Magic, Charlatanry, & Skepticism
Our second webinar took place on 30 May, and we’re pleased to share a recording of the event. Thanks very much to all the speakers for their contributions, to Lund University 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:
Jamy Ian Swiss: An internationally acclaimed sleight-of-hand artist, author, and speaker, Jamy Ian Swiss has appeared internationally for presenters from Fortune 500 companies to the Smithsonian Institution. His U.S. television appearances include repeat appearances on The Today Show and on The Late, Late Show; film appearances include the feature-length documentaries, “An Honest Liar” and “Merchants of Doubt.” He is the author of six books, co-author of a chapter in “Visual Explanations” by Edward Tufte, and contributor to numerous other books and journals. He has lectured to magicians in 13 countries; to academics and scientists about skepticism and critical thinking; to law enforcement professionals on con games; and consulted on casino game security. In a lengthy profile, the New Yorker declared, “Swiss is widely thought to have one of the most masterly sleight-of-hand techniques in the world today.”
Website: http://jamyianswiss.com/
Book: The Conjurer’s Conundrum
Professor Caroline Watt holds the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology at the University of Edinburgh, having started her career as a founder member of the Koestler Parapsychology Unit (KPU) under Professor Robert Morris. Morris espoused the value of conjuring expertise when studying claims of the paranormal, recruiting a youthful Richard Wiseman and Peter Lamont to his team. Watt runs a parapsychology study registry and her teaching and research highlights wider scientific lessons that emerge from studying paranormal claims.
Website: https://koestlerunit.wordpress.com/
Book: Parapsychology: A Beginner’s Guide
Twitter: @KPUNews
Professor Chris French is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is also Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He writes for the Guardian and The Skeptic magazine and is a former Editor of the latter.
Website: http://profchrisfrench.com/
Book: Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal Belief and Experience
Twitter: @chriscfrench
Dr. Matt L Tompkins (Moderator) is an experimental psychologist, magician, and author who currently works as postdoctoral researcher at Lund University’s Choice Blindness Lab. He completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Oxford on the historical and contemporary application of magic trick methods to the study of human cognition.
Website: https://www.matt-tompkins.com/
Book: The Spectacle of Illusion
Twitter: @MattLTompkins
Selected References
Project Alpha
Project Alpha, as discussed in the webinar, is an excellent case study to explore the issues of using magic deceptions to promote science and skepticism
As Jamy mentioned, the Wikipedia page provides a nice introduction
Caroline highlighted this reflection paper by Marcello Truzzi
Additionally, the late Michael Thalbourne compiled a collection of Project Alpha-related materials. This collection has been digitally preserved by The Australian Insititute of Parapsychological Research
Using hoaxes to explore the psychology of belief and promote critical thinking
The idea of using magic trick methods in the classroom has a long history. Here’s sampling of some relevant work (and do stay tuned for our future webinar on magic and teaching)
A classic paper from the 80’s involving presenting students with a ‘pseudo-psychic’
Benassi, V. A., Singer, B., & Reynolds, C. B. (1980). Occult belief: Seeing is believing. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 337-349.
A more contemporary piece involving the MAGIC Lab using a similar paradigm as a teaching method at Goldsmith’s University
A recent empirical paper on the topic from Lise Lesaffre et al.
Cognitive Dissonance
This is a classic social psychological theory that first emerged from research conducted by Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, & Stanley Schacter that was published in 1956 in their book, When Prophesy Fails. While the book itself isn’t immediately accessible online, I would strongly encourage you to seek out your own copy. It’s a delightfully gonzo bit of social psych research, in which the scientists who were initially interested in the history of doomsday cults end up joining a local doomsday cult and observing its adherents before and after ‘doomsday.’
Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S. (1956). When prophecy fails. University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/10030-000
Festinger, along with James Carlsmith, went on to develop a laboratory paradigm designed to empirically investigate the ideas that had been developed from field observations
Chris recently published a short piece applying cognitive dissonance theory to the present day antics of the QAnon conspiracy movement
Dunning Kruger Effect
Another classic psychology construct that relates to bias that occurs when people’s lack of knowledge can lead them to overestimate their own expertise (this relates to Jamy’s point that learning just a little bit about magic trick methods can sometimes paradoxically make people/researchers more vulnerable to being fooled by magic methods)
The original paper was published in 1999
And see here for a more recent large scale replication
Combating Misinformation: The Debunking Handbook
Chris mentioned contemporary review of literature on combating misinformation: The Debunking Handbook (2020) was developed by an international team of academics and is freely available online
Of particular relevance to our webinar is the section on ‘The Backfire Effect’ (p. 9), which relates to an exchange between Chris and Caroline towards the end of our discussion
Mentalism and pseudo-psychology
Another theme that emerged is the potential issue of contemporary performers, particularly mentalists, presenting unscientific/dubious/false ideas (inadvertently or otherwise) as part of their theatrical presentations.
A nice example of this criticism can be seen in the skeptical activist Simon Singh’s reaction to the mentalist Derren Brown’s early Mind Control television specials. (It’s worth noting that Brown’s approach has evolved since this piece was published in )
The MAGIC Lab has conducted some empirical research specifically on this topic, which has shown that participants can have difficulty separating theatrical presentations from scientific claims, even when they’re given explicit disclaimers
Caroline, along with Richard Wiseman et al., have also conducted research debunking some of the common magic-adjacent claims that relate to the scientifically dubious concept of “Neuro-Lingusitic Programming”
Jamy briefly detailed his way of conceptualizing spectator reactions to magic (and disclaimers) by considering a ‘bell curve of possible responses’. You can read more about this idea in this interview that Jamy conducted with Derren Brown (2003)
Of relevance to the tension between skepticism and open mindedness, it’s worth noting that some concepts from mentalism magic do, in fact, translate into empirically verifiable claims
‘Disinformation Design’
We also mentioned a book chapter that Jamy co-authored with Edward Tufte
[Feel free to email any questions to scienceofmagicassoc@gmail.com]