Performing for the Mentally Questionable

[themagicatheist]

I perform magic at this food court type area. One of the people who regularly goes there is, for a lack of a better word, crazy. He isn't mentally challenged he just has some strange theories about how Katie Couric is a reptile alien and some other things. I always get a huge reaction from him for even just the simplest trick, then he goes to work and gets his friends to watch.

So I have two questions. Does anyone else have any similar experiences? and Do you think I'm am taking too much advantage of his mental state?

 

[SebaMan]

I wish i could enjoy magic like he does

 

[mehar]

I don't think you're taking advantage of him at all. If anything, you're making him super-happy, nothing is wrong with that!

 

[TeeDee]

I perform magic at this food court type area. One of the people who regularly goes there is, for a lack of a better word, crazy. He isn't mentally challenged he just has some strange theories about how Katie Couric is a reptile alien and some other things. I always get a huge reaction from him for even just the simplest trick, then he goes to work and gets his friends to watch.

So I have two questions. Does anyone else have any similar experiences? and Do you think I'm am taking too much advantage of his mental state?

You might not have expressed yourself clearly, but it seems that your definition of "mentally questionable" includes "those who have strange theories". If this is the case, I think you might want to reconsider your attitude. People who think differently from the norm aren't necessarily insane, stupid, or otherwise deficient. However, as I say, you might not have expressed yourself clearly, so that might not be your attitude. I would say that you would be taking advantage of someone of limited intelligence if you were able to convince them that you have some genuine powers. In the context of entertainment, however, I would say that it's absolutely fine.

 

[ReservoirRed]

I perform magic at this food court type area. One of the people who regularly goes there is, for a lack of a better word, crazy. He isn't mentally challenged he just has some strange theories about how Katie Couric is a reptile alien and some other things. I always get a huge reaction from him for even just the simplest trick, then he goes to work and gets his friends to watch.

So I have two questions. Does anyone else have any similar experiences? and Do you think I'm am taking too much advantage of his mental state?

Quite a few of my friends are psychiatric nurses and i had an uncle with mental conditons that meant I spent some time in and around institutions he was cared for in. This post is borderline offensive because even though in the case described, it is simply a conspiracy theorist, you aren't thinking of him as your equal. If he isn't mentally challenged and you assume he just spends his time thinking about weird things, you should ask yourself if sitting for hours on end in our houses playing with cards by ourselves might make us seem like the crazy ones.

If you think performing magic for mentally challenged people is taking advantage of them, then you need to re-think your entire approach to magic.

 

[YRAMagicMan]

An interesting note that is sorta on this topic is that Autistic people don't follow misdirection very well. This is because they have trouble interpreting social cues like eye contact. For more info on this look at the book Sleights of Mind.