Tangential Learning

[Steerpike]

As I write this, the Steam Summer Sale is in its 4th day. On Saturday, I snagged the latest expansion pack to Civilization V, Brave New World. OCD poster child that I am, it chewed up my weekend as I beat two playthroughs as the Shoshone and Poland. I'm part Polish, so I just really wanted to be Poland, okay? Na zdrowie!

I'm not posting this to talk about video games however, but because this particular game is such a fine illustration of a concept close to my heart called tangential learning. I've had people ask me, here and at other locations, what the hell is wrong with me. Slightly less frequently I'm asked where I come across all of the obscure and seemingly unrelated information I've accumulated. From mythology to world religions to counterculture scenes to languages to history... Well, a lot of it is tangential learning. It's the concept that says in the process of consuming media or through social interaction you are turned on to something that you previously didn't know was interesting.

The most obvious examples are typically in movies that are about historical events and turn out to be popular. 300 is the most commonly sited example of this. Okay, yeah, I'm as exasperated as any purist about the dubious historical authenticity of having Persian ninjas and derogatory references to homosexuality at the battle of Thermopylae, and no, I don't think I could have crammed anymore ten-dollar words into the first half of this sentence. But think of how many people saw the movie and decided to look up the actual history of the battle on Wikipedia. Cold Mountain was an Oscar-bait flick that may have encouraged a few people to learn more about the American Civil War.

More recently, how many of you saw the film Hugo? A fictionalized account of the rediscovery of professional illusionist turned film auteur Georges Melies, the man who single-handedly invented special effects. I would think as magicians that would appeal to some of you. Of those who saw it, how many of you then sought out the handful of Melies's movies that have survived? How many of you have already seen at least one of them? Mind, if I don't see any of you raising your hand to at least one of those questions, I'm going to be deeply disappointed in you. All of you. And yes, I can see you through your monitor.

In my case, Civilization V has been one of the biggest cases of tangential learning. The game has a guide called the Civilopedia that includes information about all of the civilizations presented in the game, their iconic leaders, the various military units they can build, the various buildings and structures, world wonders, natural wonders, technologies, great people from throughout history... I've learned a lot from this game that I didn't even know I thought was fascinating. I now have a knowledge of the broad strokes of the history of many historic and modern nations and empires. I've had a chance to hear a lot of obscure languages spoke aloud (though not always by native speakers sadly). And I've had my horizons expanded in looking at the aesthetics of other cultures.

I didn't know I liked ancient Thai aesthetics until I met Rhamkhamhaeng of Siam. I had no idea I would be interested in learning about the history of Korea until I got a chance to play as King Sejong of the Choson dynasty and learn about his life and career. And after meeting and learning about King Kamehameha of Hawaii and learning about some of the history of the South Pacific, I'm actually doing research on the cultures therein in hopes of writing a new fantasy novel drawing inspiration from them. As an aside, if you've ever heard Hawaiian spoken aloud, I hope you'll agree with me that it is such a friendly-sounding language.

I bring this all up for two reasons. We live in an era of information where the world is quite literally at our fingertips. But asking someone to just research something is like putting them in the Iron Chef's kitchen and telling them to make something. If you start out with uncountable possibilities, you're going to waste a lot of time paralyzed by indecision. The worst feeling in the world for anyone in the arts is staring at a blank piece of paper. So let's start with that problem. Specifically, when faced with the possibility of doing anything, we waste a lot of time trying to narrow it down to something.

Tangential learning is not a conventional solution in this sense. Rather, it simply changes the dynamic. There are examples of media that were designed with tangential learning in mind (see above), but not as many as I would like. More often, tangential learning is a happy accident. For example, did you know that Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 is actually named from a concept in Judaism? Look it up. Or perhaps that in several of Jonathon Demme's movies, he casts his mentor Roger Corman in bit parts, and that Mister Corman actually has had an astronomical effect on the film industry because of the sheer number of visionaries who got their first jobs through him? The result is that simply through consuming media as you would normally, you go off on a related thread because one thing about it interested you and you begin to learn more about a wider, interconnected world.

