30 - A Wonderful Life
I always thought that being 'smart' meant you were good at reason, and logic, and rationality, and the scientific method, and being some super MENSA being, and caring about chess and watching brain and science documentaries, and telling people why they were wrong about probability and thinking and that there was a 'right' way to look at things.
A really great thing about time is that it moves me quickly away from such naïve beliefs. Unfortunately it also takes me away from being a cute little Asian kid that was adored by all...
ANYWAY - because I held such rigid beliefs, anything that challenged them in a fun or interesting way was, well, really fun! How interesting is it for your beliefs to be challenged? Cutting to the chase, I realised that some of the things I enjoy the most are linked together through one overarching concept:
⭐️Wonder⭐️
Let me explain.
When you have the above mindset for most of your young, impressionable, nerdy years, and spending your life understanding a certain way of thinking, it's incredibly interesting to be shown that there are other ways of thinking about the world (who knew?!).
Science and rationality was a fundamental cornerstone of all the 'smart' people I knew or read or watched; and I was a kid who always wanted to be right. I always wanted to be top of the class, know everything there was to know, and be able to predict what was coming next - a classic Asian overachiever.
But as I grew up, there were things that would just be so novel and unpredictable for me, that I loved. They were things that I seemed to not be able to know, or work out what would be coming next...which sounds like I should have been really annoyed by, but it was just the next challenge!
The feeling of wonder is really fun. I'm sure I'm not unique in feeling this, but it's one of the most beautiful, child-like emotion you'll have - the sheer giddiness you feel while being tricked, looking on in awe as the predictability of the patterns you know get turned on their head, or even just the mental cogs that start kicking into gear trying to work out how it worked. Remember the first time your dad taught you how a computer worked? Or the first time Mum makes a crane out of paper?
Magic is one of those things that I find wondrous - the first time I saw David Copperfield was when Mum showed us this DVD she had got which was this steely-faced blue-eyed dude going through the Great Wall of China. It was mind-boggling! Now that I look back, I'm sure there were camera tricks but it was still impressive nonetheless! We watched that show "Magic Secrets Revealed" so many damn times - it was super fun to understand the mechanics behind the tricks, but it never took away from the illusion.
Any time I see Penn and Teller on TV or YouTube, I just have to watch. Their revival on 'Fool Us' that showcases other amazing magicians was a great return (I'll link some below). I love how they break down their tricks, and yet you STILL get impressed by it. Con men and cults are a fascinating look into human behaviour as well - look at Apollo Robbins, or Bob Arno (a fascinating documentary of a pickpocket magician who goes to Italy and learns from pickpockets themselves)!!
Comedy is another great love of mine - the fact that you never really know where the joke is going, but once it's there, it's hilarious. It plays with the predictability of your mind, leading you down the path of 2 + 2...and then gives you 5! It enhances what you expected, and subverts your expectation of what is supposed to come back, but in a way that is absolutely perfect. I love the call-backs, the building of stories, the punchlines, the jokes. It's beautiful.
I need to find more ways to inject wonder into my life - let me know, how do you do it?
Chat soon :)
✔️ Real Life Recommendations
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Melbourne International Comedy Festival - always a highlight of my year. We're so fortunate it comes to Melbourne - I remember watching the Gala on Channel 10 and falling in love with all the comics in uni - I wish I had spent more time and money on it back then. Oh well, time to catch up now :D
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The Comedian's Comedian - think of a comedian; they've probably come on to this podcast to talk about their process and how they come up with their ideas. I've listened to James Acaster, Sarah Millican, Daniel Sloss, Ross Noble - it's a great listen! It's also quite good that the interviewer IS a comedian, so they can talk about the comedy world in detail :)
🚌 Adventures on the Magical Information Super-Highway
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Comedy Magician John Archer - wagers $100 in a fascinatingly fun magic trick, to see if you can pick the letter that has the money!
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Deadpan Magician Kyle Eschen - the performance is ridiculously funny; he even had a TEDx talk afterwards on his magic!
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Smoke Magician Shin Lim - real magic. He vanishes a Sharpie from mid-air, does card magic with smoke - it's incredible.
🌱 The Calathea Corner
A really interesting thing about Feleafcia is the lush red underside of her leaves. It's so pretty and a beautiful contrast to the green topside!
