I came here with the same question. I couldn't help asking it, but we've both missed the point: "which I’ve further simplified here for clarity". The details of the magic trick aren't relevant, the analogy is about the grind, not the one little deceptive detail about the trick, which could be sleight of hand, suggestion, etc.
Yup, and I see what the author is doing there. That's great, whatever. But if he is illustrating his point by trying to explain a magic trick, and even including a "spoiler warning," I want him to actually explain the magic trick. Otherwise, it's a kind of a comical piece of rhetoric. "Some jobs are like this magic trick I'm about to explain. First, you do something cool that seems like magic. Now you see, magic and work share an element of extreme tedium!"
