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Someone once described the secret to making magic as putting in far more effort than any reasonable person would, such that no reasonable person would think you
by roughly 1y ago
Someone once described the secret to making magic as putting in far more effort than any reasonable person would, such that no reasonable person would think you'd done it the hard way.
- genter 1y agoPenn & Teller, although someone else might've said that before them.
- MengerSponge 1y agoThe Prestige says that (in as many words) in 2006. Someone probably said it before then.
- WarOnPrivacy 1y agoThe Lawrence of Arabia line is from the 1962 film. Perhaps there's an HN'r who knows an earlier variant. https://old.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1ja9kdy/why_is_the_matchstick_cut_in_lawrence_of_arabia/ https://old.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1ja9kdy/why_is_the_...
- ploxiln 1y agoTeller, from Penn and Teller, I think https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller
- ethbr1 1y agoSee #2 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/teller-reveals-his-secrets-100744801/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/teller-reveals-h...
- yard2010 1y agoI would cut my own finger if it's not from prestige. :)
- bigstrat2003 1y agoThat theme certainly appears in The Prestige, but those words don't to the best of my recollection. I guess I'll leave it to you whether that merits a finger cut.
- wcarss 1y agoIt's also (approximately) Lawrence of Arabia; at least the same principle. Lawrence puts out a match with his fingers as a showy trick. Someone else tries it, and cries out that it hurts, then asks what the trick is. He replies, "the _trick_, William Potter, is not _minding_ that it hurts."
- kevindamm 1y agoAnd then in Prometheus that scene is used to emphasize the behavior of an android becoming mis-aligned with the crew and not minding the consequences of subsequent actions.
- scyzoryk_xyz 1y agoNever actually thought about it that way - so the Android feels pain overriding its own programming. Teaches itself to manage that pain
- musicale 1y agoThe trick is that he has thick callouses and/or has burned the nerves in his fingers.
- Someone 1y agoLying about how tricks are done also is part of magic. I would not rule out that he wetted his fingers before doing this trick, and, possibly, timed things correctly to rapidly transfer some water to the wick before his fingers got too hot. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect may be relevant)
- justbees 1y agoThat reminds me of the Ricky Jay article in the New Yorker. What an amazing guy! https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/04/05/ricky-jay-magician-secrets-profile https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/04/05/ricky-jay-magi... It so worth the read and there's no paywall.
- AbstractH24 1y agoDo New Yorker articles older than a certain amount of time have no paywall? I never noticed.
- Fanmade 1y agoI have a paywall there :(