i want to talk about what extent people come to believe their own powers or magic. We can't know sure what's going on in john edward's head, but he might actually be completely sincere. Even if he is not sincere and knows that he is faking it, the feedback he gets is so extreme. They're in a bubble of belief. None of these people tell us the truth, so we can't.
The most fundamental lesson that all magicians learn is that seeing is not believing. In episode 195, Michael speaks with internationally acclaimed sleight-of-hand artist and 35-year activist for scientific skepticism, Jamy Ian Swiss, about his lively, personal book, The Conjuror’s Conundrum, that takes readers on a magical mystery tour of the longstanding connection between magic and skepticism. Shermer and Swiss discuss: Swiss’s first encounter with fraud, the paranormal and supernatural, magic and mentalism, hot/cold/universal readings, pychics, talking to the dead, James van Praagh, belief, the afterlife, “the amazing” Kreskin, the Alpha Project, and more…