Secrets of the Magus (1993)

newyorker.com

57 points·kqr2··6 comments

The documentary Deceptive Practices: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay was also just released.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654360/

http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/movies/deceptive-practi...

"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.

> "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... ) 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.

One of the greatest profile essays of all time, by one of the greatest profilers.

"A small riot ensued."

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.

This is superbly entertaining.

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