I have actually heard the argument that in the modern world, developing a greater capacity for tangential learning is going to be extremely important to success as it allows you to understand the relation between various areas of study and allows for more expansive critical thought. It's like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Only not.

As creative individuals ourselves, tangential learning is probably one of the most effective ways of broadening our horizons and making more unique, personalized presentations for our craft. As a writer myself, I tend to write from the history books. The more I learn, the more I find the desire to work what I've learned into metaphor, allegory, analog and even simple escapist pleasure just because I find it interesting and think someone else might like it as well if it were presented to them in a novel way. I've created my own virtual band based mostly on my knowledge of rock history and Western superstition and the occult for example. Inspiration is a pretty fickle thing, so getting a good grasp on tangential learning helps to overcome creative blocks by perpetually exposing you to new, interesting information that can be mined for new performing material.

There is another use here. Tangential learning works both ways. Suppose you have something you find interesting and are very knowledgeable about. It can sometimes be hard to talk about it as after a while all of your friends have heard it. And monetizing it can be difficult as career options are limited in the field of "gets paid to talk a lot and/or give your their opinions. A lot of you may not able to go through the years of academia to become a teacher or professor, nor do you desire to become a TV pundit because you have a soul. But as a magician, your whole job is to perform and interact with an audience. This is your chance right here.

You'd be surprised just how much opportunity there is to work your hobbies and fascinations into a magic act. Let's say you really like soccer (using that particular word here so everyone knows what I'm talking about and don't mix up which football is being referred to). Did it occur to you that a chop cup presents the perfect visual metaphor to describe the game or some of the most famous matches? I mentioned Georges Melies earlier. Do I really need to explain how a film buff could work that into magic? Or perhaps you're really into history. With careful planning and a sense of theatricality, even banal playing cards could be used to illustrate the major events of the War of the Roses. Through tangential learning you have a way of performing for people while also sharing some of your passions with them and maybe teaching them something in the process.

So now you know a little more about tangential learning. Hopefully this gives you some incentive to stretch your horizons and also add a unique, personal touch to your presentations that is uniquely yours. If you're still skeptical about how all knowledge is interconnected in some way, let's try a little game. Using Wikipedia, try to connect these two topics with as few links as possible: the Battle of Marathon and Elvis Presley. Have fun with that.

TL;DR - lerninz not haf 2 b hard u guyz!

 

[Bryson G.]

Wow

That's really interesting, as most of your forum posts are. I tend to benefit from tangential learning a lot, but have never noticed it before. This has really inspired me to put tangential learning into my tricks, to make the tricks and routines more like the stories they should be, and in the process making them more interesting and unique.

 

[JokerZingo]

This was really intresting topic. You always surprise me you seam to think of things other people could only start to dream about (including me). Tangential learning is something I will consider when I preform specially for grown ups and mabye try to find some jokes that you can tell about this aswell =)

Thanks for awesome information and I really enjoyed reading it - Markus/JokerZingo

 

[Steerpike]

Remember that tangential learning works best when it facilitates learning rather than actively tries to educate. To use the soccer example from earlier, taking a little mini toy soccer ball and a chop cup out and explaining that you're a fan of the game feels less like a lesson and more like someone sharing a fun story. Assuming you've taken the time to develop your skills as a storyteller, and then relating that highlights of a particularly significant match and using the chop cup as the visual aid, then if nothing else, you've shared something you like and entertained people in the process. Tangential learning will occur when a portion of the audience who you perform this routine to may start to see the appeal of the sport and decide to look it up.

So in this example you're not trying to teach people about soccer. You're telling a good story that happens to be about soccer. The hope is that it will encourage some people to want to learn about the sport by showing them the appeal through an unconventional mean.

 

[WyattSB]

So in this example you're not trying to teach people about soccer. You're telling a good story that happens to be about soccer. The hope is that it will encourage some people to want to learn about the sport by showing them the appeal through an unconventional mean.

