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Origins of Deception: The Video

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



Gus Holwerda, who directed the soon-to-be-released atheist documentary “The Unbelievers”, also filmed the “Origins of Deception” Great Debate in which Steve Macknik and I were thrilled to participate last October. Part of the Arizona State University Great Debates series, the Origins of Deception panel included Origins Project director and physicist Lawrence Krauss, evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers, social psychologist Carol Tavris, and magicians Jamy Ian Swiss and Joshua Jay, in addition to Steve and me.

The Origins of Deception video, now available for viewing, mixes science, magic performances, and thought provoking conversation on the “biological, behavioral, and political boundaries of deception”.


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Part 1

Part 2

Susana Martinez-Conde is a professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is author of the Prisma Prize–winning Sleights of Mind, along with Stephen Macknik and Sandra Blakeslee, and of Champions of Illusion, along with Stephen Macknik.

More by Susana Martinez-Conde