Intro

This chapter examines the interplay between magic and neuroscience, focusing on how magicians use cognitive biases to craft illusions. By exploring Asi Wind's techniques, it highlights the importance of memory, perception, and storytelling in shaping our reality.

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Episode notes

In this episode, my guest is Asi Wind. He's one of the world’s top magicians and mentalists.

We discuss what magic and mentalism reveal about the human mind, including how memories are made, how to erase them, and how and why we perceive things the way we do, all in the context of how he performs his astonishing tricks.

Asi explains that magic works because it involves storytelling, which is key to how we organize memories. He also explains how emotional connection allows people to co-create and believe a common narrative, even one that did not actually occur.

We also discuss how Asi's love of painting and photography and his specific daily routine allow him to access creativity. We also discuss fear, perfectionism, and how feeling emotions deeply serves his craft.

Whether you are interested in magic or not, this conversation with Asi will give you an incredible window into how you perceive, learn, and remember the world around you and how what you believe may or may not be based in reality.

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