Dustings #127

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This is an incredible bit of forward thinking by Murphy’s Magic, Craig Petty, and Lloyd Barnes in their new Savant Deck release.

I grew up in an era when magic tricks came in a Ziploc bag, so it’s genuinely heartening to see this much thought go into the packaging.

Here’s how you use it in performance:

You casually leave the box out on your coffee table. Your friend spots it and asks, “What’s this?”

“Oh,” you say, “I’ve been dabbling in packaging design lately. Just a side hustle to make some extra cash. That’s one I worked on.”

They look closer. “Uhm… you spelled ‘calculations’ wrong.”

“Yes, I know. I’m actually a complete fucking idiot when it comes to spelling. It’s a neurological trade-off. My brain forfeited basic language skills in exchange for extraordinary mathematical ability. Here—let me show you…”

And boom! You’re right into the Savant Deck.

“Amazing!” your friend exclaims. “So your brilliant math skills are only possible because your brain compensated by gutting your spelling abilities. Fascinating! This must also be why you lack emotional intelligence and any sense of charisma: your brain wants to be able to add card values quickly.”

Thanks to Murphy’s, Craig, and Lloyd for all the thought they put into this presentational prop. A lot of magicians will just think it’s a typo. Guys… do you really think they would misspell a word right on the front of the product packaging? One of only eight words that appear there? That’s ridiculous. It wasn’t a mistake at all. It was actually calulated.

Speaking of thoughtfully crafted things, Jeff H. directs me to Scott Robinson’s website, author of the book, Pure Imagination, which Vanishing Inc was recently pushing.

I adore the attention and care that went into this website.

For example, I love this beautifully written, completely not generic, paragraph. Clearly penned by an actual human about a real, specific magic book that they read and enjoyed.

Pair that with a picture that so lovingly shows what real playing cards actually look like, and you truly have a site that touches the heart and mind.

There’s only one upsetting part of this site, and that’s in the endorsement section. For God’s sake, Penn Jillette and David Copperfield, quit it with the surgery and the botox. Just grow old gracefully.

For those of you with the most recent book, a new video has been added to the appendix that’s worth checking out.