I would argue that the closest real-world analogue is computer hacking. It is a rare ability, but it can bestow a large amount of power on an individual who puts in enough effort and skill. Like magic, it requires almost no help from anyone else. The infrastructure has to be there, but since the infrastructure isn’t designed to allow hacking, having the infrastructure doesn’t make the ability available to everyone who can pay (like, say, airplanes).
If you look at the more fantasy-style sci-fi, science is often treated like magic—one smart scientist can do all sorts of cool stuff on their own. But it’s never plausible. With hacking, that romanticization isn’t nearly as far from reality.
I would argue that the closest real-world analogue is computer hacking. It is a rare ability, but it can bestow a large amount of power on an individual who puts in enough effort and skill. Like magic, it requires almost no help from anyone else. The infrastructure has to be there, but since the infrastructure isn’t designed to allow hacking, having the infrastructure doesn’t make the ability available to everyone who can pay (like, say, airplanes). If you look at the more fantasy-style sci-fi, science is often treated like magic—one smart scientist can do all sorts of cool stuff on their own. But it’s never plausible. With hacking, that romanticization isn’t nearly as far from reality.
I feel that lock-picking has roughly the same features.
And, indeed, hackers are quite interested in lockpicking.
or programming in general.