As a kid, I was a Hitchcock lover; I cared about the dark side of things.
As a kid, I was a Hitchcock lover; I cared about the dark side of things.
In America, magic has never been an important part of peoples' lives.
In America, magic has never been an important part of peoples' lives.
People do not come to a Penn & Teller show to see a magic show. They just don't. They come to see we...
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People do not come to a Penn & Teller show to see a magic show. They just don't. They come to see weird stuff that they can see no place else, that will make them laugh and make the little hairs stand up on the backs of their necks.
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People take reality for granted.
People take reality for granted.
In real life, the most important decision you ever make is, where does reality leave off and make-be...
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In real life, the most important decision you ever make is, where does reality leave off and make-believe begin? If you make a mistake about that, you're dead. You know, you're out on the street corner. You think there's no bus coming. You step out, you're dead.
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If there isn't at least the threat of violence in art, it tends to be kind of tiresome.
If there isn't at least the threat of violence in art, it tends to be kind of tiresome.
The Boy Scouts of America is no longer entirely what people think it is. Essentially, it has been hi...
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The Boy Scouts of America is no longer entirely what people think it is. Essentially, it has been hijacked by religious conservatives.
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Doing beautiful things is its own reward.
Doing beautiful things is its own reward.
Indian street magic tends to be very gory, blood and guts. One trick is for a magician to take a kni...
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Indian street magic tends to be very gory, blood and guts. One trick is for a magician to take a knife and appear to cut his kid's head almost off. The magician then says to the crowd, 'Well I can continue to cut off my son's head or you can all give me some money.' Then he wanders around and takes 10 rupees from everyone and restores his son.
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Comedically, unpleasantness is great fun.
Comedically, unpleasantness is great fun.
Every time you perform a magic trick, you're engaging in experimental psychology. If the audience as...
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Every time you perform a magic trick, you're engaging in experimental psychology. If the audience asks, 'How the hell did he do that?' then the experiment was successful.
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If there existed even one psychic who had predicted that disaster, we'd be very, very interested. Bu...
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If there existed even one psychic who had predicted that disaster, we'd be very, very interested. But, nope. What haunts me about 9/11 is the horrible knowledge that those who did the deed did it to further the divine will. Whenever we hear a politician bless killing, we should think twice.
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Nobody who is a Penn & Teller fan thinks of us first and foremost as magicians, but as a comedy team...
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Nobody who is a Penn & Teller fan thinks of us first and foremost as magicians, but as a comedy team.
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I'm more apt to cry at something beautiful than at something sad.
I'm more apt to cry at something beautiful than at something sad.
If you do something that you're proud of, that someone else understands, that is a thing of beauty t...
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If you do something that you're proud of, that someone else understands, that is a thing of beauty that wasn't there before - you can't beat that.
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I believe in art.
I believe in art.
The place we want to explore unpleasantness in the real world is in art.
The place we want to explore unpleasantness in the real world is in art.
Reality seems so simple. We just open our eyes and there it is. But that doesn't mean it is simple.
Reality seems so simple. We just open our eyes and there it is. But that doesn't mean it is simple.
Magicians have done controlled testing in human perception for thousands of years.
Magicians have done controlled testing in human perception for thousands of years.
Sometimes, magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably e...
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Sometimes, magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.
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When a magician lets you notice something on your own, his lie becomes impenetrable.
When a magician lets you notice something on your own, his lie becomes impenetrable.
Generally, magicians don't know what to say, so they say stupid and redundant crap like,'Here I am h...
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Generally, magicians don't know what to say, so they say stupid and redundant crap like,'Here I am holding a red ball.'
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Nothing fools you better than the lie you tell yourself.
Nothing fools you better than the lie you tell yourself.
To most people who have a point of view, merely being on TV is an intrinsic good.
To most people who have a point of view, merely being on TV is an intrinsic good.
People come up to me on the street and make some little joke - like they'll say, 'Excuse me, sir, wh...
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People come up to me on the street and make some little joke - like they'll say, 'Excuse me, sir, what time is it?' And I'll say, you know, '5:15,' and they'll say, 'Hey! Made you talk!' And that's merely a way of saying, 'I know your work and I like you.'
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Given my absolute druthers, I would certainly like to see that every part of my body is used for spa...
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Given my absolute druthers, I would certainly like to see that every part of my body is used for spare parts for science.
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The silent thing onstage allows for a kind of intimacy that no conversation can have. If I just shut...
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The silent thing onstage allows for a kind of intimacy that no conversation can have. If I just shut up, we're forced to look at each other and really confront that moment.
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Neuroscientists are novices at deception.
Neuroscientists are novices at deception.
Magic is an art form where you lie and tell people you are lying.
Magic is an art form where you lie and tell people you are lying.
Magic's about understanding - and then manipulating - how viewers digest the sensory information.
Magic's about understanding - and then manipulating - how viewers digest the sensory information.
I'm a lazy sod.
I'm a lazy sod.
Magic is the art of creating false (but funny or beautiful) cause-and-effect relationships. That's o...
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Magic is the art of creating false (but funny or beautiful) cause-and-effect relationships. That's our area of expertise. When we do it on a stage, the audience is fooled, but only for the moment, only in the theater. They know they're watching a show. They know it's all tricks. They do not go home and try to float in the air or catch bullets in their teeth. [But] When we see scam artists peddling false cause-and-effect as reality; when we see the tools of theater and poetry used to victimize the vulnerable; when we sick people submitting to "medical procedures" that belong in a Three Stooges movie; all this enrages us.
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If you read Shakespeare's stage directions, all the gore and violence is right in there.
If you read Shakespeare's stage directions, all the gore and violence is right in there.
I always assumed I'd spend my life happily performing in artsy-fartsy little theaters.
I always assumed I'd spend my life happily performing in artsy-fartsy little theaters.
Onstage, I find absolutely nothing but exhilaration in not talking.
Onstage, I find absolutely nothing but exhilaration in not talking.
