October 21, 2009

Magic, Neuroscience and the Brain

I just got home from Chicago, where I attended the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, which opened up with a session on how the art of magic can help scientists make discoveries about the brain. I had the pleasure of watching my friends Eric Mead and Apollo Robbins intrigue and astonish an audience of ten thousand scientists.

Check out the USA Today Article.

I am incredibly excited about these studies and discoveries. I do hope that the researchers and neuro-scientists won't get tripped up by confusing methods for effects and lose sight by focusing too much on the technical "secrets" of magic. There's much more to be explored. Right now neuro-scientists are focusing on the optical. Would they be interested in the psychological or the emotional? I would love to see the effects on the brain of certain magic effects.

There's lots of room for discovery ahead and I am excited to see what comes next.