Exposure in magic

Magic (illusion)

Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...

 refers to the practice of revealing the secrets of how magic tricks are performed.

The practice is generally frowned upon as a type of spoiler

Spoiler (media)

Spoiler is slang for any element of any summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot element which will give away the outcome of a dramatic episode within the work of fiction, or the conclusion of the entire work. It can also be used to refer to any piece of information...

 that ruins the experience of magical performances for audiences.

Background

Exposures are performed by both professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 and amateur

Amateur

An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....

 magicians. Some exposures have been performed as part of stage shows

Performance

A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...

, or in other public media including television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

, certain video sharing interfaces, discussion forums, and blogs.

One notable case of exposure using network television involved Val Valentino

Val Valentino

Val Valentino is an Italian American illusionist, and actor, who gained fame by starring in four magic specials exposing magic secrets on the Fox network, using the stage name the Masked Magician.-Biography:...

, performing as the Masked Magician in the Fox series Breaking the Magician's Code which ran between 1997 and 1998. Valentino was ostracized by the magic community and received much criticism from magicians for contravening the joint International Brotherhood of Magicians

International Brotherhood of Magicians

International Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...

 and Society of American Magicians

Society of American Magicians

The Society of American Magicians is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and to maintain and improve ethical standards in the field of...

 ethics statement.

Penn & Teller

Penn & Teller

Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. Penn Jillette is a raconteur; Teller generally uses mime while performing, although his voice can occasionally be heard during their performance...

 performances often include exposing their own tricks for purposes of entertainment. Penn Jillette

Penn Jillette

Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...

 has said that while the duo show the audience how a trick is done, it is often done so quickly or with different mechanics, that while the audience learns it is a trick, they cannot follow. As a result, the duo will repeat the trick fooling the audience even after the audience knows how it's done. This highlights the need to distinguish apparent exposures performed by magicians during an act, which invariably turn out to be illusions in their own right.

Supporting exposure

Reason	Argument	Counter Argument
Education	New magicians need to learn somewhere. Exposure enables young magicians to develop their skills across a wide range of magical methods.	There are many accepted methods of teaching magic that targets those who want to perform, rather than those who just want to know the secret.
Innovation	Exposure of old tricks forces magicians to develop new ones.	Exposing magic tricks is a very easy process. Developing new tricks is a difficult, time consuming process. Rather than encourage innovation, exposure may discourage the process as magicians may fear the possibility of their hard won secret being revealed. Moreover, innovation is encouraged through competition between magicians.
Appreciation of skill	Exposure allows spectators to fully appreciate the range of skills involved in performing magic tricks.	The entertainment provided in magic is heightened by not knowing how the trick is achieved - unlike, eg., juggling, where appreciation of the skill of the juggler adds to the experience.

Opposing exposure

Reason	Argument	Counter Argument
Devaluation of tricks	Exposure devalues magic tricks by removing their potential to surprise audiences. Exposures are over-simplified to the degree that they cheapen the art.	The dangers of exposure are easily exaggerated. Many magic tricks which have been exposed in the past remain popular with audiences. In addition, many members of the public are indifferent to exposures and will neither seek them out nor remember the details for long. Finally, there exist strategies that allow a magician to continue to fool an audience even if they've been exposed to secrets for similar, or even identical, effects.
Intellectual property	Exposure violates the intellectual property Intellectual property Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...  rights of the creator of the trick. Whilst magical secrets cannot be protected by the law, the moral code of practising magicians respects the innovator of any particular secret.	In most cases, Intellectual Property law does not protect magic methods. Most tricks rely on sleight of hand and knowledge of psychological principles Psychology Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society... , neither of which are patentable in the capacity that scientific methods and processes are.
Potential for disruption	Exposures provide ammunition for hecklers and saboteurs at the point of performance.	These individuals will damage performances either way. A good performer should be able to cope with this.
Harms new magicians	It is the simpler, cheaper tricks that young magicians rely on, which are most likely to be exposed. Exposure also encourages experienced magicians to avoid discussing methods with newcomers for fear that their methods will be revealed.	Exposure aids new magicians by providing them with an easy, cheap source of new tricks.
Magic and criminality	The skills and secrets of a magician can be used to harm the public, by creative cheats and emotional persuasion. Exposure may furnish those with criminal Crime Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction... intent the skills needed to attempt such deception.	Exposure allows members of the public to become more keenly aware of the possibility of deception, and how it works.