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Exploring Failure Modes and Misdirection in Testing New Concepts
In this story, the author had a challenging task to accomplish secretly. They used nuanced body language and misdirection to try and make it work. They informed their audience that it could either be amazing or hilarious, but either way, it would be entertaining. The author wanted honest feedback and encouraged people to be brutally honest. They believed that painful truth is what they needed at that moment.
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Simon Coronel (simoncoronel.com) is legally classified as an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability” by the United States Government for his skills as a magician and illusionist. Simon discovered magic in 1999 as a first-year student at Melbourne University. He then spent five years working full time in management consulting while juggling his “secret” performance career.
He’s currently a jigsaw puzzle designer for The Magic Puzzle Company, which has the #1-backed puzzle on Kickstarter of all time, and is a regular performer at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Simon has appeared twice on the hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. He has won over a dozen international awards for magic, including being crowned the World Champion of Magic in 2022 at FISM, the Olympics of magic.
Please enjoy!
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This episode is also brought to you by AeroPress! If you haven’t tried coffee made with an AeroPress, you’re in for a treat. With more than 45,000 five-star reviews and customers in more than 60 countries, it might be the highest-rated coffee maker on the planet. This press uses a patented 3-in-1 technology that combines the best of several brew methods into one, easy-to-use, very portable device. Because it combines the best of 3 methods, you get a cup that is full bodied, like a French press; smooth and complex, like when using the pour-over method; and rich in flavor like espresso.
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[06:12] Radical earliness.
[08:23] The Magic Castle.
[17:27] Catching the magic bug at age 18.
[19:56] Acknowledging neurodivergence.
[28:16] Glitches in Reality.
[30:53] The road to winning the 2022 FISM World Championship of Magic.
[53:04] Workshopping out the kinks before the competition.
[57:59] The muse and the Shoot seal of approval.
[1:01:31] Gauging audience perception and finding balance pre-game.
[1:05:49] The big day.
[1:18:45] Categories of stage magic.
[1:20:15] Ugly crying through victory.
[1:30:10] The immediate aftermath.
[1:34:03] A homecoming drink at the Magic Castle.
[1:36:37] Why a later start in magic was lucky.
[1:39:13] How working at Accenture played into Simon’s weaknesses.
[1:45:30] Making the decision to do magic full-time.
[1:52:34] Hotbeds of magical innovation.
[1:55:57] Mentalism misgivings.
[2:01:13] Why learning magic can be so daunting for a beginner.
[2:07:29] How Simon teaches magic.
[2:10:45] Magic in the media.
[2:14:35] Is atheism a prerequisite for the modern magician?
[2:16:14] Jigsaw puzzles.
[2:23:26] Parting thoughts.
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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
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