Tag Archives: mystery

Wonder and Speculation

Pillars under the pyramids, megaliths at 12-16,000 year old Göbekli Tepe, ancient Egyptian granite vases that are so precise, modern equipment would still make them challenging to reproduce… it seems that every time we look a little further into the history of humanity we uncover yet another unexplained and unexpected mystery. There is so much more we don’t know about the origins of humanity.

And with the mystery comes some pretty far-fetched speculation. From giants to aliens to portals, imaginations run wild. I find it both exciting and frustrating. There are so many amazing new scientific discoveries, and then there are ideas that masquerade as insightful discoveries while being nothing more than crazy speculations based on extrapolations and circumstance.

It gets tiring listening to people share their wild, unsupported claims when there is so much intrigue with the actual facts. Let’s marvel at what we know. And sure, even speculate as wild as you want. But we don’t need to invent proof of aliens or use the size of sculptures and heavy rocks to make claims about giants. There’s already enough to marvel at.

It’s magic

Yesterday I shared a simple, but very convincing magic trick with my niece and my mom. It starts with me shuffling the deck, and then giving them so much choice about where to put a couple cards that the outcome seems impossible. It’s not, it’s a simple trick.

When I was younger I was fascinated by magic. A few years after starting teaching I got a bit more into it. I got pretty good at a few tricks and could really fool students. But it was hard to keep up. Slight of hand is not something that comes naturally, it takes hours of practice to look effortless.

The thing about learning magic tricks is that as soon as you learn them the magic is gone. Sharing how a trick is done takes away the mystery and the experience of being ‘Wowed’. Even though you know it’s just a trick, while you don’t know how it’s done it carries a special power. When it’s known, it’s known, when it’s not known, it’s magic.

When you share a trick with someone, don’t share how it’s done… if you do, you are not just giving them something, you are also taking something away from them.