I used to really be into magic when I was a kid.

At one of my birthday parties, I put on a rented tux, assembled a bunch of tricks on a card table, pulled a stuffed rabbit out of my felt top hat, pretended to cut off my finger, and other fun things.

I wasn’t very good–mostly because I wasn’t old enough to really understand diversion. I was just reading and repeating all the steps from a magic book.

The real magic behind any magic is to get the audience to look at X while doing Y.

Of course, you see that everywhere these days in politics, sales, management, and marketing, but the flash bombs get bigger and louder all the time, so you don’t actually pay attention to X anymore. We just stumble into the open trap door while staring at our feet hoping it’ll all go away.

As a failed magician, I can appreciate the effort and skill of good deception. But now that I’m punch-drunk with it, I’m not sure I appreciate the fall.

Or when the fall stops.