The cover story in this month's MAGIC magazine was among the most interesting I've ever read.

For a long time the debate has raged about whether the Internet was good or bad for magic. Like most things we call progress, there are good and bad points about it, but they descend from our culture and not from the medium itself.

Ever since about 1980, we have lived in a postmodern culture. Postmodernism rejects the modernist ideals of rationality, virility, artistic genius, and individualism, in favor of being anti-capitalist, contemptuous of traditional morality, and committed to radical egalitarianism. The most recent feature of Postmodernism is the rise of "political correctness" and the attempt to purge dissenting opinion from the ranks of the academic/artistic/professional priesthood, together with a systematic attack on excellence in all fields.

Hence, we have ignorant young magicians sharing information wildly, without a care for who invented a particular trick or move. They learn the secret of some piece of magic, build it and begin performing it for people with few thoughts about how best to present it for the best effect. Concerned only with "freaking people out," they lose sight of what it is to be a truly great magician.

I don't have all the answers for this, but part of the answer can be found in books by the grand masters. "Hiding the Elephant" by Jim Steinmeyer, "Close-Up Illusions" by Gary Ouellet, and even "Beyond Secrets" by Jay Sankey. These and many other books are available at your local magic shop.

Visit them. They'll be happy to help you read more about it.