Weekly Reflection #13 - An Illusionist is not a Sorcerer
Each week, I share one insight. One piece of wisdom. One question to reflect on. (and a little Lagniappe)
Insight
An illusionist is not a sorcerer. While pulling a rabbit from a hat can feel like real magic, it isn't. A thinking person knows that we are being fooled. That is part of the fun. The illusionist knows that we know, even if we can't quite figure out how the trick works. But, no matter how clever the illusion, it will never transcend to "real" magic. No matter how skilled the illusionist becomes, they can't ever truly materialize a rabbit from thin air.
This is where we are with AI. We are being told that if the model gets just a little bit bigger or the training gets a little bit better, our sophisticated "next most likely token prediction machine" will transcend the limits of its training data and inference and exceed the capabilities of deeply creative work of all humanity.
An illusionist who sells you on the fact that they are a sorcerer is either delusional or a crook.
Wisdom
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool." — Richard Feynman, Caltech commencement address, 1974
Reflection
What assumption are we making right now that we haven't tested?
Lagniappe
- I've been having fun using Claude Code to help me prototype things I wouldn't have gotten around to otherwise. I thought I'd share something I'm building. It's a weird little hyper minimalist (and paranoid) linux runtime for static binaries I'm calling wisp.
- Debug Mode - Every two weeks I offer a FREE Office hours. Our next is March 5th, 2026 on Youtube Live. Sign up here.
- Our newest episode of Book Overflow is out. This week we discuss the first half of Frictionless by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda, a book on DevEx and the importance of reducing friction in our work.
- As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Reply and let me know what resonates.