Professional magicians dazzle audiences, but in the age of Google and instant answers, might tell-all books and video explainers forever expose what's up performers' sleeves?

According to Alex Stone, author of Fooling Houdini and a practising magician who has competed in The Magic Olympics, it's high time to reveal the magic world's secrets to the public.

"There's often as much beauty to the methods, to the ideas behind it, as there is to the tricks themselves," Stone told CBC's Eli Glasner.

However, professional practitioners say there are more than just simple tricks to the venerable trade.

"You can go on YouTube and find out the secret, but that doesn't make you a magician," said Julie Eng, one of the organizers of the Mind over Matter - Magicana series in Toronto as part of 2012's Luminato.