International Women's Day and the Science of Magic
In the spirit of this month’s International Women’s Day, our latest ‘research sampler’ is intended to highlight a few of the women from around the world who have been making great contributions to science of magic research.
Magic and Paranormal Belief
SoMA committee member Lise Lessafre is a doctoral researcher at Lausanne University. Along with her supervisor, Prof. Christine Mohr, she has been using magic tricks to study paranormal beliefs. One of her latest papers was published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Magic and Metacognition
SoMA committee member Jennifer Ortega is a doctoral student at Columbia National University who has been using magic to study explore the psychology of metacognition. Her latest paper was published in Consciousness and Cognition.
Magic and Insight
Dr. Amory Danek is currently a Postdoc/Lecturer in Experimental and Theoretical Psychology at Heidelberg University. As part of her research program on problem solving, she’s used magic trick methods to develop a number of novel paradigms to investigate the psychology of insight. One of her latest papers was published in Psychological Research.
Magician’s Forces & Free Will
Alice Pailhès is a doctoral researcher in Goldsmiths University of London’s MAGIC Research Lab. She’s investigating magicians forcing techniques in order to explore the psychology of our sense of agency. She recently presented her work at the 2nd International Conference on Neuroscience and Free Will.
Magic and Sensory Illusions
Jeanette Andrews is a magician and artist who has achieved international recognition for her innovative work as a self-described ‘sensory illusionist.’ Jeanette will not only be performing in the gala show at the SoMA 2019 conference, but she’ll also be delivering a talk about how she incorporates the scientific methods into her performances.
Memory Illusions
Elizabeth Loftus is a distinguished professor at University of California Irvine. Her work on memory illusions has a had a profound impact on our current understanding of how we remember. Prof. Loftus will be delivering a keynote speech for the SoMA 2019 Conference. She has published prolifically and you can check out a this recent profile of her that was published in the Skeptical Inquirer.