2013 was a very busy year. I read a lot of interesting books and had a lot of brand new experiences. I wanted to briefly capture the spirit of the year and mention some of my favorite memories. Favorite books 1. Antifragile: Eye-opening combination of philosophy, classical wisdom, biology, finance, and entrepreneurship. It now colors how I look at everything. 2. Fooling Houdini: Really fun read for a magician and fan of psychology. 3. The Big Short: Interesting back stories and great inside peek at a lot of the mortgage meltdown craziness. New experiences
Lessons learned There is so much mystery and magic in the world around us. There is no need for something supernatural or out of this world to impress or inspire; just look around you at people and nature, and that will be the greatest source of awe. I love how magic can recreate this experience of awe and wonder in a controlled setting and reignite curiosity in others. When I went dolphin watching in Moorea, I learned how fascinating these beautiful creatures are. My mind was blown when I learned that dolphins breathe totally consciously and need to sleep one hemisphere of their brain at a time as they continue to consciously swim and breathe with the other hemisphere. Now if that doesn't show you how freaking cool science, nature, and reality are, then I don't know what will. I also learned how critical practice and diligent craftsmanship are to creating the results you want for yourself. I want to take pride in what I do and produce, and that comes with really hard work and lots of practice doing things that are not very glamorous. Things that were good I tried lots of new things and opened myself up to tons of new experiences. That was really fun for me. I also achieved a number of my goals, like successfully ramping up with Google and passing my Castle audition. Things that were bad I slacked off in some of my relationships and could've done better to keep in touch with close friends. I also overstretched myself and didn't go deep enough in the areas that showed promise. I also rushed myself too often and failed to stop and smell the flowers sufficiently. I also failed to push forward my exercise and physical training regimen as much as I would've liked. Goals Focus on a few critical areas. Time to go deep. Set some ambitious goals in a couple areas and work towards them. No excuses on health-related goals. Invest the time to build and strengthen some new friendships I've been starting to cultivate. Do a few things that will let me find myself and my next big projects in life.
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I just finished reading Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind by Alex Stone, and it was my most pleasurable read all year (the most thought-provoking and brain-altering was probably Antifragile). The book was so pleasurable for me to read because I identified so closely with the author's journey. I've loved magic since I was about 7 years old, and for my whole life, I enjoyed "collecting" tricks and dabbling, barely squeaking by in my abilities. When I read about how the author failed in his first magic competition and then took to developing his skills seriously, that immediately rang true for me, as I find myself right now reinvigorated in my own study of magic, ever since cramming for and passing my audition to join the Magic Castle's Academy of Magical Arts as a Magician Member. I don't care about what various reviews say about the book or how mad some magicians might be about some exposure of their methods in Alex's book. Alex does a major service to the art and science of magic by showing how special and powerful it can be when it's done right and what interesting intellectual and historical background there is to our amazing craft. There is no point to revealing secrets just for entertainment's sake, and that is certainly not what Alex does. He finally demystifies the hard work behind learning magic and gives magicians like me who want to improve their skills a whole lot of resources and ideas to check out. I particularly enjoyed the sections on mentalism, psychology, and the deep relationship between computer science, math, and magic. A lot reminded me of the other awesome neuroscience and magic book I read a couple years ago: Sleights of Mind. In this book, though, I gained a profound appreciation for how many amazing magicians are computer scientists and physicists, and how many amazing scientists are hobbyist magicians! The sections on probability theory and shuffling math were mind-blowing too, and I can't wait to test out some of the things I learned. Below are my copious notes on the book. I'm a big fan of the magicians Penn & Teller and really enjoyed Penn's previous book about religion, life, and magic. When I heard he had a sequel filled with more juicy stories and philosophy called Everyday is an Atheist