The occasional scrivener

Magic and puzzles

Good piece by Ewan on the difference between "magic" and mere puzzles.

In the age of the internet, it's easy to google the solutions to many tricks. The hard-earned mastery of the magician can be "exposed" by anyone with a web browser and zero sense of wonder in their lives.

Information wants to be free, and most information should be free, but the mechanics of magic should perhaps be hidden from view, lest we lose yet another of life's pleasures.