Gimps vs. Noobs

Once in a while a question what I'm doing here. Openly criticising other magicians... Sounds like bullying a bit. But then I get send a video by my mother. She is an older lady, but knows how to operate her phone. She recorded another magician performing. And she send me the video, so I would get a chuckle. Well I didn't. It was the god damn worst performance I've seen in years.

And I realized something. There are noobs and gimps. Both words are used in the video game community. A noob is a newcomer, who makes wrong decisions, because he is inexperienced. A gimp however refers to a person that is in the business for a long time and still doesn't get it.

Magic is full of gimps.

So here are some pillars of magic. Knowledge, insight and skill. You need to build these pillars all at the same time and work on them equally. You need to stand on all three in a balanced way. Otherwise you "gimp".

Knowledge
Means your knowledge of magic history, about the principles of magic, entertainment and methods.
Insight
Means you get magic. You get what it is all about, what your place in it is, who you are and who you aren't.
Skill
Your actual sleight of hand, your ability to talk and to perform.

Think about your magic friends! What are they missing? And then do I dare to say it.... do some self reflection! What are you missing?