Hypotheticals(a 25 part series)

I'm reading a book by Chuck Klosterman. He's a witty guy: but a senseless, nonsensical kind of wit. he talks mainly about pop culture topics and somehow ends up relating the most asinine subject matter to some of the most relevant topics, such as pornography and the internet, the Celtics and Lakers rivalry in the eighties and how it applies to everyday life, how "The real world" shaped modern culture, etc. Good read, broadens the horizons i guess. mostly a book that is serious but also seriously funny. anyways, on page 126 of "sex drugs and cocoa puffs: a low culture manifesto" he suggests that there are twenty three things he routinely asks people he meets and judges their personality on their answers. They are not yes or no questions, they are hypothetical questions. many of which i've found myself asking myself in certain instances, which amused and aroused my interest. I rarely like to bring any intelectual conversation to the interweb because i fear that much of what we write is lost in the translation from my fingers to your brain, yet I'm sure we'll still get some giggles out of it. I'll post one hypothetical a day for the next 25 days. There are no wrong answers, the only rule is you must answer with consideration, and give reason as to why you chose your answer. You can choose your answer out of guilt, morality, or just to try to get a laugh, the beauty of it is no matter how you answer you are fundimentally telling everybody something about your psyche (even if that is not really your intention). here goes. Hypothetical # 1 Let us assume you met a rudimentary magician. Let us assume he can do five simple tricks -- he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, he can make a coin disappear, he can turn the ace of spades into the Joker card, and two others in a similar vein. These are his only tricks and he can't learn any more; he can only do these five. HOWEVER, it turns out he's doing these five tricks with real magic. Its not an illusion; he can actually conjure the bunny out of the ether and he can move the coin through space. He's legitimately magical, but extremely limited in scope and influence.Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein?

Id have to say that in his own way the magician is very impressive for being able to do that, but the things that Albert Einstein found by using his mind are far more impressive in my mind. Plus the things that Einstein found led to explanations and other discoveries where as the magician's abilities dont seem to benefit other people quite as much. ANd NTS, definitely a cool idea to post these, this should get pretty entertaining.

My answer; Yes he would be more impressive. "real" magic has yet to be seen. Been thinking about picking up one of his books, he writes some damned interesting stuff in Esquire.

No, He might be more impressive for a short amount of time, but then, like an Idol contestant, he'd just disappear into the background noise. Having a gift means nothing unless you use it. Einstein is impressive because he used his massive intellect to formulate theories that are still incomprehensible to most people several decades later, not to mention challenging for most up-and-coming scientists. Magicians impress children with magic, they impress adults with talent. Grown-ups are in awe of the guy who pulls a rabbit out of his hat, because they're aware that there IS no magic, and so the magician is creating an illusion. Once the audience figures out how the magician does it, there's no trick any more, and that includes figuring out that this guy actually does conjure them out of thin air. Cool thread. reps to come:dthumb:

The magician is impressive in his own area, yes. The magician's talent is limited, yet intriguing and mainly for entertainment purposes only. Einstein was also extremely impressive in his own field. His knowledge and studies benefit humanity in many ways. Some people are impressed by knowledge and some by entertainment, me personally..i would have to go with Einstein.

No, He might be more impressive for a short amount of time, but then, like an Idol contestant, he'd just disappear into the background noise. Having a gift means nothing unless you use it. Einstein is impressive because he used his massive intellect to formulate theories that are still incomprehensible to most people several decades later, not to mention challenging for most up-and-coming scientists. Magicians impress children with magic, they impress adults with talent. Grown-ups are in awe of the guy who pulls a rabbit out of his hat, because they're aware that there IS no magic, and so the magician is creating an illusion. Once the audience figures out how the magician does it, there's no trick any more, and that includes figuring out that this guy actually does conjure them out of thin air. Cool thread. reps to come:dthumb: :iagree: I was in the process of typing something very similar to this (obviously I'm going to side with Al, I'm a nerd :lol:) but chuckademus has pretty much said it all, I wouldn't have said it better myself.

I think the magician is more impressive. Einstein was one of the greatest minds of all times, but he could not make the impossible possible.

Going on a couple of assumptions here about the magician. #1 It was something he was either born with or acquired by a fluke of nature. #2 He can not teach, nor pass on this "power" and there for it will never grow beyond these five tricks. The works of Albert Einstein has benefited all humanity and will continue to do so. So unless this magician had some really shiny pants and some cool dance moves to go with his magic, he is nothing more than a neat freak of nature. And honestly, I don't think I would ever really come to the point of not thinking "Ok, whats the trick?"

:baha: @ shiney pants and dance moves...

