Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about our Brains
Susana Martinez-Conde, Stephen Macknik
Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about our Brains
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’. In Sleights of Mind, 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.
4.5 out of 5 based on 2 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Science & Nature, Psychology & Psychiatry |
| Format |
Paperback |
| Pages |
288 |
| RRP |
£12.99 |
| Date of Publication |
February 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-1846683893 |
| Publisher |
Profile |
| |
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’. In Sleights of Mind, 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.
Reviews
The Evening Standard
William Leith
"So why is this book so good? Partly because it explains magic tricks so well. Partly because the authors give you a guide to the ways in which you can be hoodwinked, by adverts and people trying to sell you things. But mostly because this is one of the best books I've read on how the brain actually works ... And the backstory, of two boffins trying to become magicians — and succeeding! — is great, too."
27/01/2011
Read Full Review
The Sunday Times
James McConnachie
"This book offers something brilliantly simple and wonderfully engaging: it reveals exactly how magic tricks work, at a practical level, and then explains why, at a neuroscientific one ... Being shown around backstage in this way has its own pleasure, but the real joy of this book is being given a guest pass into our own minds."
06/02/2011
Read Full Review