Dear Magicians,

Lately, I’ve been reading a lesser-known book about the discovery—and really, the invention—of electricity. It’s fascinating. And it reminds me of how people are often jealous of mavericks whose only sin is enthusiasm.

Think about it: the smartest people alive, like Newton, were completely wrong about electricity. They thought it was something like a mysterious fluid. Not even close.

The book, Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field, tells the story of how these two scientists kept changing their ideas as new evidence came in. For example, Faraday started with the idea that electricity was a kind of tension in wires, but later realized it was all about fields and invisible lines of force.

But here’s the thing. In every generation, there are bold thinkers whose ideas just seem wrong—or even ridiculous—to their peers. Maxwell and Faraday, now scientific legends, were mocked and dismissed in their own time. Maxwell’s theory, for instance, was called “a flight of fancy.” It was too weird, too abstract, too far from the intuitive mechanics everyone trusted. It involved the aether, supporting waves of light on invisible gears and vortices…It took years—and simplification by Heaviside and experimental proof by Hertz—for people to take it seriously.

This cycle hasn’t ended. Today, you see the same pattern with thinkers like Eric Weinstein. He’s proposed a theory called “Geometric Unity.” Now, I’m not saying his theory is right. I’m saying the reaction to it—the mockery, the refusal to even engage—is all too familiar. Science claims to be about testing ideas, but often it’s about protecting reputations. The gatekeepers reject the conversation before it starts, just as they did with fields and curved space.

Here’s a perfect example: In a recent video titled “Physicists are afraid of Eric Weinstein – and they should be,” Sabine Hossenfelder vents about the criticism and negativity directed at Weinstein. She points out that Eric’s appearance on Piers Morgan with Sean Carroll drew a wave of negative comments, much of it hypocritical. Sabine contrasts this hate with the behavior of other scientists, noting that many who criticize Eric don’t actually understand his work. She also critiques the state of theoretical physics, mentioning the repeated failure of unified theories over the last 40 years, while acknowledging Eric’s persistence and optimism.

Now, Maxwell took things even further than Faraday. He made a leap—maybe an even bigger one than Einstein, if you ask some physicists. Maxwell’s equations changed everything.

But here’s the strange part: most people still tmisunderstand electricity. For example, most people think electric fields flow through wires but they don’t.

Wild, right?

This book isn’t just about science. It’s about being willing to see what no one else sees. It’s about changing your mind when the facts demand it.

Mockery isn’t a scientific argument. If history teaches us anything, it’s that today’s “cranks” can become tomorrow’s prophets. The line between genius and madness is often drawn by time, not truth.

There’s a lesson there. And it’s more relevant than ever.

Until next time, have a M.A.G.I.C. Week,

Brian