Welcome to the magic show. Let’s meet the crew.

Behind us, you can see the trick being prepared.

I don’t really understand David Blaine’s brand of stunt magic. I always figured a magic show is an idea that stemmed from a person who could perform something no person could conceivably accomplish. Maybe that’s bending the rules of matter to make something appear of nothing. Maybe it’s reading the mind of your subject, giving the illusion of omnipotence.

But I’ve never been taken backstage before a magic show and shown how the trick works. That’s what it felt like watching the tour before David Blaine’s most recent stunt, where he flew up high in the air via balloons.

I also don’t totally understand the magic of the situation. Is it the magic of helium? The magic that someone can survive so high up? We’re being shown — in intricate detail — the mechanisms of how Blaine was able to survive.

Blaine’s stunts are often incredible. They push the limits of what the human physiology can go. But is it magic? Or is it something else?

Maybe we can call them science tricks instead. Or maybe something less lame.