Informal Cognitive Science with an Artist and Magician Jeanette Andrews. Part I.

Innovation? Technology? Illusions?

Meet and greet Jeanette Andrews - an informal cognitive scientist and one of the most innovative illusionists in the world today! Jeanette is using modern technologies, including AIs and cognitive science principles, in her Magic shows! 

We are all interested in making the impossible possible and figuring out how to make things happen. As humans, we’re extraordinarily great in many ways, and we have a deep-seated, wildly complex understanding of what objects are like and how they sound. We know it even when we’re unconscious of it. Magic is all about taking into account an infinite number of things we’re constantly sensing, remembering, and sometimes pseudo-remembering to create a working experience, space, or process. Knowing what they are, using some of them, and finding perspective gaps we are aware of. In this episode, Jennette shares the art of magic and the interception between science and magic!

Tune into the Episode #17. Part 1. conversation with Jeanette Andrews to hear about her career path and advice on how to succeed in your chosen career.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Neurocareers podcast episode!

During this episode, you will learn about the following:

[00:00] Episode intro and what’s in for you in today’s episode.

[01:50] Meet Jeanette Andrews, an artist, magician, and researcher.

[05:53] Jeanette's advice on how parents can look at their children’s gifts from a different perspective and help foster their pursuit of knowledge.

[13:36] What triggered Jeanette's interest in magic and the things that fascinate her in that space?

[16:04] The type of magic that Jeanette was interested in when developing her skills.

[20:01] Why Jeanette got into symbol magic and why it was highly recommended for her at the time.

[24:45] Jeanette's perspective on learning magic from books and mentors and not from the internet.

[27:26] When Jeanette realized that there is so much psychology and cognitive science involved in her career and how she started learning more about it.

[35:45] The options available for people to learn and get in the interception between science and magic.

[41:33]  Ending the show and call to action.

Tune In For Part 2!

Notable Quotes

• You can put together a career and a life that works for you and makes you happy, and it doesn’t have to fall into a tightly defined space.
• You have to want something enough to work for it and reinvest in your education in it.
• When you have something you’re passionate about learning, your passion and curiosity can open doors for a career field.
• Always learn the foundational techniques and build from them.
• You can learn a lot of magic from the internet, but most good magic is still genuinely in books and mentors.

About the Podcast Guest

Jeanette Andrews is an artist, magician, and researcher. Andrews’ work focuses on developing interactive magic and sensory illusions via performance, sculpture, installation, and audio. She is currently an Affiliate of metaLab (at) Harvard and an artist in residence at CultureLAB LIC in New York City. Illusion is Andrews’ life’s work, and her performances have been praised by the Chicago Tribune, PBS, and the New York Times.

Andrews is also an acclaimed speaker, presenting with Cooper Hewitt, Chicago Ideas, Fortune 500 companies, universities, and conferences across the country. She has been an artist in residence for High Concept Labs in Chicago and The Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles. Her research-based process centers around phenomenological philosophy, contemporary cognitive science, and physics. Her work highlights astonishing aspects of everyday life via moments of the seemingly impossible to create a lived phenomenology. Themes of pieces have included invisibility, impossible objects, the relationship between scent and magic, unseen communication, and how illusions can construct reality.

Andrews works closely with museums and galleries to recontextualize magic within the cultural arts and explore this craft as a performance art medium. She has presented numerous commissioned works with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, including her 2020 work “Invisible Museums of the Unseen,” which was later commissioned as a site-specific work for the Quebec City Biennial. Further site-specific works for numerous museums and galleries include the Elmhurst Art Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, and International Museum of Surgical Science.

Jeanette's references and other resources

• Jeanette's magic & art portfolio: https://www.jeanetteandrewsstudio.com/
• Jeanette's magic performances and talks: https://www.jeanetteandrews.com/
• Sleights of Mind book: http://www.sleightsofmind.com/
• Science of Magic Association: https://scienceofmagicassoc.org/home
• Illusion of the Year: http://illusionoftheyear.com/
• Thomas Griffiths paper on transformations in magic, "Revealing ontological commitments by magic": https://cocosci.princeton.edu/tom/papers/magic.pdf
• Jennifer Keisin Armstong (nonfiction workshops): https://jenniferkarmstrong.com/

Connect With Jeanette Andrews

Jeanette's Instagram: @JeanetteAndrewsMagic

About the Podcast and Its Host

The Neurocareers podcast is brought to you by The Institute of Neuroapproaches and its founder - Milena Korostenskaja, Ph.D. (Dr. K) - a neuroscience educator, neuroscience research consultant, and career coach for students and recent graduates in neuroscience and neurotechnologies: https://www.neuroapproaches.org/

You will benefit from neuroscience-based coaching if you want to...

• Get your projects DONE instead of procrastinating and feeling stuck.
• STOP feeling anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed when managing your time and responsibilities.
• ACHIEVE your goals and BUILD a successful career instead of failing.

Get in touch with Dr. K. by sending an email: neuroapproaches@gmail.com

Schedule a free consultation session with Dr. K. by following this link: https://neuroapproaches.as.me/