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Magic Words from Penn Jillette

My quotation of the day, as supplied by this online quote merchant, felt apropos. It comes from a 1993 Wired Magazine interview with magician Penn Jillette. Here’s what Jillette said: "Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, […]

My quotation of the day, as supplied by this online quote merchant, felt apropos. It comes from a 1993 Wired Magazine interview with magician Penn Jillette. Here's what Jillette said:

"Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask, Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not? But that would, of course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being entertained is sitting back and plugging into someone else's vision."

Great quote, Penn. A little incoherent, much like your ranting shtick. The interesting part is the first sentence, which was uninformed in 1993. Now it just looks downright stupid.

But perhaps the magic-man will recant. Or maybe he'll just make the quote disappear, as I'm sure he'd like to do with a 2003 episode of his Emmy-nominated TV show, "Bullshit!," in which he and his mute sidekick attempt to discredit evidence of global warming. Some bloggers have called for Penn, who is also a research fellow at the ExxonMobil-financed Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in D.C., to run a long-overdue correction on the subject.

Photo: Bram