Bugs Are Magic Tricks ⇥ web.archive.org

Oldie but a goodie from Steven Frank (via September 2007 John Gruber, that archive page for some reason bookmarked on Pinboard, and presented here by the Internet Archive since Mr. Frank has changed his blogging software about ten times since 2007):

Bugs thrive on the same human brain deficiencies that earn magicians their living. We are shown something that is apparently impossible — but the reality is that we just don’t have all the information.

I was reminded of this article after I came across a truly bizarre bug today related to some sort of ill communication between the Image Capture app on OS X, the Music app on iOS, and an (the?) iOS SQL media library database. One of the golden rules in magic is to never perform the same trick twice. Sure enough, this is the second time I’ve come across this particular bug, and I finally got around to reporting it. The first time, it was wacky and unexpected; this time, it’s a puzzle in need of solving.