the magician, a human strategy, aphorism 418

418

In a world where I permit no magic, all becomes a gimmick.  The fall from the magical to the mechanical is great ... but I will wait for that fall.  This is the lure of magic: the danger of its exposure.  It walks that tightrope of the “impossible” over the possible.  If it does not fall, I wonder.  If it falls, I may even watch with more intensity for the next theatrical disaster.  It is the danger that entertains.
   
The magician can repeat his magic for as long as he wishes and entertain us, but the moment he intentionally reveals the mechanical nature of the performance ... the moment the elastic reach for the impossible snaps back into the possible, he has performed this piece of magic for the last time.  “Everything is safe after all.”  


Now imagine a performer who showed only the mechanical!  Even the comedy of the performance would wear on us.  How could we bear to await the end?  So, a good magician never shows the mechanical.  If we happen to see through the magic, well, he always has another trick up his sleeve.  This will keep even the most astute observer on the edge of his seat.  Fortunately, in this regard, nature has been the greatest of all magicians.

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