Journal Article

Attention and awareness in stage magic: turning tricks into research

King, Mac, Thompson, John, Teller, Martinez-Conde, Susana, Macknik, Stephen L., Randi, James, Robbins, Apollo

2008

Overview

Magic tricks require the manipulation of the audience's attention and awareness. Macknik, Martinez-Conde and their magician co-authors describe the visual and cognitive illusions that underlie many magic tricks, and the techniques that magicians use to achieve these illusions. An interview with Martinez-Conde for Neuropod is available for download . Just as vision scientists study visual art and illusions to elucidate the workings of the visual system, so too can cognitive scientists study cognitive illusions to elucidate the underpinnings of cognition. Magic shows are a manifestation of accomplished magic performers' deep intuition for and understanding of human attention and awareness. By studying magicians and their techniques, neuroscientists can learn powerful methods to manipulate attention and awareness in the laboratory. Such methods could be exploited to directly study the behavioural and neural basis of consciousness itself, for instance through the use of brain imaging and other neural recording techniques.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: Animal Genetics and Genomics / Attention / Attention - physiology / Awareness / Awareness - physiology / Behavioral psychophysiology / Behavioral Sciences / Biological and medical sciences / Biological Techniques / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Brain research / Cognition - physiology / Collaboration / Consciousness / Electrophysiology / Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Humans / Illusions - physiology / Illusions - psychology / Magic & magicians / Magic - psychology / Neural recording / Neurobiology / Neurons / Neurosciences / Optical illusions / Physiological aspects / Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry / Psychology. Psychophysiology / Research Design / science-and-society / Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs