“Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect” - Teller (of Penn and Teller)

I recently came across an interesting concept called sprezzatura. It’s an Italian term that means “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort.”

In many ways, sprezzatura is the antithesis of modern culture. It’s hard to create mystique when your Twitter is a publically accessible stream of consciousness. It’s hard to build conceal your art in the age of nightly builds and continuous integration, when you are encouraged to build fast and break things.

But it’s the product that matters in the end, not the process. Every peek behind the scenes deprives your audience of the magic and myth they deserve.

Maybe its time to reconsider the lost art of showmanship.