I've been trying to think of a way to respond to this thread for a day or two now, and I'm not sure I'm quite picking up what you're putting down here. But to take you're example that I quoted quite literally, I quite dislike the concept. I feel that you are slightly detracting from the magic here, and shifting the focus into another unrelated topic, however much you know about it. Maybe yes, you are still doing impossible things, but you're also encouraging them to shift their attention to soccer, maybe thats a good thing in regards to removing focus from the method, but hey, I don't really know.

For my own example, I love juggling, I was a juggler long before I was doing magic, I guess I know quite a bit about it, particularly in regards to modern, online juggling communities, but hey, its something. Anyway, my first thought for the tangent between juggling and magic is flourishing, but I dont do flourishes and particularly dont perform them, so we'll leave that point alone and go for the one you mentioned; presentation. What immediately comes to mind is when I saw a video of someone doing an ambitious classic variation, with the 5 cards and the kicker ending and whatnot. Their presentation was of an acrobatic family doing their various acrobatic tricks and things, obviously comparing them to the cards; which I quite hated. Which I feel the same about other tricks presented as 'juggling' of some form or another. For some reason I tend to find that style of presentation, ie, the cards are a metaphor, quite annoying and very tacky. I quite try to avoid that sort of thing, not that I perform much now, but I'd much rather do an adventure of the props; and sticking with the ambitious theme, perhaps instead of a stupid story, have the spectator put the card in the deck, put the magic in their hands for a bit, much more touching.

A tangent I do like, is psychology, or a kind of pseudo magician psychology at least. Not that I'm claiming to know much about psychology at all, unless obviously the kind we tend to focus on, ie, the various elements associated with misdirection, among other things. But blending 'psychology' (Call it mental magic if you will, I'm not to clear on my own distinction here though, I'd quite love to hear your thoughts on this) with magic and giving it a real presentation, seems to slot in quite nicely together. Whether it be hypnosis, suggestion, NLP. body language reading or whatever, tends to be much nicer and smoother than mixing magic and soccer (Forgive me for repeatedly pulverising your soccer example for my own gain). I guess I like it, because yes you are probably encouraging your spectator to look this stuff up (tangential learning?) and continue to be further confused and even more amazed, because it somehow offers a solution to your methods, even though they still have no idea how you did it!

But as I mentioned earlier, I don't perform anywhere near as much as I used to, and have been beginning to feel as though my thoughts regarding magic in general are by far overtaking my actual physical abilities in performing what I preach. So ignore me, disagree, worship me, just take this last little paragraph into account before you do it.

 

[Steerpike]

I've been trying to think of a way to respond to this thread for a day or two now, and I'm not sure I'm quite picking up what you're putting down here. But to take you're example that I quoted quite literally, I quite dislike the concept. I feel that you are slightly detracting from the magic here, and shifting the focus into another unrelated topic, however much you know about it. Maybe yes, you are still doing impossible things, but you're also encouraging them to shift their attention to soccer, maybe thats a good thing in regards to removing focus from the method, but hey, I don't really know.

I would say that if the words coming out of someone's mouth detract from the magic, it's not the concept of talking that's the problem.

For some reason I tend to find that style of presentation, ie, the cards are a metaphor, quite annoying and very tacky.

Usually it is. But this isn't because metaphors are bad. It's because most people suck at writing. Writing is one of those skills that everyone thinks they can do and they're usually wrong. Also on that list is singing, business management, graphic arts and marketing. Among other things.

I can attest from personal experience that magic as metaphor doesn't have to be bad. I gave a presentation at a business group a few years back introducing a lawyer in collaborative law and explaining the broad strokes of her work using the linking rings as a visual metaphor. Important to note, I never actually called attention to the rings. Hell, I never once even looked at them. I got a standing O for it.

Not that I'm claiming to know much about psychology at all,

Nor do most of the people who attempt to use that presentation. This goes back to my point about most people being crap at writing. In this case, because they didn't do the homework.

