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By Root 393 0

Gobs to be, unlike Gob himself, competent illusionists? Modern illusionists are not conjurers, but methodical, diligent, scientifically oriented engineers of human experience. The task of creating an illusion is one of reverse engineering, usually involving the conceptualization of the illusion (what the audience is supposed to believe they saw) followed by the development of the techniques through which the illusion will be accomplished. Complex illusions, such as David Copperfield’s making the Statue of Liberty disappear, are the product of trial and error overseen by teams of expert craftsmen, including the performer. Such illusions can require many years of preparation and hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment and overhead costs. Moreover, just as in scientific experimentation, illusionists must perfect their illusions through repeated practice, modifying and refining illusions until the desired effect is achieved. The modern illusionist must, therefore, be dogged and diligent.

On top of that, an illusionist needs a wide range of technical knowhow. The illusionist’s ability to create a sense of bafflement or surprise in her audience depends first on her knowing how to manipulate the objects used in her act—be they playing cards, rabbits, silk scarves, or the sword of destiny—so as to give the audience the impression that she’s done the impossible. So it’s not just the kinesthetic ability to move these objects in the desired ways; it’s also the knowledge of how manipulating these objects produces beliefs in the audience—beliefs that what was witnessed couldn’t have actually happened. A successful illusion requires the complex understanding of how, by seeing stage objects in motion, observers will be led to believe they perceived something impossible. This is why illusionists deploy a variety of dramatic techniques—distraction, building tension, and so on—that psychologically prime the audience to experience the sense of illusion. Of course, the illusionist understands how the impossible was made to seem possible, but the audience does not. For the illusionist, there’s no illusion going on. As the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein put it, “One man’s ‘magic’ is another man’s engineering.”3

Lastly, magic is a profession that thrives on humility. Being a magician is surprisingly challenging work, and an illusionist is no more successful than her illusions. She cannot simply will herself to success. Ultimately, an illusionist must respect the limits set by the laws of nature and by the audiences’ expectations of what they perceive. For it is only by knowing these limits that she can create illusions that seem to transcend them. Tricks fail, props don’t work, the audience can see through the ruse. A person without humility, someone who cannot be humbled by the labor and insight needed to make illusions succeed, is not cut out for this profession.

Why Gob Can’t Do Magic

Doggedness, diligence, technical knowhow, knowledge of human psychology, and humility: Doubtless there are other traits or skills a successful illusionist needs, but these are central to her success. What is crystal clear is that Gob Bluth is sorely lacking in all of these virtues, and actually has the corresponding vices in abundance.

Let’s start with those two D-words, doggedness and diligence. Loath though he would be to admit it, Gob Bluth is a slacker. Aristotle once remarked, “What we learn to do, we learn by doing.”4 But Gob hardly appears to prepare for or practice his performances at all, and what preparation he does is ridiculous (painting a Q and a diamond on his chest and asking his nephew to pick a playing card from a deck in the hope that it will be a queen of diamonds). He is seemingly unable to learn from his mistakes, and his inattention to detail is staggering. In “The Cabin Show,” he misreads a letter from “S.A.D.” (a company that reunites long-lost fathers and sons) as a letter inviting Gob to reunite with George Sr., when in fact it was an attempt by Gob’s illegitimate son, Steve Holt (!), to reunite with Gob.