Magic for neuroscientistsMagic For Neuroscientists / Science News
By Laura Sanders
Web edition : Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
![]()
Text Size
CHICAGO -- Magicians and neuroscientists may not seem like a likely match, but they have one important thing in common: A fascination with the brain. As Science News pointed out in this article about science and magic in April, neuroscientists delve deep into the human mind to see how things like attention, perception and memory work, while magicians manipulate these very same things to confound their audience.
This unlikely alliance was solidified October 17 at the Society for Neuroscience’s Annual Meeting in Chicago as two world-class magicians demonstrated some of their tricks to an audience of thousands of neuroscientists. (The size of the scientist crowd may have rivaled the motley crew of America’s Got Talent hopefuls, who were waiting in a monster line that snaked around a different part of the conference center.
Although neuroscientists seem like they might be a tough crowd, everyone in the room was enamored. By all reports, the scientists seemed thrilled to have such interesting new colleagues.
Apollo Robbins, known professionally as the “Gentleman Thief,” has an unusual set of skills that allowed him to, among other dastardly deeds, “borrow” Jennifer Garner’s engagement ring, switch Troy Aikman and Jerome Bettis’ licenses, and relieve Jimmy Carter’s secret service agents of their wallets, watches and confidential itineraries. (For more of Robbins’ rap sheet, check out his website Istealstuff.com
Eric Mead, the other magician who performed, offered some salient advice: The key to magic, he says, is “to look people in the eye and lie intentionally.” But that only works because these highly skilled mind-benders are so attuned to the mysteries of the brain that they can literally manipulate a person’s reality.
Robbins talked about three tricks that lead to the magician’s so-called grift sense — the ability to instantly read and respond to other people’s signals. First, he says, proximity is everything. Getting into someone else’s personal space without setting off alarms is hard. But tricks like moving in sideways, avoiding direct eye contact and tilting the head can all make the intrusive move more innocuous. Second, movements that draw the eye can provide the magician cover to do the trick. Creating a multitude of small motions, instead of one big motion, keeps a person’s gaze right where the magician wants it. And third, manipulating a person’s interior dialog can cause a person to let down his or her guard. Once someone has a raucous internal dialog going on, the senses become dulled to the outside world, leaving them vulnerable to a trick.
Had Apollo Robbins and Eric Mead ventured over to the America’s Got Talent auditions next door, there would have been no contest — these magicians would have made the competition disappear.
Labels
Discovery News - Tech News
Discovery News - Top Stories
Discovery News - Animal News
CNN.com - Technology
Discovery News - Earth News
Total Pageviews
Delicious
Blog Archive
Search This Blog
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Magic For Neuroscientists / Science News
Science Blogs
PR: 9 | NASA.gov http://www.nasa.gov/ NASA.gov brings you images, videos and interactive features from the unique perspective of America's space agency. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 8 | ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/ ScienceBlogs was created by Seed Media Group not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | Bad Astronomy Blog http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/ Commentary on astronomy news and space-related myths and misinformation. By Phil Plait. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | Cosmic Log http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/ Weblog by MSNBC.com science editor Alan Boyle not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | Nature Newsblog http://blogs.nature.com/news/blog/ News weblog of Nature periodical, allowing readers to comment on recent developments in science and technology. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | PhysOrg Science News Weblog http://www.physorg.com/weblog/ Covers recent science and technology discoveries and developments. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | Science Blog http://www.scienceblog.com/ General science and technology news weblog. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | 60 Second Science http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/ Opinions, arguments and analyses from the editors of Scientific American. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | A Voyage to Arctucus http://avoyagetoarcturus.blogspot.com/ Jay Manifold's weblog about science and scientific applications. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | WorldChanging http://www.worldchanging.com/ Collaborative blog dedicated to current events and news, also covering scientific issues. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 7 | PhysOrg http://www.physorg.com/ PhysOrg.com™ is a leading web-based science, research and technology news service which covers a full range of topics. These include physics, earth science, medicine, nanotechnology, electronics, space, biology, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, mathematics and other sciences and technologies. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | BioCurious http://biocurious.com/ Physicists exploring an interest in biology. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | Cleantech Blog http://www.greentechblog.com Blog providing commentary on technologies, news, and issues relating to next generation energy and the environment. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | The Flame Trench http://www.floridatoday.com/floridatoday/blogs/spaceteam/ Dispatches on all things space from the Florida Today blockhouse at the Kennedy Space Center. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | FuturePundit http://www.futurepundit.com/ Future technological trends and their likely effects on human society, politics and evolution. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | The Geomblog http://geomblog.blogspot.com/ Ruminations on computational geometry, algorithms, theoretical computer science and life. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | Gooz News http://www.gooznews.com/ Pharmacology writer Merrill Goozner comments on science, health and the public interest. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | Journalology http://journalology.blogspot.com Blog covering science publishing trends, ethics, peer review, and open access. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | Lubos Motl's Reference Frame http://motls.blogspot.com/ News, opinion and political commentary relating to string theory, mathematics and physics. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
PR: 6 | Next Big Future http://nextbigfuture.com Tracking progress to the future especially advanced nanotechnology, nuclear and energy technology, quantum computers, life extension, space technology and AI. not rated yet0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 |
No comments:
Post a Comment