I’ve been working on sleight of hand for a small while now, and it’s a beautiful thing really. Perhaps I just have an affinity for it, but it’s one of the few things that I’ve ever pursued that yields great results after putting in the work. It’s one of the things in which I can really say that I’ve accomplished something. All it really takes is a little bit of hard work. As a young child, I never really learned the lesson that hard work pays off. Normally, you envision a pick pocket or magician specializing in sleight of hand to be tall, slender, with long and graceful fingers that remind one of a pianist. But the art of legerdemain has showed me something; despite my stocky appearance, relatively stubby fingers, and hands that look like they belong on a boxer rather than a magician, my success in misdirection and manual manipulation is directly related to the amount of time and effort I put into it.
I was watching The Real Hustle and there was one phrase that really caught my attention. Rob Marks was explaining the switching of cards at a blackjack table. He went on to point out that because of cheating, you are no longer allowed to use two hands to touch the cards, only one. And someone went home and practiced it for a couple of years and came back. I thought to myself, it had to be a professional card cheat. Nobody else would have the patience to practice for years. If it took a professional card cheat a couple of years to master a sleight, who am I to try to master one in a day, two days, even a week? It reminds me of a story that I had once read.
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Greetings,
I apologize for simply dumping this here. Couldn’t find a more appropriate place to put this anywhere else on the site, so I hope you don’t find this encounter a little unusual and awkward.
Firstly, great blog. Interesting choice of design… its hard to put the ambience of it into words, but it works well- suits you.
Second, have I told you that you’re a good writer? I’m not bullshitting, nor is this any cordiality simply because I’m aware that you are a “writer.” I’ve always been under somewhat of a pretentious but justified impression that I am a good writer. Granted my prose is strong, I can deliver a good argument- but I’m more of an essayist, I’m into structure, argument, analysis. You have something I’m unsure about when it comes to my own writing; style. There’s thats wispy scent of elegance behind your choice of words.
So, my question is, do you sketch it out? I certainly as hell do.
And lastly, the reason why I made that post on your other site was because I was thinking of starting a personal blog of my own. I’m sure you can empathize with me here, but there’s that subtle but nagging push from inside to express one’s thoughts through writing.
I suppose I will elaborate on this more on my soon-to-come blog and see if you agree.
Anyway, I’ll off to skim through some of your older entries for anything of interest.
Submitting comment,
Gary.
Hey there friend,
Not at all awkward, not in the least. Glad you made your way here.
I’m grateful that you appreciate my skill as a writer. The thing about this blog is that I’m not entirely sure if I should “break character” and write about more inane things. I don’t know if I should bring this to a more candid and transparent level. Right now I’m leaning towards no, but eventually, I’m sure it will evolve into something more akin to my Livejournal.
I don’t sketch things out. If I’m doing something like an essay, then I probably would have a first draft and then a second and probably no farther than that. But all of what you see here on this blog so far has been written in one go, with possible revisions in one or two choice words. By and large, I’m an intuitive person and don’t usually prefer structure.
I’m excited to hear from you, and I can’t wait to check out your blog. If you need any help on how to get started, just let me know and I’ll be more than happy to help!
My opinion is, I enjoy the original articles you have. They make for a quality blog and quality reading.
So as long as you have it neatly categorized as you do into “Articles,” “Journal,” “Ramblings…” it should retain its integrity.
By intuition, are you going by MBTI (sp?) system? I recall having a conversation with you on that. You know, I have a friend who is crazy about that to the level where he studies the cognitive processes behind the type. I’m an intuitive type myself too, but the dynamics behind each specific trait determine the overall character and personality, I’m told. Just wanted to point that out for you to look into if you wish.
By the way, thanks for the offer to help. I’m good.
Good Morning,
Gary.
I mean intuitive in a conventional sense, but I also do happen to be an INFJ or an INFP, depending on the day. I have confidence in the MBTI types, but also keep an open mind for other clues to a person’s personality. I wouldn’t put too much stock in it because it’s reliability is debatable, but I’m sure you know this.
My analogy is this: when I meet a person, I use my knowledge of psychology to map out their basic and general profile. This is a shadow or silhouette on the canvas. As I spend more time with them, I begin to see the color of their skin. Soon enough I can tell how far apart their facial features are. Finally, I am able to paint a complete portrait of this person, complete with what their eyes and nose are shaped like. Figuring people out is, in my eyes, an art as opposed to a science. And that is why I whole heartedly use the MBTI system but do not rely heavily on it.
Instead, I note a person’s behavior, their choice of words, their choice in clothing, everything. Everything that I see is a choice made by that person, a choice to show me, to show the world, something. There are conscious and unconscious decisions, but they are all there, visible, waiting for me to observe.
It’s all about context though. If you saw me working in a retail store, you might find me to be an ESTJ. But catch me at home and I’m INFP all the way.
Admittedly, I would be interested in studying it in depth the way your friend has. The way I’d go about it is inherently intuitive though: I take in all the information and it becomes second nature to me. It becomes a “blink” action for me to size someone up, and I couldn’t tell you why I would judge someone that way and I couldn’t break it down to you. But it’s there.
Ah, thanks for giving me some reading to wake up to.
You know, the way you just described the process of getting to know someone- that is what I’m talking about in my original post. That’s “writing.” I would’ve had to break it down in a technical format, structure all the little details under categories or principles. So far from being able to recriprocate that, I shall just say, “That’s cool, man.” But I think you pretty much described the process in which people get to know someone, I can’t imagine it otherwise.
Your position on the MBTI is essentially mine. I score as an INTP or an INFP, though nowadays mostly INTP. I’m almost certain it has to do with a certain set of questions regarding ethical and moral perspectives, like whether one values “justice” or “mercy.” The problem with that is that both are important, but obviously justice comes first, then mercy if applicable. Questions like that, are no doubt, one of it’s flaws.
There is one thing that strikes me as quite true in most cases, independent of context. I’m an introvert- even when I’m working its hard to put that fact aside. But I know what you’re talking about, in certain exciting environments its possible to get convincingly extroverted.
Look up “Socionics,” thats what my friend has been into lately. It’s supposedly better but I couldn’t tell you why. That stuff makes an interesting read, but delve into the technicalities and they’re just confusingly vague and full of a lot of “pseudo-psychological” concepts. By then one just can’t help but to realize it’s error.
Signing out,
Gary.