hi people~! i just want to ask about this book's market price and whether it's worth buying.. It sure looks expensive but it seems to cary a lot of information.. thanks in advance~! ^^

-ian

Ning loves this book and Ian Rowland. She has this book and a couple of other material by him.
I've browsed a little bit of this book. It's a very comprehensive book, and the techniques are all pretty deep, advance stuff.

Wait for her to come in and post something about this.

I am wondering what are the moral issues regarding doing cold readings..
Should mentalists actually claim to be psychic or tell that is just a trick?

theWeaver - at the end of the day, it's really whether they're saying it's entertainment or trying to start their own religion and empty ppl's pockets :lol: LOL... Just like Uri Gellar. Now that the audience is more sophisticated, they feel wary and perhaps even offended that they were 'taken for a ride' with his previous dramatic tales on his alien abductions, etc. which gave him the special powers he has ;) Just like having a tarot card reader at an event... ppl have to take it with a pinch of salt but despite disclaimers, there will be those who believe, simply because they very much want to!!!

noob_magicx - Yep... Aloy is right ^_^ I reeeeeeeeally LOVE the book. Rowland's The Full Facts Of Cold Reading is actually my first real investment in magic, way before SMC came about... It is very intellegently written and deals with audience psychology, diffusing scams and dismissing fake psychics who themselves are also incredibly smart.

The book is not something you can absorb in one setting but I personally find it a VERY enjoyable read and would encourage you to get it from Ian Rowland himself, via his website, as it's a very good investment. It is COMPLETELY worth every cent and dollar saved up and you will understand why when it is in your hands. However, to fully appreciate his work, the mature reader must be a keen learner of mentalism :)

So yes, it's GOOD enough to sacrifice lunch for a week to get it! LOL...
ning :lol:

Hmm. The book costs about 56.50 SGD at the time of posting , including postage.
Is this book easy to understand?
And how long does it take to learn o.o
:huh:

i believe there isnt such thing as "learn" in mentalism as compare to card sleights where u could actually master it.

the way u phrase and speak really matters alot.

Ya, I agree with that.

Mentalism, esp Cold Reading, takes nothing to learn, But everything to master.

You need to throw all your guts out, your presentation out and hopefully, your audience believe you and enjoy your show.

When you start to read, understand the details and speech that the creator use, then test it out on your friends or relatives, see their reaction to what you use. Modify then try out some more. Eventually, go out and try on other people. See if it works.

And Mentalism is not just about working the magic, sometime, the magic just wont occur, dun be alarmed, because Mentalism is like that, it doesn't work everytime. If it doesn't, explain to the audience that, well maybe both of you lack the connection and the magic is not there, thanks for the company and how you enjoy my company. :)

Ah.. Super big :off: notice.

Ning - What you are saying is that the spectator will decide for themselves if they want to believe or not.

But what i am wondering is, where we should place ourselves. Which side of the line should we stand when presenting such mental acts. Do we go with "it's just a trick" status, which would probably ruin the fun of it all, or do we stick with "we are psychic", which might mislead some people to believe in the supernatural?

A little sidenote on my own..
When i perform mental acts, i do notice that if i cover the "trick" up by using explainations like "sense" or NLP or something supernatural, it ups the entertainment value by way lots.. And people are awed and enjoy the whole act more. But on the other hand, it sure feels bad to be lying and bullsh*ting.. Esp when friends really believe it so whole-heartedly.. It seems so wrong.. Knowing some of them will probably be mislead and have a wrong thinking for the rest of their life..... Well.... Till they find out the truth at least.. I'm too nice a guy to do such "evil" acts.. :wub: *blinks Haha.

Where should we stand? How should we present the act, and ourselves?

Btw, Uri Gellar started this "american idol" kinda show trying to find an heir to his supernatural powers.. Ha.. Ha.. Ha..

P.S. Thou people are supposed to be "smarter" and more educated these days.. There are still alot of people (young people too) that are paying hundreds of bucks to have their fortuned told and fengshui to be altered.

P.P.S. I just went and go through the mentalist section and realised we discussed this before
http://forums.singaporemagiccircle.com/ind...topic=4878&st=0
And reading back on what i posted, i seem to be a more firm back then.. Now im just confused.. Haha.. Oh well..

Vic - I think you misunderstand :) The Full Facts Of Cold Reading By Ian Rowland is NOT a book that teaches you "tricks". There are no performing routines you'll find in it, as compared with tomes like TA Water's Mind, Myth & Magick or Messing with Minds (one of my fave books, by mentalist James Bliss who is a pure GENIUS). What you get in The Full Facts Of Cold Reading is really an insight, or an expose, on how fraudsters are able to accomplish what they set out to do - decieve and get away with it. What makes people believe? How did these people use cold reading so skillfully? It delves in breaking apart these things so we know what most 1900-horoscope hotlines/ telephone psychics do. I'd recommend you go to Ian Rowland's website and check out the information there for a clearer view ^_^

theWeaver - I believe it is very much like magic... Don't ask, don't tell... there's no point ruining a kid's birthday party after all the amazing illusions you do to set a disclaimer at the end that magic is not real. People want to be amazed somewhat. BUT! If you use magic or mentalism as a means to unethical gains then of course it should be frowned upon. A bit of contraversy still lingers on Sai Baba, who has millions of followers worldwide. He's accused of using sleight of hand, as well as, some underground magic 'tricks' to pull off the illusions he has been noted to come up with... like the production of a watch or golden egg, etc. He claims himself to be a god amongst men, not an entertainer like Derren Brown who attributes his 'talents' to NLP, hypnosis, etc ;) That's the HUGE difference!

Do check out James Randi's website too, I find his material interesting but of course, you must have an open mind and judge for yourself, what/ who to believe :lol:

ning