vie for your attention. Darwin’s Rules are simply an attempt to stem the tide of mediocre products by suggesting that the creators explicitly explain why their tricks are worth the attention of magic buyers. In other words, if you’re publishing a variation of an existing plot or effect, what have you improved, what have you strengthened? Is this a subjective assessment? Let’s look at an example.
One of the great effects in magic is Charlie Miller’s Dunbury Delusion ( Expert Card Technique, page 319). It is completely impromptu, and can be performed with a shuffled deck in use at any time, without any preparation. It also corresponds one-to-one with the magic ideal. (If you had the power of a real magician, Charlie’s method is exactly how the trick would look.) However, it is not easy; the method relies on perfect second deals.
If you can’t second deal, this effect is of no use to you. Since the publication of the Dunbury Delusion, magicians have offered variations that eliminate the second deal. (One example is Dave’s Delight by Dave Lederman in Frank Garcia’s Super Subtle Card Miracles, page 31.) Are these improvements?
This is where the “subjective” aspect comes in. Whether you think Dave’s Delight is an improvement depends completely on your definition of magic. (For more on my definition of magic, see The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two.) Dave’s Delight eliminates the second deal and adds a kicker of the production of four Aces. To accomplish this, you need a five-card setup, and the trick is no longer impromptu. You also lose the convincing nature of Charlie’s procedure; in the Dunbury Delusion, you need only control one card – in Dave’s Delight, you must keep track of the selection and the setup.
By my definition of magic, Dave’s Delight is not an improvement and I would never perform it. But if you can’t do a second deal (and you don’t want to invest the time to learn to do one), Dave’s Delight may be exactly what you’re looking for. But in my opinion (and based on my criteria), it is inferior to Charlie’s trick. Here is the challenge to would-be magic producers: First, as a consumer, I need to know what your definition of magic is. I need to know how stringent your criteria are. Second, I then need to know exactly what flaws you believe exist in the original effect (or plot or routine).
Third, I need to know why you believe your variation improves the effect, the method, or the presentation. If I am presented with that information, I can make an informed purchasing decision. If you are wondering if anyone actually goes to all that trouble, yes there are many magic creators who do. If you examine the effects in, you will see how I apply Darwin’s Rules. You’ll find out what I wanted to fix, why I wanted to fix it, and how I went about doing it.
Whether or not it is in an improvement will still be your subjective conclusion, but you will understand my motivation for publishing it.
Darwin Ortiz (born 1948) is a, who is an authority on and. Ortiz was born and raised in, where he had a keen interest in card tricks since childhood. Drivers tacho symbols what does it mean. In 1974, he dropped out of NYU Law School and pursued card magic full-time. During that time, he initially supported himself playing (using card counting techniques) and as an instructor at 's memory school in. Ortiz is a contemporary and close friend of the influential US coin magician, and was initially mentored by the seminal British/US close-up performer,. Ortiz later became a consultant to a number of casinos in the, and, and was a regular featured presenter for a succession of years at the World Gaming Congress in. Ortiz is the author of books on gambling and magic.
Cardshark Darwin Ortiz
The most recent book on his original routines was Lessons in Card Mastery. His book Strong Magic focuses on practical presentational techniques for close-up magicians. The book has been broadly embraced by the professional and amateur magic community but initially met with negative reviews from the two major US trade publications MAGIC and Genii. Demand for the book has been high, despite the initial inability of the original publisher to reprint the text. Ownership of the copyright has recently returned to the author (along with two other books Darwin Ortiz At The Card Table and Cardshark) and the books are once again being made available to the trade. Ortiz's second book on magic theory, Designing Miracles is an exposition on the design of powerful magical effects, and is subtitled Creating the Illusion of Impossibility.
The book posits and analyzes various theories regarding the perception and cognition of lay audiences and provides practical examples and advice on the construction of effects, aimed at maximizing their impact and deceptiveness to a lay audience. Ortiz's major work for the lay public on gaming protection is Gambling Scams 1984. He also authored an influential annotation of 's titled The Annotated Erdnase in 1991 which was published to the magic trade.
Ortiz currently resides in References.
Description A wealth of extraordinary material from an internationally renowned magician. Darwin Ortiz is unquestionably one of the top card men in the world today. In this book, he offers you the chance to learn the routines that have earned him his living and his reputation. He discusses and explains all of the psychological insights, presentational angles and performing tips that could only have been gained from years of professional performance.
Contents:. Introduction (Paul Gertner).
Foreword. Part One: Impromptu Miracles.
Part Two: Presentational Showpieces. Part Three: Gambling Routines Pages 187 Hardbound with dust jacket.