I have spent the last 2 days preparing for a trip to Vegas next week. Â Once there, I’ll meet up with Greg to videotape the lessons for my HOCUS FOCUS project. Â I’m excited about this DVD and curriculum but it has been exhausting work – more mental than physical.
Today, I’ve had my head wrapped around an article published last July (2008) on the neuroscience of magic. Neuroscientists collaborated with several magicians to explore the techniques used by performers to manipulate attention and awareness of their audiences. Â Some of these magic principles were discussed at the Magic of Consciousness symposium held during the 11th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness.
I’m most interested in the cognitive “illusions” in magic. Â I believe that research in this area can provide significant and meaningful methods that can be of use in teaching those with learning disabilities and learning challenges. There are “devices” that magicians use that neuroscientists believe deserve exploration because they may shed light on the neural “underpinnings” of cognition, memory, sensation, social attachment, causal inference, and awareness.
Okay, enough of that already…HOCUS FOCUS is going to be a blast!