The synthesis of imagination: Rony Abovitz and Magic Leap at TEDxSarasota on HackerTube: recommended by 1 Hacker News commenter across 1 month, 2014–2026.
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A surreal multimedia TEDxSarasota performance by Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz, held on 12/12/12, mixing performance art with talk about imagination and creativity.
Mostly cited as damning evidence of Magic Leap's hype and marketing, with commenters calling it delusional or a fraud signal.
20 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
For anybody curious about Magic Leap, I highly recommend this TED talk by the company's founder Rony Abovitz: ▶ this video It starts off kinda weird, you gotta give it a few minutes.
in “Neal Stephenson Joins Magic Leap” · View on HN
In the same sense that we also got [total surrealistic non sequitur] out of it -- no causal connection. Cocaine addled money laundering sexist nepotistic bro culture deserves all the harshness it gets. I dare you to waste 6:17 minutes of your life that you will never get back watching this, and tell me they didn't spend a huge chunk of their investor's money on cocaine. The synthesis of imagination: Rony Abovitz and Magic Leap at TEDxSarasota: ▶ this video >Surprises abound in this multimedia, surrealist talk/performance by Rony Abovitz and Magic Leap at TEDxSarasota. Rony is a recognized innovator and entrepreneur, having co-founded the pioneering robotics company, MAKO Surgical Corp, which was recognized by Deloitte as the #1 fastest growing tech company in North America in 2011. Part of TEDxSarasota's inaugural conference held on 12/12/12 with the theme "Creativity Matters" at the Historic Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida.
in “Making Magic Leap past Nvidia's secure bootchain and breaking Tesla Autopilots” · View on HN
[link] DonHopkins 16 hours ago | prev [–] It's a good thing they're effectively dead, but they don't have any useful parts to carve out, because they were a fraud through and through from day one, infested with toxic sexist nepotistic bro culture, and were an embarrassment and warning to the industry. No surprise at all they unethically bricked their useless overpriced electronic waste. [link] DonHopkins on Dec 4, 2021 | parent | context | favorite | on: I bought those AR cycling glasses that were on HN ... Why not simply do what Magic Leap does, and blatantly fake the camera images and games that don't really and couldn't possibly exist? [link] And then rip off other people's work without giving them any credit in your patents. [link] And then sexually harass the very women you employed to solve the endemic "pink/blue problem" and fix the nepotistic sexist bro culture, and rebuff and ignore her advice, and pay her off to keep their mouth shut when she sues you for sexual harassment. [link] And then give the entire AR industry a bad name by not delivering on your outrageously hyped promises, while burning through BILLIONS of dollars and fucking over your foolishly gullible investors. [link] fredoralive 8 hours ago | root | parent | next [–] Don’t be so harsh, at least we got the Steam Deck out of all this. DonHopkins 5 minutes ago | root | parent | next | edit | delete [–] In the same sense that we also got [total surrealistic non sequitur] out of it -- no causal connection.
