#85: Neuromagic & Illusion - Stephen Macknik, PhD & Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD

Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde and Dr. Stephen Macknik are neuroscientists who specialize in the science of magic and illusion. Both are professors of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology & pharmacology at the Downstate Medical Center. Together they pioneered the study of various aspects of magic such as perception, cognitive illusion, and attentional misdirection. On this episode, we discuss how magic tricks fool the brain, why everyday life is an illusion, what neuroscientists and magicians can learn from each other and much more. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com Show Notes 0:00 | Intro to Stephen Macknik, PhD & Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD 8:00 | How Magic Hacks Our Minds 13:00 | What Neuroscientists Learn from Magicians 15:54 | What Magicians Learn from Neuroscientists 17:24 | Testing Attention Manipulation  22:25 | Cognition & Calculation 25:36 | How Our Brains Construct Reality 28:27 | Vision Produces Our Changing Realities 29:53 | Microsaccades Explained 32:58 | Brain on Autopilot 35:50 | Expertise as an Unconscious Process 40:46 | Magic for Kids vs. Magic for Adults 43:43 | Is Magic Still Enjoyable When You Know the Tricks? 48:24 | Rapid Fire Questions