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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “Magic and the Mind” Youth Program Set for August at UCSD Extension SAN DIEGO–June 25, 2014–“Magic and the Mind,” a new five-day enrichment program using magicians' techniques to teach children about the psychology and neuroscience of deception, will take place Aug. 11–15, 1 p.m.–5 p.m., at the UCSD Extension University City Center, Room 303. The program, designed and taught by cognitive scientist Dr. Iris Oved and magician Tom Interval, will engage middle- and high-school students ages 12–18 in several exercises centering on perception, attention, memory, assumptions, reasoning and social cognition. In addition to studying and performing magic tricks that exploit certain weaknesses in these cognitive functions, participants will discuss how the functions play a role in deceiving the mind. “The mind is one of the most complex and elegant systems in the world,” said Oved. “Understanding how it works and why it's so susceptible to deception teaches us how we, as critical thinkers, can override many of its fallacies, interpret the world more accurately and make better decisions in everyday life.” Students will participate in a final group project that involves creating a new magical illusion, and the instructors will conduct short pretests and posttests to measure the program's impact on participants' critical-thinking skills. Those interested in registering for “Magic and the Mind” may go to the following UCSD Extension web page and enter Section ID 105060 (registering for the program will require the creation of an online account); the fee is $295 per student, with a 20-student maximum: http://extension.ucsd.edu/cart/index.cfm?vAction=view. To download a “Magic and the Mind” flier and sample schedule, please visit http://www.magicandthemind.org. For the latest updates, visit the “Magic and the Mind” Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/magicandthemind. # # # About Interval Magic |
