RESOURCES
Examples of Magic Inspiring Science
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
Magic and the Brain : How Magicians “ Trick ” the Mind “ Neuroscientists are scrutinizing magic tricks to learn how they can be put to work in experimental studies that probe aspects of consciousness not necessarily grounded in current sensory reality .”
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
The Psychology of Magic and the Magic of Psychology “ Magicians have dazzled audiences for many centuries ; however , few researchers have studied how , let alone why , most tricks work . The psychology of magic is a nascent field of research that examines the underlying mechanisms that conjurers use to achieve enchanting phenomena , including sensory illusions and misdirection of attention .”
CURRENT BIOLOGY
There ’ s More to Magic Than Meets the Eye “ Our perception of an event is often modulated by our past experience and expectations . Here we used a magic trick to demonstrate how magicians can distort our subjective perception and we investigate the mechanisms behind this deception .”
Magic and Cognitive Neuroscience “ Neuroscientists have shown an increasing interest in magic . One reason for this is the parallels that can be drawn between concepts that have long been discussed in magic theory , particularly misdirection , and those that are routinely studied in cognitive neuroscience , such as attention and , as argued in this essay , different forms of memory .
BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP
Ideas , Emotions , and Innovation : Riding the Amazement Cycle “ The theme of TED ’ s 2018 conference , “ The Age of Amazement ,” reflects the momentous innovation and change going on around us . Taking this cue , we examine the dynamic interplay of logic and emotion that unfolds when we encounter something new , and attempt to extract some hints for how leaders can understand and harness it .”