That which makes us dream is a hallucinogenic, created under the cover of darkness by the pineal gland. The pineal gland is located at the same spot as magic itself happens, that is to say betwixt the entirely irrational right and the entirely rational left hemispheres of the brain. Obviously, then, magic itself must agitate the pineal gland, which releases some of its stardust, causing a sense of wonder at the magic moment, temporally changing a person's perception of reality. As we know, what is so amazing about our magic is that the entirely irrational proposition is proved by entirely rational means and if magic is the world of dreams, then it is conjured up by a wonderful science.

Or a sense humour.

Not obvious to me. I rely on biasing the orbital cortex to accept "must be magic" in place of puzzle or mystery to create astonishment
in the observer mind caught between "casual" and "task" modes. Since I find very little "rational" behavior in folks these days, I eliminate chance and go to the Gate Keeper.

I will, however, explore the pineal gland function as a source of further manipulation of perceptions.

Thanks for that.

I would love to see a survey geared to the general public, in various parts of the world, asking them what they get out of a magic performance. No leading questions or multiple choice.

Bias is an interesting thought Ken. I will say, we card guys are biased against wizards. Card magic and wizards do not go together for a start. A wizard is one who plays the Merlin rather seriously and we card guys tend to like a little more humour with our magic than the wizard.

"Card magic?" to elevate from "card trick" is surely wizardly. No bias. Everyone knows about "card sharps" (sharks?) and "tickets to the devil."
You only favor card antics to lure innocent kids into your gambling parlour. No magic in that!

Just joking, of course. I would gladly visit if I got out your way.

They speak about it in Expert Card Technique. As I recall, they say something like, Dunninger was the only one who could say pick a card and at the same time, convince his audience that an imp sat on his shoulder whispering in his ear.

Judge: Can you prove you are God? Can you do a miracle?

George Burns: Sure. Here, pick a card...

I rest my case.

With regard to intelligence: People are not only intelligent but double intelligent.

“There is in man a cerebral intelligence and also an innate intelligence called the intelligence of the heart.” -R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz

It seems these are two opposite kinds of intelligence: one intuitive the other objective. That is why the audience demand both entertainment and magic. The irrational entertainment appeals to the intelligence of their hearts, while the rational means by which it is proved, appeals to their critical faculties.

Speaking of God:

“Cast the net on the right-hand side of the ship, and you will find plenty of fish.”

I think it means, using the right hemisphere, intuition, will find large numbers of fish.

Or for magic, to appeal to a broad audience, concentrate on the theatrical side, which appeals to the right hemisphere, the heart.

It seems to me, that most beginners or amateurs like myself, are quite skilled but tend to lack acting chops or showmanship. I think one needs a good front in any enterprise.

Speaking for myself:

When I started out, I did the tricks according to the instructions and patter. I thought that was all there was to it. I didn't understand why the audience wasn't drooling at my miracles, and it took me a long time to figure out that I wasn't giving them any reason to care about what I was doing.

Like, ok, this box is empty and now I'm pulling a bunch of silks out of it.

Okay, that's a miracle, right? So why aren't you drooling?

Showmanship? Why did I need showmanship? Wasn't the magic enough? Wasn't that what the books and instructions were telling me? I mean, geez, what's up with this?

And one day it dawned on me: they weren't reading the same books and instructions I was. They didn't know that magic tricks, by themselves, are supposed to knock your socks off.

Thankfully I eventually saw the light.

The other day, my two-year-old granddaughter stole my Ray-Ban Clubmaster shades from my shirt pocket and when I told her to put them back, she put them on, looked at me and said, "No! Sharing is caring".