in “Making Magic Leap past Nvidia's secure bootchain and breaking Tesla Autopilots” · View on HN
Here's the real story behind "Magic Creep": [link] Not to be confused with General Magic, which wasn't a money grubbing fraud from day one, which didn't put on the most ridiculous obnoxious unenlightening cocaine addled TedX talk in the history of the universe, which didn't post fraudulent obviously impossibly fake demos to youtube falsely claiming "Just another day in the office at Magic Leap", which didn't have a toxic nepotistic bro culture that excluded and belittled women, that didn't settle a huge lawsuit for sex discrimination against the one woman they hired to fix the "pink/blue problem" but then rebuffed and ignored, that didn't burn through billions of investment dollars producing nothing of value, which didn't blatantly rip off many people's original ideas in their unoriginal invalid fraudulent patent applications, which didn't publish an astounding but physically impossible video of a whale leaping out the gym floor and splashing down while hundreds of children not wearing AR headsets were somehow magically able to perceive it and clap and cheer and say "WOOOAAAHH!" ▶ this video [link] [link] Magic Leap gave magic a bad name (and was the biggest disgrace of the entire AR industry, even spectacularly worse than a certain Google Glasshole publishing a nude selfie of himself in the shower), while General Magic truly was the good kind of magic. [link]
in “Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface” · View on HN
Hey, I though Magic Leap had it all figured out! Are you telling me those guys are totally full of shit??! SHOCKED I say SHOCKED! The synthesis of imagination: Rony Abovitz and Magic Leap at TEDxSarasota ▶ this video Hold my beer... [link] >Are you referring to the sex discrimination lawsuit and nepotistic sexist bro culture that tarnished Magic Leap's reputation? [...] [link] >Or are you referring to the ridiculous 12/12/2012 TEDX "talk" that Rony Abovitz performed at the Ringling College of Art, and all the FAKE and DECEPTIVE videos they posted and lied about on youtube, that tarnished Magic Leap's reputation? [...] [link] >That didn't stop them from making fraudulent concept video demos that they falsely claimed to be actual existing games that they were already playing around the office, and that they promised much much more than they could actually deliver. >So if you can't reproduce the experience on a 2D screen, then fake it and lie, you're saying? That IS the whole point. [link] >Or are you referring to the way Magic Leap picked up and ripped off so many other people's original designs and IP in their patent applications without giving the actual inventors credit, that tarnished Magic Leap's reputation? [...] [link] >The point is that the name Magic Leap IS extremely and deeply tarnished, in so many ways, and Magic Leap pretending it's not just makes them look more laughably delusional than they already are (which is extremely), just like Trump still believing that he won
in “Meta cancels high-end mixed reality headset after Apple Vision Pro struggles” · View on HN
Couldn't be any more delusional than Magic Leap! The synthesis of imagination: Rony Abovitz and Magic Leap at TEDxSarasota: ▶ this video
in “Sorry You Missed It – Inside Rockstar North Blog Shut Down” · View on HN
Or are you referring to the ridiculous 12/12/2012 TEDX "talk" that Rony Abovitz performed at the Ringling College of Art, and all the FAKE and DECEPTIVE videos they posted and lied about on youtube, that tarnished Magic Leap's reputation? ▶ this video In my mind, they're not as reputable after having given Rony Abovitz a platform to perform that "fudge". Just watch the video, if you can stomach it, all the way through. And read the comments, like this one: >Nick Steele 2 years ago (edited) >This is a joke. Take it for what it is. They didn't want to say anything so they basically said "are you ready? READY? ... fuck you". >After a completely ridiculous intro which includes nano machines humping blood cells and two crack monkeys worshiping a massive block of "demented space fudge" which takes up 75% of the talk until 4:30, right after 30 seconds of literal silence, a spaceman says "greetings" and introduces today's "keyword" which is "fudge", then a guy plays terrible music out of tune and sings half-way into the mic. Then the lights suddenly go out and the crack moneys and space man simply walk away. >Keep in mind the audience thinks they are about to hear a billionaire explain his new "world changing" virtual/augmented reality technology, then they get this shit. >The best part is the audiences reaction at the end. :) Dented Reality: Magic Leap Sees Slow Sales, Steep Losses [link] >Magic Leap had high hopes for sales of its augmented reality headset. Instead, the richly valued st
in “My first year at Magic Leap and the opportunity ahead” · View on HN
I don't know, those could be genuine feelings. Like the first time using VR. Now their TEDx talk on the other hand... speaking of silly. ▶ this video To me that was the moment both Magic Leap and TED (sadly) jumped the shark.
