Psychologists have long studied how magic deceives us. Illusionists exploit shortcomings in our attention and perception to prevent us seeing what is in front of our eyes, and learning how their ...

Source: Funkdooby, via Wikimedia Commons. Distributed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Elias Garcia-Pelegrin first learned to perform magic as an undergraduate student. Now, as part of his doctoral ...

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the ...

IN HIS right hand, Elias Garcia-Pelegrin holds a worm. He pretends to grab it with his left but, while his fingers obscure it, he lets it drop back into the right – a classic sleight of hand called ...

A team of researchers performed magic tricks for several species of monkey, and they found that the animals’ gullibility may depend on the structure of their hands. Specifically, the team found that ...

To help pay for his undergraduate education, Elias Garcia-Pelegrin had an unusual summer job: cruise ship magician. “I was that guy who comes out at dinnertime and does random magic for you,” he says.

Elias Garcia-Pelegrin first learned to perform magic as an undergraduate student. Now, as part of his doctoral research at the University of Cambridge, he is putting his sleight-of-hand skills to use: ...