(Call it mental magic if you will, I'm not to clear on my own distinction here though, I'd quite love to hear your thoughts on this)

Mental magic is just magic with a pseudo-psychic theme. A pseudoscience explanation is entirely optional and a matter of personal preference.

I guess I like it, because yes you are probably encouraging your spectator to look this stuff up (tangential learning?)

Tangential learning does not educate. It facilitates learning. You are presenting them with something interesting in the hopes that a percentage of the audience will be encouraged to act on that new interest and self educate. It's not so much about trying to be more amazing, because it's not about the performer. It's about adding more depth, a new dimension. Too many magicians think purely in linear terms. "This must be more impossible!" "This must impress them even more!" "This must be even more deceptive!" That's why 90% of all magic sucks. Rather than applying any real critical thought or artistry to their craft, the majority of magicians just try to figure out how to sledgehammer the audience their secrets even harder. Wrong approach.

The best art and performances can be enjoyed on multiple levels. One possible level is that it teaches you something. Sometimes it's unintended. Akira Kurosawa probably didn't make Seven Samurai thinking that it would eventually teach Westerners a little about a specific period in his country's history. On the other hand, my beloved Civilization series was almost certainly created with the hope that some of the audience would be sufficiently intrigued by the things they learned in the game to then go on and self-educate as I'm doing now. For another game example, Crusader Kings II actually has an in-game help system that gives you hyperlinks to Wikipedia articles about the various historical figures and minor nobles who populate the game.

The fact that I learned something from these works does not diminish them as either a movie or a game. And if you go on thinking that it must be all about the magic, nothing else, then you're basically a vending machine: insert money, receive magic trick. And yes, I said "trick" for a reason.

Magicians like to pretend that our craft is the most unique and extra-special-est of them all. Well, not the way most of them do it. The rules of well-crafted art and theater still apply to us. Tangential learning is one of the tools in the great artist's toolbox to add more depth to their work. You don't have to use it. But it's worth thinking about now and again.

 

[Craig Browning]

I've avoided this thread because of the odd title and the fact that your post is bigger than mine tend to be. . . ;-)

I'm simply not familiar with the technical term for what most human beings actually do -- learning via Osmosis or subconscious absorption as some would know it. It is very much a method I've used for most of my life and I find that "kids" with learning disorders tend to favor this technique much more when it comes learning things, than not.

Using it within our work is something that relates strongly to a topic we discussed many months ago and one I've been researching for a while -- the Urban Shaman approach to magic i.e. bringing what we do back into a more organic and natural sense of association that allows it to become "real" vs. trickery and more so, admitted trickery or deception. While it is a path that the entertainer can use it is not so much a path that lends itself well to the idea of doing "a show" and more to the idea of "teaching" and helping the laity gain a new way of looking at things in life -- We deliberate offer a placebo effect by way of a given effect or series thereof, that strike a subconscious & psychological chord -- "HOPE" -- for lack of a better term.

I've invested some long hours looking at how I can sew in lessons & trivia into what I do. For the longest time I shadowed some of what Jay Scott Berry, Jeff McBride and others that are proudly out of the old Broom Closet Pagans but I fear that something more subtle might be the "better" approach vs. the more "in your face" mode these and others use. While it works well for them, it is likewise seen as "theater" and not as much a matter of life and lifestyle or, to coin a phrase -- MAGICK!

As the Urban Shaman we are able to deliver this AFFECT via our EFFECTS, so long as what we do is subtle and not a thing of "ego", so to speak. This doesn't mean we can't do a Himber Ring routine or the Cups & Balls, only that our performance of such things offers a moral to it -- a lesson of some form whether it has to do with Quantum Physics, Metaphysics or some mode of Trivial Reality such as a history lesson. Religionists of numerous faiths have used Magic & Puppets in this manner for centuries; the earliest card decks are said to have been more akin to flash cards and used to communicate with the illiterate and convey certain morality tales and in the case of the Tarot and the Major Arcana, the lore associated with the Gospels and the life & Message of Jesus himself.

Interesting topic . . .