Experimentation

You can believe something works all you want, but until you test it, you're guessing. The Mature Magician tries different approaches, watches what happens, and pays attention to what works and what doesn't. He's not tinkering randomly. He's trying to find what's real.

The Manipulator experiments recklessly without learning from results. He repeats the same mistakes. The Dummy never experiments. He follows what he's been told, afraid to test anything. The Mature Magician experiments to discover truth.

Experimentation requires:

Hypothesis formation: The Magician develops clear hypotheses about what he's testing. He doesn't randomly try things.

Testing: The Magician designs experiments that isolate variables and produce clear results.

Careful observation: The Magician pays close attention to what happens. He notices subtle effects and unexpected outcomes.

Record keeping: The Magician documents his experiments and results. He builds a body of knowledge over time.

Analysis: The Magician thinks hard about what went right and what went wrong, and why. He pulls out the lesson that applies beyond this one test.

Willingness to fail: The Magician embraces failure as information. Failed experiments teach as much as successful ones.

Experimentation might mean testing different healing methods, trying a new way of teaching, or approaching an old problem from a direction nobody's tried. What the Magician is after is what actually works, not what sounds good on paper.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. The Magician who experiments knows from direct experience rather than belief or theory.

The Magician who experiments well knows things because he's tested them, not because someone told him they were true.