Illusions

Magic is one of the most captivating and enduring forms of entertainment and magicians all over the world have baffled and amazed their audiences by creating magical illusion. Our scientific understanding of magic is providing new insights into the nature of magic, and the ease by which magicians trick us highlights many of our mind’s limitations. These surprising and stunning illusions provide intriguing insights into how our brain works. In this talk I will use science, interactive demonstrations and magic to explore the psychology of magic and explain why our mind is so easily deceived.

We all think we know our own body, so that for example we can easily recognise our self in the mirror and distinguish our bodily sensations from that of other people’s. In this talk, I will use theoretical insights, clinical observations and practical demonstrations from psychology and neuroscience to argue that all these self-impressions are actually illusory. Even the feeling that you are reading this now is actually an inference.

Sichuan pepper has been used for centuries in Asiatic cuisine and Traditional Chinese Medicine for its peculiarity: rather than being spicy it induces… a tingling sensation in the mouth! Recently, we have shown that this paradoxical sensation occurs because Sanshool, the principal molecule of Sichuan pepper, activates specific skin receptors involved in the perception of vibration. Try for yourself the curious effect of this spice, and learn how it can be used by Neuroscientists to unveil how different skin receptors interact with each other.