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I'm a magician, and there are many extremely interesting parts about human psychology that relate to lessons you learn. This isn't one of them. This is a fine

I'm a magician, and there are many extremely interesting parts about human psychology that relate to lessons you learn. This isn't one of them. This is a fine fluff piece about someone's experience watching a magician (and not a particularly good one from the tale). Nothing wrong with enjoying the story, but it doesn't reveal anything particularly interesting. The psychology of the spectator is the most fascinating part of magic to me. I'm not sure how it would relate to "diplomacy, politics, finance and everyday life." I know I use the same psychology in social situations, and public speaking that I do in magic, at times. It's hard to generalize because magic is an amazing field of a ton of areas. I want to tell you what it is, why I use it, and details about it because it's a passionate hobby of mine, but magic is also the only field I've ever known where you aren't allowed to share what you do. You build up a tremendous amount of skill, and then hide it. Guitarists show you what they do, amazing. Artists, Actors, Jugglers, Comedians.. Magicians are the only one where success is hiding your skill.

codingdave 12y ago
This is a fine fluff comment about someone's experience reading about a magician. (And not a particularly good comment.) Nothing wrong with making a comment, but it doesn't reveal anything particularly interesting. In all seriousness, I get that you don't want to share secrets. But your tone comes off as just acting superior without any substance behind it. I also wonder what you mean by "you aren't allowed to share what you do." Is there some enforcement entity that will come get you if you share? Will Penn take you into a dark room and sit on you or something? Or is just a behavior that all magicians adopt for the shared success of the group?
- AndyNemmity 12y ago
  You're one to talk about tone.
lukifer 12y ago
> I'm not sure how it would relate to "diplomacy, politics, finance and everyday life." Spinning narratives that reinforce what people want to believe has been a time-honored tradition since the beginning of humanity. It's deeply relevant to those domains and more. > Magicians are the only one where success is hiding your skill. Magicians are one of the few crafts where hiding skill is mandatory (perhaps barring meta-showmen like Penn & Teller). But this pattern too shows up many other places. Comedians have to conceal the performative nature of their act, making it seem like the 874th iteration of a joke is something they just thought of extemporaneously. Actors aren't eager to share the mundane grind of their method(s), so as not to break the illusion. (For instance: Tom Hanks sometimes does math problems in his head for certain types of reaction shots.) Or consider the politician backed by the talented speechwriters and research team, who you'll never meet or even hear mentioned. In a sense, stage/street magic is a subset of a game that all humans play: perception management (with varying degrees of honesty). Being more aware of this process and how our buttons are being pushed is something that would help us all.
- AndyNemmity 12y ago
  Very good point about performers hiding the mundane method of their grind. But the actual performance shows the skill. Magic hides the skill.

codingdave 12y ago

This is a fine fluff comment about someone's experience reading about a magician. (And not a particularly good comment.) Nothing wrong with making a comment, but it doesn't reveal anything particularly interesting. In all seriousness, I get that you don't want to share secrets. But your tone comes off as just acting superior without any substance behind it. I also wonder what you mean by "you aren't allowed to share what you do." Is there some enforcement entity that will come get you if you share? Will Penn take you into a dark room and sit on you or something? Or is just a behavior that all magicians adopt for the shared success of the group?

AndyNemmity 12y ago
You're one to talk about tone.

lukifer 12y ago

> I'm not sure how it would relate to "diplomacy, politics, finance and everyday life." Spinning narratives that reinforce what people want to believe has been a time-honored tradition since the beginning of humanity. It's deeply relevant to those domains and more. > Magicians are the only one where success is hiding your skill. Magicians are one of the few crafts where hiding skill is mandatory (perhaps barring meta-showmen like Penn & Teller). But this pattern too shows up many other places. Comedians have to conceal the performative nature of their act, making it seem like the 874th iteration of a joke is something they just thought of extemporaneously. Actors aren't eager to share the mundane grind of their method(s), so as not to break the illusion. (For instance: Tom Hanks sometimes does math problems in his head for certain types of reaction shots.) Or consider the politician backed by the talented speechwriters and research team, who you'll never meet or even hear mentioned. In a sense, stage/street magic is a subset of a game that all humans play: perception management (with varying degrees of honesty). Being more aware of this process and how our buttons are being pushed is something that would help us all.

AndyNemmity 12y ago
Very good point about performers hiding the mundane method of their grind. But the actual performance shows the skill. Magic hides the skill.