Would you prefer to know how a magic trick worked?

Yes.

Yes, I would like to know how. If the trick/illusion is done skillfully and with some flair, I am delighted and entertained, even if I know how it works.

Actually, not.

I mean, if someone makes the trick, of course I want to know how s/he did it. But, if I really knew it, it would ruin the fun and the trick would become dull and uninteresting.

Knowing how a trick works, makes it actually more amazing.

I would. I heard there’s a code amongst magicians where they’re not supposed to reveal the secrets of how it works.

I like puzzles. I enjoy trying to figure things out. So if, after a considerable amount of time spent puzzling over the trick has led to nothing, I’d love to have it explained.

By considerable time… I’m still working on a bunny trick I saw ten years ago.

Penn & Teller have a show, Fool Us where magicians perform and win if Penn & Teller can’t figure out the secret.

They don’t reveal it though, they just say “you fooled us” or not.

Episodes are online. The acts are really good.

I do enjoy learning the mechanics of a magic trick, because it’s usually very clever and skillful. I get amazed twice; first by the illusion, then by just how adroit it had been.

Yes, I am always mesmerized by some magic tricks and wonder just HOW they did THAT!

Now ucme, now you don’t!!
Aha-hahahahahahahahahahah… ::hiccup::

Oh, yes!

I knew a man who did both stage magic and close-up parlor magic. He was very good, good enough to do international tours and perform on TV.

He was also a friend, and I once interviewed him for an article. I spent a good bit of time watching him work. We talked about this question, and he said, “You just saw the ring pass through the rope. Why don’t you believe it?” I said, “I believe in the properties of solid matter, so I don’t believe what I think I saw. I know there’s something special about that ring or that rope, and you know what it is even if I don’t.”

He said, “Most people wouldn’t say that. Most people would believe what they saw, or think they saw.” Now, that was amazing to me.

He promised to explain one card trick to me, after repeatedly confirming that I really wanted to know. I did, and I promised never to tell. But after that I watched everything he did a little differently, and I figured some of it out on my own.

No. I’m a believer. ;)

My Dad was a professional magician and when I was a teenager, I was often his assistant. I never got tired of watching a good magic show.

^^ Oh wow! That must have been some childhood!

To the OP: generally no. I’d rather enjoy the illusion.

It’s kind of like “miracles.” When I was a practicing Christian my friends wanted to see miracles. When I explained how or why something happened, logically, they’d get upset, say I just “ruin everything.” To me, magic is the same thing. The mechanics of it are as fascinating as the illusion.