From 5dbbdff77f6eace26346ef4babe64ee706e6b33f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: nycki Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2025 22:22:22 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] on the nature of magic --- content/blog/26-what-is-magic.md | 18 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/blog/26-what-is-magic.md diff --git a/content/blog/26-what-is-magic.md b/content/blog/26-what-is-magic.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..939fe0b --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/26-what-is-magic.md @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +--- +date: 2025-07-01 +title: on the nature of magic +subtitle: presto! got your suspension of disbelief! +tags: + - magic + - philosophy +permalink: /blog/26/ +--- +I used to think magic was about knowing secret stuff. Then I thought magic was about being really good at acting and sleight of hand. Now I think those are both just facets of what really makes a moment feel magical: being more prepared than anyone could reasonably anticipate. + +By this "overprepared" metric, "magic" includes stage illusions and street magic, but it also includes things like when you think you've broken the rules of a video game and gotten yourself out of bounds, only to find a sign congratulating you on your cleverness. Or when you throw something at a game master that should send the game off the rails, and yet they have the next map already drawn up for you. + +Every "The Dev Team Thought Of Everything" moment is a magic trick, and vice versa. + +And I think, in that context, it's possible to enjoy magic even after you know the secret. The best magicians are the ones that make you say "I think I know *how* that works... + +...but it *shouldn't*."