Publish at October 01 2019 Updated February 25 2026
Prestidigitators are fascinating because they can confuse our senses and fool us. Contrary to popular belief, they are not endowed with supernatural gifts. They just have a great deal of skill and knowledge of the flaws in our perception. Because, yes, the brain is a formidable machine, but it can be fooled.
Psychologist and researcher Albert Moukheiber demonstrates this with a rather classic card trick, the secret of which he will reveal. In fact, he's going to demonstrate how a simple selection bias can be used to manipulate us by magicians as much as by opinion-makers or a love partner, for example. An interesting experiment that reiterates the importance of questioning what we perceive.
Running time: 3min41
Illustration: Patrick JL Laso from Pixabay
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