about SOMA
The Science of Magic Association (SOMA) promotes rigorous research directed toward understanding the nature, function, and underlying mechanisms of magic.
SOMA provides a platform for discussion and dissemination of research and ideas on magic.
SOMA is an inclusive organization that welcomes members with diverse backgrounds including science and technology, humanities, practicing magicians, and individuals who are simply interested in science and magic.
We are proud to have been partnered with Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (FISM) and sponsored by Magicana and Abracademy
Research
Interest in magic methods can be traced back throughout recorded history, but in the past 20 years, the Science of Magic has recently been undergoing a renaissance.
Since the year 2000, the body of experimental scientific literature on the topic of performance magic has continued to rise dramatically. To date, 109 empirical papers have been published on the topic of adult perceptions of magic tricks within the last 20 years, compared to the 12 that were published in the preceding century, between 1887 and 1999. The idea of investigating the psychology of magic is not new (indeed it arguably dates back to the earliest days of experimental psychology), but this recent level of interest is historically unprecedented.
Several examples of these new studies are currently available as OpenAccess articles: check-out Frontiers in Psychology’s Special Issue titled: Psychology of Magic and the Magic of Psychology.
You can also sign-up to our newsletter to receive a free bibliography listing every published empirical study of adult perceptions of magic tricks between 1887-2020.
Upcoming Events:
SoMA 2024 Conference
Las Vegas, NV, USA
We are delighted to announce that the 4th (semi) biannual SoMA international conference will be taking place on November 12-13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will take place at the Golden Nugget Casino, bringing together academics, researchers, and magicians from around the world and featuring top keynote speakers, presentations on recent research, a poster session, and a gala show.
We welcome presentations from across disciplines that are themed around rigorous research or theory directed toward understanding the nature, function, and underlying mechanisms of magic and illusion. We also invite submissions from practitioners who have applied principles of theatrical magic in unique settings. SoMA is an inclusive organization that welcomes members with diverse backgrounds and across multiple disciplines including science and technology, humanities, practicing magicians, and individuals who are simply interested in science and magic.
We are now soliciting abstracts for presentation proposals
We will be opening registrations soon- Stay tuned for more details!
Past Events:
BSA Workshop on
the Art & Aesthetics of Illusion
Thanks to everyone who participated in our BSA workshop: “The Art and the Aesthetics of Illusions” funded by The British Society of Aesthetics (BSA) and co-sponsored by the Science of Magic Association (SoMA).
When: The workshop will took place on Tuesday 11 July 2023
Where: The Magic Circle 12 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HD United Kingdom
Our latest conference took place at Goldsmiths University of London from 20-22 July 2022. This conference brought together academics, researchers and magicians from around the world and featured top keynote speakers, presentations on recent research, a poster session, and a gala show.
Special thanks to our Gala Show performers Laura London, Edward Hilsum, Paul Zenon, Julius Frack, and Lee Hathaway to our keynote speakers Chris French and Sophie Scott, and to our Guest of Honor Derren Brown!
2021 Webinar series
In a(nother) year in which nothing was normal, and we couldn’t gather for magic conventions or academic conferences, the Science of Magic Association presented a series of free online webinars on topics at the intersection of magic, science, philosophy, and culture. Each one-hour webinar featured three or four eminent speakers and ran for approximately one hour on Zoom. Seminars included moderated discussions along with live audience Q&A sessions. Every event was recorded and you can view the recordings by clicking the button below.
Our second annual conference took place in at the Chicago Magic Lounge in the summer of 2019.
Special thanks to our Gala Show performers Mac King , Ginny and Simon Aronson, Jeanette Andrews, Mister Danny, Tom Stone, and to our keynote speakers Professor Elizabeth Loftus and Professor Dan Simons, and our Guest of Honor Simon Aronson.
We’ll have some more details on future events soon.
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Click Here- For information on our 2019 Summer Seminar, or our 2017 conference or our 2016 workshop