Magic and the Brain (BSP 72)
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Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde
Neuroscientists Dr. Stephen Macknik and Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde have an unusual hobby: Magic! Actually, it is more than a hobby since for the last several years they have been working with leading magicians from around the world to create a new field: the neuroscience of magic. In Episode 72 of the Brain Science Podcast, I talked with them about their new book Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions, which is the first book to explore the neuroscience of magic.
With the help of their co-author Sandra Blakeslee, Macknik and Martinez-Conde provide an excellent overview of this new and exciting field. Their book also provides an excellent review of many of the principles that I have introduced in the last 4 years.
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Links and References
Stephen Macknik, PhD: Director, Director, Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona.
Susan Martinez-Conde: Director, Laboratory of Visual Science, Barrow Neurological Institute.
Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions, by Stephen L. Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Sandra Blakeslee.
http://sleightsofmind.com: for videos and links to their Scientific American articles.
Scientists mentioned during the podcast
David Hubel: Nobel Prize for vision research.
Margaret Livington (Harvard).
Zachary Mainen (Cold Springs Harbor, NY).
Daniel Simons (University of Illinois): change blindness.
Derren Brown (London): memory fallibility.
Jose-Manual Alonso (SUNY): neural basis of visual attention.
Magicians mentioned during the interview
James Randi: famous proponent of skeptical thinking.
Juan Tamariz: This Spanish magician is an important magic theorist.
Penn and Teller: Go to http://sleightsofmind.com to see a video of the balls and cup illusion discussed in BSP 72..
Announcements:
I will be giving a live talk at the London Skeptics in the Pub on May 11, 2011. Stay tuned for more details or visit http://london.skepticsinthepub.org/.
The Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum is moving to Goodreads.com. Click here to visit our new group.
Send me feedback at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.
