Magic & Creativity Webinar
Our sixth webinar took place on 26 September, and we’re pleased to share the recording of the event here. 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
Speaker Bios/Links
Dr. Matt Pritchard
For the last decade, Matt has worked with schools and universities presenting his unique science magic and sparking students' Wonder. He previously conducted atomic physics research at Durham University before working at Thinktank Science Museum, Birmingham, UK. Alongside this, he has spent the last 22 years working as a magician and is an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle. In 2020 he won second place in the international "Best Illusion of the Year Contest" and regularly posts baffling illusions online. He runs the "Words on Wonder" project which features a host of interviews with scientists, magicians, philosophers, explorers, and artists, to find out what really makes them curious.
Twitter & Instagram: @sciencemagician
Website: www.wordsonwonder.com
David Parr
David Parr is a winner of the coveted “Fool Us” trophy on the TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. David created and costarred in Chicago’s longest-running magic show, which was chosen by the Travel Channel as one of the top nine magic shows in the nation. He is a frequent performer at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, and the author of some well-regarded books about the art of magic. His latest project is a virtual show called The Sorcerer’s Lair.
Instagram & Facebook: @parrmagic
Website: https://www.davidparr.com/
Dr. Amory Danek
Dr. Amory Danek is a cognitive psychologist working on human problem solving and creativity. Her main research interest is how people experience moments of sudden insight, when a solution idea pops into mind seemingly out of the blue. In collaboration with magician Thomas Fraps, she pioneered the use of magic tricks as problem solving tasks to investigate those delightful "Aha! experiences". Amory has worked in Munich, Chicago, and Heidelberg, is a regular speaker at scientific conferences, and has published more than 20 papers and book chapters.
Website: http://www.amorydanek.de/
Dr. Cyril Thomas
Dr. Cyril Thomas is a French researcher in cognitive psychology at the University of Paris and a magic creator. In his research, Cyril uses magic tricks/principles (e.g., false solution, flushtration count illusion, vanishing ball illusion...) as original tools to better understand our problem solving and perceptual limitations. In the magic domain, he is known for his rubber band magic creations such as Banderaction, Faith Hacker, and Psychobands.
Website: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cyril-Thomas-4
Instagram: @dr_cyril_thomas
Prof. Anthony Barnhart
Dr. Anthony Barnhart is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Arizona State University. Tony is also a part-time professional magician with over 20 years of performing experience. His research trajectory changed in 2010 with the publication of the book Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about our Everyday Deceptions, in which he was featured as a consultant and teacher on the science of stage magic. The scientific interest that the book garnered motivated Tony to shift his focus toward the interface of science and magic. His current research on the topic explores inattentional blindness and the techniques magicians use to manipulate attentional deployment in time. He regularly teaches a college course devoted to the cognitive science of magic.
Website: http://www.anthonybarnhart.com/
Twitter: @MagicTony
Selected References (Further Reading/Watching)
More Content from Matt Pritchard
See more of Matt’s excellent illusion videos and get updates on new ideas as they’re developed
A series of interviews from a diverse array of performers, academics, and creatives themed around the concept of Wonder
Cyril’s Research on how magicians can misdirect our ability to discover the secret methods behind magic tricks
Cyril provided a brief rundown of these ideas during the webinar, you can read the full published paper online
A paper on magic tricks and cognitive impenetrability (by Vebjørn Ekroll et al.)
Speakers discussed the possibility that magic tricks that employ ‘cognitively impenetrable’ illusions might have different implications for problem solving- There is in fact some published research on this very topic that you can read here
Papers on magic and flexible thinking
Li Tong’s recent paper on magic scheme disruption was discussed
See also this paper by Richard Wiseman et al. on how learning magic tricks can promote divergent thinking in school children
Amory’s research on magic and memory
Amory discussed some of her research on magic, insight, and memory. This paper is a good place to start, for more related papers, check out her website
More Writing from David on Magic & Creativity
David, along with his co-author Tracy Atteberry, published a series of columns in MAGIC Magazine on the topic creative play and magic. You can read the full series HERE