5 ms·

Secrets of the Magus (1993)

57 points by kqr2 14y ago

gruseom 14y ago
This is superbly entertaining.
phil 14y ago
One of the greatest profile essays of all time, by one of the greatest profilers. "A small riot ensued."
kqr2 14y ago
The documentary Deceptive Practices: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay was also just released. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654360/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654360/ http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/movies/deceptive-practice-the-mysteries-and-mentors-of-ricky-jay.html http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/movies/deceptive-practi...
jonnathanson 14y ago
I am always fascinated by portraits of mastery and, particularly, of masters in obscure fields. There's a lot to learn from these stories. There are universal lessons hiding beneath the candy coatings of idiosyncrasy and eccentricity. The (relatively) recent documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi is thematically similar to this portrait of Ricky Jay. To watch it is to realize how a true master is no longer shaped by his craft and his field, but indeed, shapes them.
ryanmolden 14y ago
"People ask me why I don’t do lectures at magic conventions, and I say, ‘Because I’m still learning.’ Meanwhile, you’ve got people who have been doing magic for ten months and they are actually out there pontificating. It’s absurd" This.
- SideburnsOfDoom 14y ago
  > "The Advanced Beginner stage is the last one in which the skill acquirer has no understanding of the big picture. As such, it’s the last phase in which the acquirer might confuse himself with an Expert." It shows that Expert Beginner syndrome (http://www.daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-learning-rise-of-the-expert-beginner http://www.daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-learning-rise-of... ) and associated Dunning-Kruger effects isn't peculiar to software development, but is a general part of human nature and flourishes wherever it is allowed to.
losethos 14y ago
Jay was a neighbor a year older than me when I was 6. We went under a boat. He's a homo. In 1985 I tried to get a dog to lick my dick. You don't know the league your in. God! God says... secret distinctly improperly hellish bought silenced hesitate watch_it_buddy knotty all-pitying Say rectify Infinite lives unsung_hero haste disordered twinkling oh naked tolerated discoverable concubine likewise scholars standeth correspondence prove neighbours vanquished open effaced Newsletter scholar swollen compose grammarian weights Being pines to You thing proofread general recourse outward fixing dissentings revenge bad_ol_puddytat eternal heavenly submitting deeps warfare working Doubt earnestness happeneth honestly wroth smarting suffrages minister stank Virgil ill-omened facts tomorrow edification Curiosity pronunciation habitation Madness seizes sorts clearest hereby Grammar comforting itself Seek scruple follow Madaura Burma_Myanmar imagine precious drowsy leaps argument Lay freed subdued Dominions Wilt damage few killeth unlooked-for impatience imply vanished but unshakenly moan fellow-tutor aught burthen flow 3 monasteries watery Circus handmaid reproves lawful infantine corrupt sighing chains endeavoured exalted swaying innocency

57 points by kqr2 14y ago

gruseom 14y ago

This is superbly entertaining.

phil 14y ago

One of the greatest profile essays of all time, by one of the greatest profilers. "A small riot ensued."

kqr2 14y ago

The documentary Deceptive Practices: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay was also just released. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654360/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654360/ http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/movies/deceptive-practice-the-mysteries-and-mentors-of-ricky-jay.html http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/movies/deceptive-practi...

jonnathanson 14y ago

I am always fascinated by portraits of mastery and, particularly, of masters in obscure fields. There's a lot to learn from these stories. There are universal lessons hiding beneath the candy coatings of idiosyncrasy and eccentricity. The (relatively) recent documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi is thematically similar to this portrait of Ricky Jay. To watch it is to realize how a true master is no longer shaped by his craft and his field, but indeed, shapes them.

ryanmolden 14y ago

"People ask me why I don’t do lectures at magic conventions, and I say, ‘Because I’m still learning.’ Meanwhile, you’ve got people who have been doing magic for ten months and they are actually out there pontificating. It’s absurd" This.

SideburnsOfDoom 14y ago
> "The Advanced Beginner stage is the last one in which the skill acquirer has no understanding of the big picture. As such, it’s the last phase in which the acquirer might confuse himself with an Expert." It shows that Expert Beginner syndrome (http://www.daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-learning-rise-of-the-expert-beginner http://www.daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-learning-rise-of... ) and associated Dunning-Kruger effects isn't peculiar to software development, but is a general part of human nature and flourishes wherever it is allowed to.

losethos 14y ago

Jay was a neighbor a year older than me when I was 6. We went under a boat. He's a homo. In 1985 I tried to get a dog to lick my dick. You don't know the league your in. God! God says... secret distinctly improperly hellish bought silenced hesitate watch_it_buddy knotty all-pitying Say rectify Infinite lives unsung_hero haste disordered twinkling oh naked tolerated discoverable concubine likewise scholars standeth correspondence prove neighbours vanquished open effaced Newsletter scholar swollen compose grammarian weights Being pines to You thing proofread general recourse outward fixing dissentings revenge bad_ol_puddytat eternal heavenly submitting deeps warfare working Doubt earnestness happeneth honestly wroth smarting suffrages minister stank Virgil ill-omened facts tomorrow edification Curiosity pronunciation habitation Madness seizes sorts clearest hereby Grammar comforting itself Seek scruple follow Madaura Burma_Myanmar imagine precious drowsy leaps argument Lay freed subdued Dominions Wilt damage few killeth unlooked-for impatience imply vanished but unshakenly moan fellow-tutor aught burthen flow 3 monasteries watery Circus handmaid reproves lawful infantine corrupt sighing chains endeavoured exalted swaying innocency