Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde and Dr. Stephen Macknik are neuroscientists who specialize in the science of magic and illusion.
Both are professors of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology & pharmacology at the Downstate Medical Center.
Together they pioneered the study of various aspects of magic such as perception, cognitive illusion, and attentional misdirection.
On this episode, we discuss how magic tricks fool the brain, why everyday life is an illusion, what neuroscientists and magicians can learn from each other and much more.
FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com
Show Notes
0:00 | Intro to Stephen Macknik, PhD & Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD
8:00 | How Magic Hacks Our Minds
13:00 | What Neuroscientists Learn from Magicians
15:54 | What Magicians Learn from Neuroscientists
17:24 | Testing Attention Manipulation
22:25 | Cognition & Calculation
25:36 | How Our Brains Construct Reality
28:27 | Vision Produces Our Changing Realities
29:53 | Microsaccades Explained
32:58 | Brain on Autopilot
35:50 | Expertise as an Unconscious Process
40:46 | Magic for Kids vs. Magic for Adults
43:43 | Is Magic Still Enjoyable When You Know the Tricks?
48:24 | Rapid Fire Questions
