The late Arthur C. Clarke stated, as one of his laws of predictions, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In other words, under the right circumstances products can appear to be supernatural. Magic is a product just like any other. Illusionists like David Copperfield don’t actually make people levitate, but if you can’t figure out how he does it then rack one up for magic. Stay baffled it’s good for you.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic.

Here’s an example of this philosophy at work - Wario Shake. Watch and enjoy. You’ll be interested until you get it. Wario shake breaks the banal and baffles the mind. It appears to be magic. Might I digress for a moment, the real brilliance is putting it on youtube where you’ve seen a million and one videos but this one is different in an extreme way.

The perception of magic isn’t permanent. The iPhone when it first arrived on the scene seemed like magic with its fluid touch screen interaction. A year later and it’s common.

Learn to think like a magician. Watch this video of Penn and Teller explaining sleight of hand.

If you want your users to love your designs, and not just like them, find ways to make them appear magical. The iPod shuffle is as simple as MP3 players get yet people seem to think that they have some divine means of finding just the right song to fit a moment. People swear by this, it’s absurd yet brilliant.

If everything goes right don’t be surprised if begging for an explanation ensues. The query will be dauntless and unrelenting. If you give in and explain how it’s done there’s a sudden disinterest. People think they want to know the secret but they really don’t. The same rings true with video games and puzzles. The challenge is the fun part, mastery becomes novel. Let your audience be stumped, live it, love it, languish in it.