Magic has no mystery to magicians. We work variations of standard methods. What will seem new or baffling to an audience is simply a technical challenge for professionals. If an innovative new illusion is developed, it is only matter of time before the effect is reproduced by others.
— Christopher Priest, “The Prestige”.
/via Leyla Johnston and Oli Shaw (whose talk on magic presented at UXLx you really ought to flip through on SlideShare).