Magic at the Lockhart in June

I'll be performing twice in downtown Toronto in June at The Lockhart. These strictly informal thing and completely free to attend.  You can just turn up for drinks and a bite to eat and ask to see some magic. No dress code, although if you were inclined to wear your most Harry-Potter-y outfit, that would be cool. And space is extremely limited so guests are encouraged to arrive early.

The Lockhart
1479 Dundas Street West
(Dundas & Dufferin, Toronto)

Tuesday, June 5 & Tuesday June 19
7:00 - 9:00 PM

 

On What Can Be Known

A wonderful short article appeared yesterday on the Scientific American blog about the limits of human knowledge — "How Much Can We Know?"

What makes my job truly special is that I get to show people things they can't explain. And — assuming I do my job well enough — they have no hope of explaining. But the fact that I can do this consistently means that what I do is not un-understandable, because clearly I understand it. Still I find many people are all to eager to rope off certain areas of inquiry, declaring in advance that no understanding is possible and therefore no attempt is necessary. 

The article begins 

““What we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning,” wrote German physicist Werner Heisenberg, who was the first to fathom the uncertainty inherent in quantum physics. To those who think of science as a direct path to the truth about the world, this quote must be surprising, perhaps even upsetting. Is Heisenberg saying that our scientific theories are contingent on us as observers? If he is, and we take him seriously, does this mean that what we call scientific truth is nothing but a big illusion?”

But just like Darwin's treatment of the eye in On The Origin of Species this is a set-up. There is scientific light at the end of the tunnel:

“Sometimes people take this statement about the limitation of scientific knowledge as being defeatist: “If we can’t get to the bottom of things, why bother?” This kind of response is misplaced. There is nothing defeatist in understanding the limitations of the scientific approach to knowledge. Science remains our best methodology to build consensus about the workings of nature. What should change is a sense of scientific triumphalism—the belief that no question is beyond the reach of scientific discourse.”

Monday Optimism

Earlier this year, Stephen Pinker's latest book Enlightenment Now rocked my world. It changes the way you look at the news and the world around in general. Here is the first half of his book distilled down to a TED Talk given earlier this year in Vancouver, BC.

Enjoy a nice uplifting message to kick off your week:

A Most Stupendous Podcast

If forced to name the greatest human named Stephen, Stephen Fry has to be somewhere near the top of the list. Eloquent and witty with an unparalleled love of of both language and learning. 

He has a new podcast called Great Leap Years - The Stories Behind Inventions. Specifically he's focused around inventions related to communication and information technology. It starts at the beginning with the development of language. If you're unfamiliar with the intense verbal tango that is listening to Stephen Fry, here's a sample of what you're in for:

“You may know that I’ve had a lifelong interest in technology but you should understand too, I am not a scientist, technologist, engineer of hardware or software by training nor talent. It takes me a long time to understand scientific ideas simply because they’re nearly always founded in the abstractions of mathematics and I, since childhood, had an attitude to numbers that approximates my attitude to tigers: they are, to be sure, beautiful beyond words, magnificent, strange, fascinating, powerful. But they fill me with awe, fear, a deep sense of inadequacy, and a presentiment that unless I run away, I will wet myself.”

— From Episode I - "When We Were Young"

The podcast is available through his website, but also through Apple Podcasts and quite free to enjoy. As far as I'm concerned, the episodes can't come out fast enough. 

h/t @pennjillette

Privacy Policy

We've updated our privacy policy. (Internet rejoice!)

That's not actually true. But if you're reading this far you've proven that you are insatiably curious with a sharp attention to detail and that deserves to be rewarded. So, with that in mind, we would like to offer you two free tickets to an upcoming performance of Magic & Martini. The show has been sold out for the past several months. We've just posted the dates for June and think you, delightfully clever as you are, should have the first crack at them. To claim your tickets, click the "Read More" button below before Sunday, June 3, 2018, choose the date you want and use the secret code privacy to gain access. 

This is something you deserve for actually bothering to read this. So don't tell anyone else about it. We can't wait to see you at the show!

If you're actually concerned about privacy, don't be. Magicians keep secrets for a living. James actually spends most of his show with duct tape on his face and doesn't know what's going on half the time anyway. So rest assured your secrets (which pretty much amount to your email address, and the names of any playing cards you may have picked during the show) are safe with us.

Decisions decisions

Good advice is always better when delivered in a British accent: 

The one bit of advice I particularly like is to seek out hidden information. That's essentially how all magic works; concealing by hook or by crook the information that would otherwise allow you to figure out what's really going on. It's not that you're not smart, it's that the information you want is actively being kept from you.