Advancing Magic Through Science

Our third webinar took place on 27 June, and we’re pleased to share a recording of the event. Thanks very much to all the speakers for their contributions, to Carthage College for digitally hosting the event, and to all our viewers for tuning in to watch!

For info on future events click HERE

And keep reading below for details on the featured speakers, along with selected references related to the contents of the discussion.


Featured Speakers:


Joshua Jay is an internationally renowned magician, author, and lecturer. He has performed in more than 100 countries, holds a Guinness World Record for Card Tricks, and was named Magician of the Year by the Society of American Magicians in 2020 for his contributions to the art of magic. He is also the author of three books for the public and four books for magicians, and helped design an influential study on magic in partnership with the College of New Jersey.

Instagram: @joshuajaymagician

Joshua Jay is the co-founder of vanishingincmagic.com

Gustav Kuhn is a reader in Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London., where he directs the MAGIC lab (Mind Attention and General Illusory Cognition). The MAGIC lab applies an interdisciplinary approach to studying human behaviour and cognition, using magic to study a wide range of psychological questions, around consciousness, attention, perception, magical beliefs, deception, free will. Gustav is one of the pioneering researchers in the Science of Magic and he is one of the founding members and president of the Science of Magic Association. His latest book is called “Experiencing the Impossible: The Science of Magic”, discussing how the scientific study of magic reveals intriguing insights into the mysteries of the human mind.

Lab Website: www.magicresearchlab.com

Book: Experiencing the Impossible: The Science of Magic

Andy Luttrell is an assistant professor of Psychological Science at Ball State University. He studies the psychology of influence, persuasion, and opinion. His interest in magic goes back to his childhood; he worked at a magic shop for several years as a teenager, performed regularly around the Chicagoland area, and even published the occasional effect in various magic magazines. In 2015, he released the book "Psychology for the Mentalist" after spending years in graduate school learning the actual psychology that mentalists have often pretended to know.

Website: www.andyluttrell.com

Book: Psychology for the Mentalist

Podcast: Opinion Science

Roberto Giobbi is an award-winning and internationally famous magician renowned for his many contributions in teaching card magic. Roberto has a mathematical and scientific background, and since 1988 he has been working as a professional magician, author and lecturer. His 5 bestselling Card College volumes are the most widely translated magic books in history and are considered worldwide as the ultimate reference work for card magic. Several international awards in magic round off his profile.

Website: www.robertogiobbi.com/

Book: Sharing Secrets

Alice Pailhès (Moderator) is a PhD Candidate and Associate Lecturer in Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Alice currently does research at the Magic Lab, where her thesis focuses on using magic tricks to study illusory sense of agency and illusions of control over choice, to better understand the subtle factors that influence our decisions without our awareness.

Website: www.alicepailhes.com/research

Selected References

What Do Audiences Really Think? Survey

Alice & Gustav’s Criss Cross Force article

Nudge by Sunstein & Thaler (2008)

Juan Tamariz’s (English translation, 2019) The Magic Rainbow

Ernst Gombrich’s (1960) Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation

[Feel free to email any questions to scienceofmagicassoc@gmail.com]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Matt Tompkins