Penn referenced it in an interview somewhere, with the impression he was citing a well-known stage magic quip.
Essentially: there are two ways to make something appear magical.
- One is a gimmick (physical or otherwise), which is performed so well as to be invisible to the audience.
- The other is simply doing something effortlessly that seems impossible without spending years of practice... but having actually spent years of practice on it.
He cited some Teller trick that Teller brute forced by just practicing the movements for an entire year until he could do them reliably and flawlessly.
Essentially: there are two ways to make something appear magical.
- One is a gimmick (physical or otherwise), which is performed so well as to be invisible to the audience.
- The other is simply doing something effortlessly that seems impossible without spending years of practice... but having actually spent years of practice on it.
He cited some Teller trick that Teller brute forced by just practicing the movements for an entire year until he could do them reliably and flawlessly.