Sandra Blakeslee

Susana Martinez-Conde

Stephen L. Macknik

"This book doesn't just promise to change the way you think about sleight of hand and David Copperfield—it will also change the way you think about the mind." —Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide and Proust Was A Neuroscientist Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, the founders of the exciting new discipline of neuromagic, have convinced some of the world's greatest magicians to allow scientists to study their techniques for tricking the brain. This book is the result of the authors' yearlong, world-wide exploration of magic and how its principles apply to our behavior. Magic tricks fool us because humans have hardwired processes of attention and awareness that are hackable—a good magician uses your mind's own intrinsic properties against you in a form of mental jujitsu. Now magic can reveal how our brains work in everyday situations. For instance, if you've ever bought an expensive item you'd sworn you'd never buy, the salesperson was probably a master at creating the "illusion of choice," a core technique of magic. The implications of neuromagic go beyond illuminating our behavior; early research points to new approaches for everything from the diagnosis of autism to marketing techniques and education. Sleights of Mind makes neuroscience fun and accessible by unveiling the key connections between magic and the mind.

What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions

Sleights of Mind

wie die Hirnforschung von den großen Zauberern lernt

Die Tricks unseres Gehirns

What can magic tell us about ourselves and our daily lives? If you subtly change the subject during an uncomfortable conversation, did you know you're using attentional 'misdirection', a core technique of magic? And if you've ever bought an expensive item you'd sworn never to buy, you were probably unaware that the salesperson was, like an accomplished magician, a master at creating the 'illusion of choice'. Leading neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde meet with magicians from all over the world to explain how the magician's art sheds light on consciousness, memory, attention, and belief. As the founders of the new discipline of NeuroMagic, they combine cutting-edge scientific research with startling insights into the tricks of the magic trade. By understanding how magic manipulates the processes in our brains, we can better understand how we work - in fields from law and education to marketing, health and psychology - for good and for ill.

What the neuroscience of magic reveals about our brains

Cobblestone Publishing Company

The Magic Half

Susana Martínez-Conde

Cucharas que se doblan sin tocarlas, sillas que desaparecen ante nuestros ojos, mujeres serradas por la mitad que siguen moviendo las piernas, monedas que se multiplican en una mano vacía, cartas que se mueven por sí solas dentro de la baraja... Está claro, los espectáculos de magia juegan con nuestra mente. Pero ¿cómo? Stephen Macknik y Susana Martínez-Conde, que dirigen sendos laboratorios neurocientíficos en Phoenix, han convencido a un selecto grupo de magos de todo el mundo para que les permitan estudiar algunas de sus técnicas, revelar sus secretos e investigar las implicaciones de sus descubrimientos en el campo de la neurociencia. Un libro tan hipnótico, brillante y entretenido como el mejor truco.«Durante mucho tiempo he deseado que existiera un libro que explicara el arte de la magia desde el punto de vista de la neurociencia cognitiva. La magia es una mina de oro de información sobre el cerebro. Éste es el libro que hemos estado esperando todos.» Steven Pinker«Un libro sobre la magia del cerebro que nos ayuda a entender el teatro de la vida.» Eduardo Punset «Susana y Steve nos demuestran que el cerebro es mucho más limitado de lo que sospechábamos. Un fascinante viaje a la mente de los magos para descubrir, con asombro, que nos engañan con argucias insospechadamente sencillas.» Guillermo Fesser (Gomaespuma)«Stephen Macknik y Susana Martínez-Conde demuestran que el funcionamiento interno de nuestros cerebros es quizás el truco más milagroso y fascinante.» The Times«Una mirada revolucionaria a la ciencia que hay tras la magia, a lo que lleva a la mente a creer que los trucos son reales y a cómo los magos utilizan la propia lógica del cerebro para conseguirlo.» Science Book News

Cómo los trucos de magia desvelan el funcionamiento del cerebro

Los engaños de la mente

Stephen L. Macknik

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