Welcome to Best of the Jerx
This represents the top-posts of The Jerx, according to me.
The question I wanted to answer was this:
If I was introducing someone to the idea of social magic (and Jerxian magic), what are the posts I'd want them to read first? What posts would help them best understand Andy's ideas?
I wanted to create a list of the top-10 posts, to help them understand social magic and how it's different than performing standard magic in a social setting. Then I wanted to include supporting articles that would help them dive deeper into some of the ideas.
Top 10
If you want a sense of social magic according to Andy @ The Jerx, here are my recommended top 10 posts (alphabetically sorted; I'm not a monster that would suggest one specific post is the best).
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Baseline Magic - September 16, 2025
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Becoming A Generalist - June 20, 2024
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Carefree Magic - June 4, 2024
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My Top Three Variables for Differentiating the Magic Experience - March 9, 2022
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Practical Magic Week Part 1: The Most Impressive Least Impressive Prediction - July 13, 2015
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Practical Magic Week Part 2: Three Analogies - July 14, 2015
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Social Magic Basics Pt. 1 - February 12, 2018
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Social Magic Basics Pt. 3 - February 26, 2018
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The Good-Enough Canon (Your Help Needed) - November 22, 2023
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The Wonder-Room - March 27, 2017
Top 11-50
After you've read the top 10, here are the next 40 articles worth exploring (sorted by publication date, newest first):
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24 Disarmers - September 9, 2025
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Invitations - September 3, 2025
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Examining Everyday Objects - August 6, 2025
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Dells - February 11, 2025
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Carefree Update - November 7, 2024
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The Eight Step Process to Building a Repertoire - September 11, 2024
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Jerxian Quick-Start Guide - May 14, 2024
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The Essential Story - April 2, 2024
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The Key to Jerxian Magic - October 17, 2023
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Storyworthy - August 15, 2023
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Building a Social Magic EDC - December 14, 2022
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A Jerxian Breakthrough - December 1, 2021
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The Ring and The Campfire Story Performance Style - October 27, 2021
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The Jerx Calamity Sentence - June 16, 2021
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Magic with Unusual Objects - October 9, 2019
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A Second Introduction to the Law of First Introduction - September 2, 2019
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Part II: Broken Tricks - June 26, 2019
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Be Like Aunt Tippy - Examination In Social Magic - June 10, 2019
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Emotional Elements - March 13, 2019
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The Nearness of You - October 24, 2018
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Social Magic Basics Pt. 2 - February 19, 2018
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Practical Misdirection for the Amateur Magician - December 20, 2017
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Presentational Density - October 30, 2017
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Choose Your Spots - The Three Types of Situations Where You Should Perform Magic - August 23, 2017
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Bedrock: Feels Like the First Time - August 9, 2017
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Bedrock: Pre-History - July 24, 2017
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Bedrock: Suspension of Disbelief - July 21, 2017
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Reps - June 30, 2017
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Imps - May 19, 2017
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Dear Jerxy: Finding Accepting Audiences - May 15, 2017
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Remembrance of Things Past - April 28, 2017
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The One Step Process for More Engaging Performances - January 20, 2017
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The Buy-In - September 20, 2016
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The Hedonic Treadmill and the Art of Not Always Doing Your Best - July 15, 2016
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A Big Concept and A Little Idea - June 13, 2016
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Audience-centric Magic - July 11, 2015
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Acorns - June 28, 2015
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The Purpose of Magic in the Early 21st Century - June 24, 2015
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Presentation Week Part 4: Spectator Cuts to the Aces 3 Ways - June 11, 2015
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Presentation Week Part 2: The Jerx Patter Algorithm - June 9, 2015
Noteworthy Pages
- The Jerx Glossary - May 5, 2017