in “Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans” · View on HN
The incompetence, and the rampant sexism, and of course the blatant dishonesty and deception in their faked demos. Not to mention the way they ripped off other people's ideas in their patents and didn't give them credit. I posted this earlier: [link] There was some overlap, and both had lots of "Magic" hype, but there were some really great people working at General Magic, and not nearly as high a level of narcissistic bullshit and self aggrandization and utterly dishonest marketing as from Magic Leap. I mean, come on: ▶ this video [link] The whole point of the lawsuit was all about how Magic Leap's company culture and product plans and demos and self image all revolved around adolescent male egos and sexist fantasies, and excluded women. Tannen Cambell, who filed the lawsuit, was actually hired for the express purpose of solving Magic Leap's recognized "pink/blue problem", but was rebuffed and ignored. They knew they had a problem, and even gave it a name, but they refused to solve it. Read the lawsuit: [link] >Campbell, one of whose responsibilities was to help Magic Leap with the “pink/blue problem,” had to endure hostile environment sex discrimination while proposing ways, not only to make Magic Leap’s product more woman friendly, but also to make the workplace more diverse and inclusive. Campbell was terminated after (and because) she, like the child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” who blurted out that the Emperor was naked, challenged Magic Leap’s CEO, Rony Abovitz, to acknow
in “Magic Leap trying to sell for $10B” · View on HN
>makes me wonder what did they show to the initial investors - it MUST have been something incredible Cocaine. ▶ this video
in “Magic Leap trying to sell for $10B” · View on HN
There was some overlap, and both had lots of "Magic" hype, but there were some really great people working at General Magic, and not nearly as high a level of narcissistic bullshit and self aggrandization and utterly dishonest marketing as from Magic Leap. I mean, come on: ▶ this video
in “Dented Reality: Magic Leap Sees Slow Sales, Steep Losses” · View on HN
Not everybody believed the hype. The first time I saw their original TedX video I knew for sure that Magic Leap was totally full of it. ▶ this video
in “Dented Reality: Magic Leap Sees Slow Sales, Steep Losses” · View on HN
It sucks what happened with them. TED/TEDx talks were awesome and I used to be able to recommended people watch any and all of them. Until I started seeing stuff like this ▶ this video
in “Why Is Behavioral Economics So Popular?” · View on HN
> Who on Earth approved this trailer? Ha, if you're surprised about that, check out what they approved here ▶ this video
in “Magic Leap is real and it’s a janky marvel” · View on HN
Been anticipating this teardown ever since this hackernews post [1] comparing the promises with the patents and nailing the prediction that ML1 would be yet-another LCOS headset. Frankly I've been cheerleading their implosion ever since this farce of a TED talk [2] in 2012. An opportunity to present their technology and they jump around in monster costumes wasting everyone's time. Thwaxo's Strangely Demented Space Fudge ? This was months after securing half a billion in funding. Just left a really bad taste in my mouth. [1] [link] [2] ▶ this video
in “Magic Leap is a Tragic Heap” · View on HN
I'm shocked, I say shocked, that something from Magic Leap could possibly be said to reek of marketing. You should spend the next six minutes and seventeen seconds of your life watching this amazing piece of public relations magic that transparently unveils the deep truth of what Magic Leap is really all about: The synthesis of imagination: Rony Abovitz and Magic Leap at TEDxSarasota ▶ this video
in “Magic Leap One now available for $2295” · View on HN
Magic Leap is conspicuously but rightly missing from your list, because they're a fraud that's nowhere near releasing a real product, and whose bullshit is besmirching and dragging down the reputation of AR. ▶ this video
in “Apple enters the augmented reality fray with ARKit for iOS” · View on HN
"Magic Leap is probably one of the most secretive technology companies of our generation"??! It's no secret that they're a fraud. That cat's out of the bag. I mean, come on: just watch Rony Abovitz's TEDxSarasota talk [1] that he so fittingly presented at the Ringling College of Art & Design [2], whose trademarked mission phrase is "Shattering the myth of the starving artist.™". Yes, those very same Ringling brothers [3], whose colleague P. T. Barnum said: "There's a sucker born every minute." Send in the clowns. Charlatans like these give the rest of the industry a terrible name. [1] ▶ this video [2] [link] [3] [link]
in “Magic Leap Settling Sex Discrimination Lawsuit with Former Employee” · View on HN
I'm not saying I'm 100% sure they don't have something worth investing $300 million in, but this sure blew the fuse on my bullshit detector. ▶ this video
in “Magic Leap – Separating Magic and Reality” · View on HN
The consensus seems to be that the "cinematic reality not augmented reality" message probably refers to the realistic accommodation - virtual objects being in focus at the correct focal depth - which Magic Leap is apparently aiming for and which other 3D display systems don't offer. If that message seems confusing, especially in light of the fact that neither 2D nor (standard) 3D cinema offer realistic accommodation, let's just say that Magic Leap's PR operation has not always been the tightest ship: ▶ this video .
in “Magic Leap Secures $542M Led by Google” · View on HN