Robert LAMAR ~ SkepTricks

Thanks to Nielsen Magic for permission to use the above image.

At this time, it is important to point out the following danger, one that we want you to completely avoid. Some people who call themselves a skeptic come across more as a cynic, a know-it-all, an old curmudgeon (even if they aren't old). It is very important that you do not fall into this trap. A skeptic and a cynic are two completely different people. As we saw earlier, at the top of this page, a skeptic is "one who is inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions." A cynic, on the other hand, is "one who has little faith in the integrity or sincerity of others."* It is never good when one gets to the point where they believe that they know everything and that nothing can get by them; that nothing can fool them. This is a very dangerous - not to say, unproductive and ineffective - belief for one to have. First of all, not one person on this planet knows everything. Not one person! Yes, some people are more educated than others, some are smarter than others, some are better thinkers than others, some are more creative than others. This is true. But no one, not one person, nobody, nada, can know it all. Not knowing it all is not a sign of weakness. Admitting that you don't know it all is a very healthy and important understanding to have. As the prolific American writer, historian and philosopher William James Durant said, "Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." The more you realize how little you actually know the smarter one becomes. Being a skeptic means that you are moving towards discovery through questioning and investigation. Being skeptical is a process, a journey, not the end of a journey.

Now let's look at someone who believes that they cannot be fooled. As a professional conjuror I would just have one word to say to such an individual - foolish! Anybody - and I do mean, ANYBODY, including a well-seasoned conjuror - under the right conditions, under the right circumstances, can be fooled...and fooled badly! Some maintain the position - falsely - that those who can be fooled are weak-willed, stupid, uneducated, gullible, moronic or any other numerous pejoratives that one could spout out. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rather than getting into a long dissertation at this time, suffice it to say that nobody is above getting fooled. NOBODY! It's just a part of being human. The ability to be fooled, to be deceived, is not a sign of weakness, stupidity or gullibility. It's just a fact of human nature. We are wired in such a way that we can be fooled quite easily (under certain circumstances and with the right conditions in place). That's why the conjuring arts work - conjurors exploit the ways which we, as human beings, can be fooled. It has nothing whatsoever to do with intelligence or gullibility. In fact, you will see how easy it is to fool the senses - even your senses - when you learn some of the things that will be taught on this site.

Before we get started, let me just say that if you ever have any questions, concerns or criticisms, please feel free to contact me by clicking here. I want this site to be as useful to you as I can possibly make it. This task will be made that much easier by your input. So, don't be shy and drop me a note if there is anything I can do to improve this site. This is not just my site, it is our site.

Now, let us begin our journey together into the conjuring arts and critical thinking, shall we? Just select a link below to begin your magical skeptical journey