Sitting with a deck of cards in your hand all day is an obsession. Visiting print shops and bookstores and libraries is an obsession. And writing about this is an obsession. I think, in general, most collectors are obsessed. I think the only form of a rationalized greed is when you're collecting something you are supposedly serious about.

I know absolutely nothing about the 20th Century.

The pain is bad magicians ripping off good ones, doing magic badly, and making a mockery of the art.

I like being fooled. When I watch someone who does sleight-of-hand and fools me, it's a great feeling.

Not only do I lie, I take real pleasure in lying, in the transmission of magic effects.

One of the reasons I don't like to use the word "tricks" , I do think of them as theatrical pieces, and as pretentious as that might sound, there's a real reason for it. It's not the idea of tricking you; it's the idea of taking you along on this particular journey the way you would in any other theatrical situation. But, hopefully, you're going to be fooled at the end.

I love amazing people. I love dazzling them. That's why I think performing magic is one of the greatest things a person can do.