There was an odd key to unlocking it sounding like a human. I spent like a month on this topic last year, and I randomly stumbled upon something that ended up massively improving generated tests.

It was a shot in the dark after failing so often. And then it suddenly sounded good.

https://github.com/notque/vexjoy-agent/pull/908

I'm curious to try your proposal, I just want more specifics.

It's just always been very behind the curve. I don't think you should use anyone's honestly. You should create your own shell base, and point to skills you find might add value, and add them. Then as you learn things about the shape of how things work, what you end up doing is rewriting them to follow your rules from what you learned.

What you'll find is, you'll have significantly better skills and systems.

https://github.com/notque/vexjoy-agent

I work in tech, and was onsite somewhere for over a month with nothing to do. Remote area. I had always loved magic, and had asked magic teachers to teach me when I was a kid, and they all said no, they don't teach anyone.

I read books, but didn't really get it.

So I was in tech, in a place completely foreign to me with no rental car on weekends. I asked the bartender if he had anything I could do. He handed me a deck of cards.

From there, I just started to learn and practice things cause I was bored. Ultimately went to train with Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger. Jeff wasn't focused on the kinds of magic I liked, and Eugene Burger hated my style. I fooled both of them for the "final", intentionally leading Eugene down a garden path.

He hated not treated the cards with reverence. So I threw cards behind me, knowing it would completely shut off his brain while I did the secret move.

I did the same with Jeff. In the routine, I took his teaching on what not to do, and intentionally did it to shut off his brain.

They were both completely, ridiculously fooled. I likely may have fooled them without it, but I am too clever for my own good, and wanted to trick them in my own way.

From there, I ended up training with the guy who actually fit my style, Dani Daortiz. I flew to Spain and learned from him and Yann Frisch. I also helped Yann develop a new move. I taught them some of my original moves which they loved. I just come at things from a very different angle, so I have some interesting things.

Dani asked me to perform at the end, but I was too nervous. He is the guy I most adore. I regret that.

I even left them at one point after a full day of working with them, and just went and did magic in Spain for the night. I just do whatever, and that was what my soul needed after listening to 12 hours of magic discussion.

So I'm a software engineer, who has it as a hobby, but whenever I do it, I do it at a level that is stupid good. I don't even remember tricks, or have a set list, I just sort of vibe with whatever I remember, and rely on all the random skills I have to get there. I will do Lennart's snap deal for fun, invent a new trick on the spot because I'm bored. I do have a few original tricks that are completely mine.

One of them has a mind reading plot with cards. I have done the trick so many times in life, that I can legitimately forget the card, and it's fine, I can actually do the activity of figuring out their card without knowing it a good percentage of time.

You just get so used to understanding how people react to things, that you can figure it out in the process.

The trick just keeps evolving. Now, quite often, I have other spectators figure out the card. They also can get it with my... direction to what to look for.

So then they get to be the star. Lot of fun. It has so many variations because the whole thing is jazzed. So every time something new works, it's another thing I might remember to do.

I also am maybe the only magician then will intentionally bomb tricks. I learned early on that I do this for fun, and unfun people are not worth my time.

So even though I know the trick, and their card, I will intentionally pretend I don't and bomb the trick. I like that space. Living in that space has taught me more than any book about how to jazz around failure.

Intentionally failing is a master class in the space of failure in magic.

So I'm just a software engineer, who has had a ridiculously deep hobby for a long enough time that I can do a full show at a moment's notice. I have the tools, the understanding, and I can do prepared stuff, jazz whatever, or remember a trick i haven't done in 10 years, and decide to do that.

I do it for my fun. It's enabled me to drink for free where ever I go if I want, and have an enjoyable time.

I don't usually do the Magic Live stuff. I did that stuff for awhile, but I never felt like it really added much value to my experience.

I feel like I could surely if I cared to, book a show here locally, and do it. It would teach me a lot, but I just don't really want it. I like just being a random dude who can do ridiculously good magic when I feel like it.

That’s a thing where when you know how hard the trick is, it makes it better.

Very cool your training.

And same on poker plots. I can do them infinite other cooler ways, so what’s the point?

The burnable 2nd I have. But it’s not the traditional 2nd. I have practiced and still practice the Richard Turner style 2nd, but I never do it in a performance. I use another path to get to the same result.

Wasn’t planning on Magic Live, but I should see where it is and when.

My job was to heighten their experience, and to essentially act as a mini therapist enabling them to feel confident in their own decisions.

But I feel you. I did things entirely differently to everyone else. Which is why I thought it was an interesting story.

If anyone actually cared, and really learned the moves, it would be imperceptible, even on camera, but instead regularly players get caught doing the dumbest of obvious things, even while on camera.

I found the tarot readings were infinitely better to the person getting the reading when I just forced the results. So I did.

I still did all the things you're indicating about talking about specific personality, etc, as the patter to the concept.

as a magician, I'm always still impressed when I see perfect faros.

I burn a ton of tokens, but things actually have to prove their value. And the vast majority of things do not come close to doing so.

I have my own AI agent full of stuff. I blind A/B test everything, but I also don't think the results are all that useful as a signal to others.

Just because I Blind A/B test it 4 months ago, it's maybe not meaningful today.

Maybe the word choices I use dramatically impact things.

I do it, because I can prove the value, and see it with my own eyes. I don't even bother publishing the specific Blind A/B tests.

Also, I've seen other people try to Blind A/B test and get it very wrong. If your measurements aren't good, the test is meaningless.

I don't know. We're all working on these problems together. There's a lot of black magic (which is why I rely on hooks a lot). I'm sure I have tons of black magic, I have a large little AI Agent.

But what I know for certain, is it works for me. All it takes is for me to not use it, and I honestly don't know how everyone currently works with AI.

I will link it, but it is not an endorsement for what you do. Mostly only other software engineers use it. And it's so very specific to the things I have to do.

At best, maybe it sparks an idea for you to implement on your own.

https://github.com/notque/vexjoy-agent

just hit 100k ppvs from people generating them

https://5starbooker.com/

About 8,500 people booked 38,000 shows and minted 26,000+ share cards on 5 Star Booker.

Having a lot of fun creating it.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48496186

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