Holiday , it went right to the top of my reading list. I found this installment just as funny and thought-provoking as the first, and I was grateful for the chance to hear more about Penn's family and how he manages the craziness of his own personal life with respect to his devotion to his children, their upbringing, and their morality. I applaud his openness and willing to share, teach, and make fun of himself. Below are some of the synopses and tidbits that were memorable for me amongst the many stories he told. Hates "exception proves the rule" Joy the world song: not joy in the world No joy in holiday songs Not much joy in new testament, just in afterlife Where is joy in this life Atheists have joy every day of the year Sometimes a sheet is not just a ghost James randy modern Houdini Learn how to lie to reveal the truth fetish balls for Halloween Made his own ghost costume, looked like kkk Loves kids dearly Canadian thanksgiving Equal opportunity offensiveness Making fun of racists profanity usage Name in vein Celebrity apprentice Hawthorne effect Dancing with the stars Doesn't care about trump Nov 9, 1909: everything in the world is enough Can be polite and honest at same time Just cuz want to believe something doesn't mean should Religious view is more scary than atheist Pierce Morgan radio show 1909 when his mom born Life is time Desire for something impossible doesn't make it possible Death is nothing, not afraid of nothing But afraid of time passing and not enjoying kids like now Everything in world is enough Defy jails of world to hold son What Houdini said Being happy with his own success so doesn't need son to do anything for him Kevin/hugh jackman/Houdini movie Thanksgiving No religious overtones, just enjoying life Magician stands lazily naked on stage Purpose of art is to do that Poet does this too He and teller only ones to do full frontal naked in show Telephone conversation with gottfried New years days: gyms, whorehouses, mornings with prostitutes Gives gifts to kids and presents Art is life Drones are death Sports: everyone has a plan until u get hit Magic trick during his brain surgery Loves baths Best to say when his mom died on new years day: I'm sorry for your loss He doesnt drink or make resolutions or work on new years or watch sports Celebrates new years day by remembering mom Mlk day separation of church and state I have a dream speech has no religious references in it Bible sets a low bar for compassion King Chooses to include instead of exclude Magic word Christian created by politicians to get elected Thinks Obama really atheist Thinks Mlk a hero Groundhog day No such thing as magical thinking Don't have to worry about what to wish or hope for, just what to work for Magic is intellectual art form Teller was teacher and very determined Penn was juggler, clown training No one in show biz works as hard in life as someone with a real job in one day Did roadshows with teller when started Show is same every night Groundhog day: try to do perfect each time The art is groundhog day Sick days Blackmail against him Worked with lawyers and FBI Didn't want to care but did care If ever blackmailed go straight to FBI Just have to take sick days sometimes Go with sickness, go through it April fools day penn and teller get killed movie They don't do practical jokes Teaches scientist to tell dirty joke at Ted conference Happy birthday Central planning doesn't work He's libertarian Disney wouldn't allow plaque that said no god or dog gone backwards Chiquita banana Wednesday Ash Wednesday Puts Chiquita banana sticker on forehead to show love of life Have a nice Easter Book of Mormon best play, says written by atheist Deepest insult is just truth/identity of target Easter is hollow chocolate rabbit Gospel Christian magic Hitch and tommy Song poems by everyday people pure expressions of passion Legacy after life less important, eventually all forgotten, but during life feels like will remember forever Focus on this life Fathers day cards Will never be able to send and receive fathers day cards at same time He got married late, one kid ivf, other natural Graduation day Got himself voted for every category of yearbook by convincing class Arte The who Passion and art Ron Jeremy Celebrity apprentice Blue man group What art can mean Fourth of July Joseph Campbell, plot abstraction, hero "things happen" Transformation Production Object in impossible location Restoration Animation Trips to India, china, Egypt Cultural differences America only country founded on ideas, not cultural heritage Worries we're losing sight of the ideas and becoming just a sports team My son's morality does not come from gd Gay marriage Right and wrong are separate from authority Son chooses moral actions from inside and from young age Morality above religion Thanks Crying with happiness |
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