I think impressive is the key word in this situation. I think the thing with the musician is is that yeah, you can do something that has never been thought to be possible, totally create stuff out of nothing and yes that is impressive to say the least, but look at what youre doing. Useless sh*t. Albert Einstein worked his whole life to accomplish many feats and is just sheer genius and has done things that massively effected the world. Albert Einstein is more impressive

it depends, YES but only IF he is able to teach and show how he does his tricks. otherwise he'll faid off into the past and become lost in stories. NO if he can't show/teach it because of the fact that what AE did allowed man to leapfrog ahead in technology.

What is your take on it NtS?

the answer is no... it's not what you can do, but what you do with it. Einstein used his knowledge for advancement of our species. the magician hasn't shown any motivation to use his skillz to rewl the world. if i had that magic, i'd be owning a fortune 100 company and divorced many times with offsprings of different nationalities. i can even start my own religion. -a|ex

More entertaining? Possibly. But actually more impressive? NO. Now, if he could not only do the tricks, but explain to me the forces at work (and not just expliain it as magic... I mean give actual scientific data to back it up), then maybe... but just doing the tricks? Nope. Magic exists, it's nothing new. :idk:

The bunny rabbit would be impressive in sub culture ablwe to travel through time and space to appear in a mans hand , meaning its an alien bunjny from some far off galaxy. coming totake the worlds carrot supply. Sorry i have a broad and vivid imagination. :P rep i like this thread :) good idea.

I would say the magician is more impressive. With his very limited scope of tricks, he just took everything Einstein knew and made it worthless. The field of physics would have to be completely rewritten to account for the magicians abilities.

What is your take on it NtS? I'll let ya guys know when i get a moment. I'll post the second question up hopefully tonight. they get much better (and funnier)

heres my answer to hypothetical number one. it is continued on the first page of hypothetical number two (http://www.twowheelforum.com/showthread.php?p=383401#post383401)

Depends on what you are impressed by? Einstein was a genius in his own right, with what his mind came up with. This magician has a cool talent, yes, but not truely creating anything new. I still go with old Al. Edit: NOW IF he could make a coin APPEAR out of thin air, he'd be my new best friend. And I would make him show me the trick over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over

techincally, he is creating something new. like i said in my new post he's creating matter out of nothing. physically impossible. he's comparable to jesus. long story short he is doing somethign that defies science. not something science just cant prove, he is DEFYING the laws of science. not explaining them. to me that is almost god like, no matter what degree he is doing it.

techincally, he is creating something new. like i said in my new post he's creating matter out of nothing. physically impossible. he's comparable to jesus. long story short he is doing somethign that defies science. not something science just cant prove, he is DEFYING the laws of science. not explaining them. to me that is almost god like, no matter what degree he is doing it. Jesus was impressive, admired, loved and eventually executed because of his altruistic teachings, and the fact that he lived his own life to the standard that he asked of his followers (lead by example). The magic tricks, healing the sick, turning water into wine,etc, only convinced the people that when he said he was the Son of God, he wasn't lying! If he'd decided to take it easy, become a street magician (albeit a very good one), he would have found fame and fortune in his own time, and maybe if he was really popular, we'd still know his name now, like we know about other great entertainers, such as Mozart, Verde or Bocelli, who lived before the rise of film, radio, records, and other methods of storing information.

Jesus was impressive, admired, loved and eventually executed because of his altruistic teachings, and the fact that he lived his own life to the standard that he asked of his followers (lead by example). The magic tricks, healing the sick, turning water into wine,etc, only convinced the people that when he said he was the Son of God, he wasn't lying! If he'd decided to take it easy, become a street magician (albeit a very good one), he would have found fame and fortune in his own time, and maybe if he was really popular, we'd still know his name now, like we know about other great entertainers, such as Mozart, Verde or Bocelli, who lived before the rise of film, radio, records, and other methods of storing information. No where in the question does it state that the magician must "take it easy" or be a street magician. and he would not simply be a "very good" street magician, he would define magic. i guarantee you if i could genuinely conjure a rabbit out of a hat and make coins appear from behind your ears i would rule the world within my lifetime.

Well, someone once said (and I'll paraphrase), "Any sufficiently advanced technology would appear as magic to a sufficiently backwards culture". Einstein's breakthroughs could have easily been viewed as magic, instead of science. However, because he was a scientist, he published his theories along with data. By doing this, "magic" became science. The magician mentioned could easily fall into the same category. The magician may know methods to transmute materials from one form to the other, but, unlike Einstein, chooses not to demonstrate how he accomplishes his feats therfore projecting the mystique of "magic". Sorry, way too deep. The short answer is emphatically NO. The magician is performing parlor tricks, and Einstein changed the world with his efforts.

