Extracting and applying lessons from history is rarely easy and sometimes risky but there are moments when historical records are so compelling that they rise above mere proof to the level of interocular impact. In this article, the author shares his similar experience while visiting his colleague, Professor Bruce Clark, at the University of Calgary. He relates how a journal on microfilm, "The Optical Magic Lantern Journal of Photographic Enlarger", led him to learn the issues about magic lantern shows. The author also provides a bit of the magic lantern's history and discusses the demise of magic lantern shows. He also explains how the lantern's history bears a striking parallel to the way computers are used to train and educate students nowadays. Today computers are commonplace and inexpensive, but computer-mediated instruction remains mostly drill-and-practice, or simple "page turners." As such, he suggests that educators should standardize content and instructional methods and centralize development of courses of study. (Contains 1 figure.)