One of the most interesting distinctions that Matthew B. Crawford deals with is the ascendancy of the virtual world as the “real” world for so many.  He uses the “Handy Dandy Machine” from Micky Mouse Clubhouse as a modern counterpoint to what feels like the now-ancient misadventures of Goofy. Unlike the cartoon characters of today, Goofy could not simply press a but or summon a computer to solve his problem in the abstract.  He has to deal with things head-on (at least in cartoon terms).  Consider:

For all of the fanciful ups and downs of the short clip, Goofy still has to deal with the reality of the mountain.   From Crawford’s The World Beyond Your Head:

The appeal of magic is that it promises to render objects plastic to the will without one’s getting too entangled with them.  Treated from arm’s length, the object can issue no challenge to the self.  According to Freud, this is precisely the condition of the narcissist: he treats objects as props for his fragile ego and has an uncertain grasp of them as having a reality of their own.  The clearest contrast to the narcissist is the repairman, who must subordinate himself to the broken washing machine, listen to it with patience, notice its symptoms, and then act accordingly.  He cannot treat it abstractly; the kind of agency he exhibits is not at all magical.

If we are not careful, Crawford seems to be saying, we will fool ourselves into believing that we truly are living in a magical world.  And there are many wizards more powerful than you and me.