Sorry, way too deep. The short answer is emphatically NO. The magician is performing parlor tricks, and Einstein changed the world with his efforts. Where are you getting this from? these are hypothetical situations, in which the magician is not performing parlor tricks he is GENUINELY MAGICAL. That is what the question says. You cannot change the parameters of the question just because you have a thing for Einstein. All that was stated is that the magician can do magic for real. he is not a master of science, or knows something that we dont. He is not emulating some sort of advanced technology. He is magical. doing magic. real magic. that cannot be explained by science. Like i said, Einstein was a great man who changed the world. but he could not do the unexplainable, he explained the unknown.

Hmmm. If Einstein could actually teach me things and get me to understand them, I would be more impressed by him than the magician. However, I would be fascinated with the magic tricks. I don't completely believe in the supernatural, but I am curious about it. I would also be inclined to see if Einstein could help me look deeper into things and explain, or figure out, the magic.

He is magical. doing magic. real magic. that cannot be explained by science. Like i said, Einstein was a great man who changed the world. but he could not do the unexplainable, he explained the unknown. What it boils down to (for me) the best thing this magician has to offer is the return of a child like wonder. But, once again going on my two assumptions, there is no benefit. Once he dies, it goes with him. Einstein's ideas and theories will live on, and be improved upon.

the question asks whom would be more impressive. as if you were to line them up and einstein would rattle out the theory of relativity, and tell it to you in a way that makes sense, and then the magician would conjur up a boquet of flowers from thin air. and he would let you inspect every inch of him to see if you could prove how he was doing it, and he would do it over and over again until you were satisfied that he was really magical. not who would be remembered by society or who would benefit society more. simply who would be more impressive.

the question asks whom would be more impressive. as if you were to line them up and einstein would rattle out the theory of relativity, and tell it to you in a way that makes sense, and then the magician would conjur up a boquet of flowers from thin air. and he would let you inspect every inch of him to see if you could prove how he was doing it, and he would do it over and over again until you were satisfied that he was really magical. not who would be remembered by society or who would benefit society more. simply who would be more impressive. And I would still have go with Einstein. Because of the fact he would benefit society more and, back to my two assumtions here, the magician is nothing more than, albeit a cool one, freak of nature.

And I would still have go with Einstein. Because of the fact he would benefit society more and, back to my two assumtions here, the magician is nothing more than, albeit a cool one, freak of nature. hah okay! i can dig it.

Where are you getting this from? these are hypothetical situations, in which the magician is not performing parlor tricks he is GENUINELY MAGICAL. That is what the question says. You cannot change the parameters of the question just because you have a thing for Einstein. All that was stated is that the magician can do magic for real. he is not a master of science, or knows something that we dont. He is not emulating some sort of advanced technology. He is magical. doing magic. real magic. that cannot be explained by science. Like i said, Einstein was a great man who changed the world. but he could not do the unexplainable, he explained the unknown. Uhhh, I'm not changing parameters. As the question describes, the magician is producing inane objects out of thin air, or changing the face of a card. Real magic or not, these abilities are curious but useless. They have NO practical value to mankind, and involve no skill, but an unexplained ability. Hence, the term parlor trick. Neat, curious, but of no redeeming value. As far as having a thing for Einstein, he was pretty cute. And smart to boot. As I read the original post, you posed the question and asked members to repond with their opinion. I failed to read the part where our interpretations of the question had to jive with yours. Nuff said. Einstein wins for me.

Uhhh, I'm not changing parameters. As the question describes, the magician is producing inane objects out of thin air, or changing the face of a card. Real magic or not, these abilities are curious but useless. They have NO practical value to mankind, and involve no skill, but an unexplained ability. Hence, the term parlor trick. Neat, curious, but of no redeeming value. As far as having a thing for Einstein, he was pretty cute. And smart to boot. As I read the original post, you posed the question and asked members to repond with their opinion. I failed to read the part where our interpretations of the question had to jive with yours. Nuff said. Einstein wins for me. in a third world country, pulling rabits out of a hat can feed many... so not entirely useless. entertainment is also a cure for hopelessness. as i mentioned previously, it's what one does with this magic that will impress me. which this is not mentioned, therefore, i am unimpressed. -a|ex

Uhhh, I'm not changing parameters. As the question describes, the magician is producing inane objects out of thin air, or changing the face of a card. Real magic or not, these abilities are curious but useless. They have NO practical value to mankind, and involve no skill, but an unexplained ability. Hence, the term parlor trick. Neat, curious, but of no redeeming value. As far as having a thing for Einstein, he was pretty cute. And smart to boot. As I read the original post, you posed the question and asked members to repond with their opinion. I failed to read the part where our interpretations of the question had to jive with yours. Nuff said. Einstein wins for me. yes it does! as NTS said... what the Magician does by creating matter out of NOTHING... blows away what Einstein said... After thinking about it a bit more.... to me the Magician is more impressive not because of what he DOES but because of what it proves is POSSIBLE! :2cents: