I wonder whether the pandemic, and the resulting changes in the way that magic is taught and learned, is a positive or a negative thing? On the face of it, the fact that magic clubs have had to close their doors and magicians have had to resort to accessing magic information almost entirely online, would appear to be a step in the wrong direction. After all, the interactive and social aspects afforded by people being able to collect together at a magic club to exchange ideas and to get magical stimulus, would seem to be the best way to learn, but in some ways you could argue the opposite. Let me explain.
When you attend a lecture at a magic club you get to see the presenter live and in all his glory. Well, at least provided you are in the front row you do.
If your clubroom is such that the members are forced to sit in several rows, and if the lecturer wants to show a number of effects that need to take place flat on the table top, chances are you are either going to be forced to keep moving your field of view in an attempt to get a sight of the action between other people’s heads, or you will have to resort to standing up for 2 hours at the back or the side.
Maybe the clubroom is too hot/cold for your comfort. Perhaps you have a tickly cough which you fight with throughout the lecture in your attempts not to be constantly interrupting with your coughing. It could be that you are uncomfortable because you forgot to go to the toilet before the lecture started – nothing is more disrupting to your concentration than an overfull bladder!
How are the chairs in your clubroom? Soft and comfortable when you have to sit in them for a couple of hours? Probably not. And how relaxing is it when the young magician next to you spends the entire lecture fiddling relentlessly with his cards?
You see, in many ways trying to actually concentrate and learn properly in a clubroom may not be the best and most effective way. Yes, it’s sociable, but in terms of being able to genuinely take in and remember what is being explained, it may not be the best venue.
Now I know that there are those who have an inbuilt dislike of Zoom, although I suspect that often this is more to do with a fear or lack of confidence in dealing with computers and technology than it is anything else, but in many ways watching a Zoom lecture has much to recommend it in terms of the real value that you get from it.
Because you are at home you are presumably sitting in a comfortable chair. If you need a comfort break you can take one at any time without disrupting others. If you are muted, as you should be when a lecture is on, coughing and/or sneezing is unheard by others. Since you are at home you should be warm enough, can have a snack if you need it, and you are probably more relaxed.
For all these reasons I would suggest that you are more likely to be receptive to the magic and the information that you are being provided with. It’s easier to take notes, and usually there is still the opportunity to ask questions of the lecturer. So, purely in terms of seeing Zoom as an effective teaching tool, I would suggest it has many benefits.