My Polish collaborator, Wojciech Napora, and I have just released the culmination of some of our research exploring the personalities of FISM award-winning magicians. We are proud that the work is being featured in the top-tier journal, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Wojciech spearheaded this work during the pandemic, when he personally recruited 50 FISM winners to participate...No small feat! https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000745

Back during pandemic times, I was awarded a sabbatical from Carthage College. Part of my sabbatical project involved gaining some training in qualitative research methods. This week, I published my very first paper using those methods. The paper, entitled "Identifying the Boundaries of Magic: A Qualitative Study of Expert Magicians" was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Performance Magic. My collaborators, Sarah Tuchel, Gustav Kuhn, Dan Simons, and I set out to understand expert magicians' attitudes about where magic ends and other performance arts begin. Interviewees included: Joe Diamond, Jamy Ian Swiss, Carisa Hendrix, Jeanette Andrews, Tom Stone, and David Parr. Video from the interviews is available on Science of Magic Association website at: https://scienceofmagicassoc.org/blog/2024/7/1/interview-series-on-magic-misdirection

Sarah Tuchel and I presented this work at the 2023 British Society of Aesthetics workshop on the "Art & Aesthetics of Illusion." You can view a video version of that presentation here.

I was featured in a very thoughtful (and wide-ranging) piece published today in The Lever. While it started with exploration of the competition to find a piece of magic that is exclusively auditory in nature, it expanded to touch upon how politicians use techniques similar to those of magicians and a deeper analysis of the role that vision plays in our lives. It starts with a rather disgusting piece of imagery (seen above) and ends with an embarrassing one (that you'll have to seek out in the article)! Have a look at https://www.levernews.com/the-art-of-deception/.

Just in time for Halloween, a piece has been released on Yahoo!Life outlining six psychological techniques that magicians use to deceive you. I was quoted a handful of times in the story. Have a look!
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/magic-works-magicians-share-6-090006410.html

I had the pleasure to be featured in a new popular science book for young readers. “Do You Believe in Magic” explores the history of scientific interest in magical phenomena and why humans seem to have an inherent tendency toward belief in the supernatural. Author Laura Krantz interviewed experts from a variety of fields to better understand the history of belief in alchemy, magical potions, curses, and other superstitions. She also traced these beliefs forward into some of the psychology that allows modern theatrical magicians to shape the beliefs and perceptions of their audiences.

Krantz visited me in Kenosha to accompany me to a magic performance by my buddy, Joe Diamond. She later interviewed us on the interplay of science and magic…and some of the historical conflicts between the two endeavors. Ultimately, Krantz concluded that magic (in every sense of the word) has a place in the modern world, saying:

“Mysteries and things that seem like magic keep us asking questions. Even when we do know the answers, it doesn’t have to make what we’re wondering about feel any less like magic. And it’s that feeling of magic — of wonder, of curiosity, of possibility — that’s magical in and of itself, even if there are no wands involved.”

Zachary Elwood invited me to join him on his People Who Read People podcast for a discussion on how magicians manipulate their audience's attention. We had a fun chat that covered a lot of ground. I talked science and a little smack (about magicians who behave in a less-than-ethical way). Elwood's background is in reading poker tells, so he brought an interesting perspective to the discussion. Elwood shared further background about our discussion at https://behavior-podcast.com/how-magicians-misdirect-attention-and-manipulate-audiences-with-anthony-barnhart/. Stream the episode below.

In April, the Carthage Adventures in Fandom & Cosplay club hosted their annual CarthageCon event (inspired by Comic Con). I was invited to put together a panel to discuss something in the realm of magic, and I landed on a discussion of why magic sucks. Of course, I don't actually think magic sucks (although a lot of it is subpar). I invited Victoria Richter (a student who has taken my Cognitive Science of Magic class and who has seen LOTS of good magic) and John Sturk (the current national president of the Society of American Magicians) to join me on the panel. We discussed some of the historical barriers of entry to the magic community, including magic's whiteness and maleness. We also addressed how many of the tropes of magic are deeply grounded in misogyny. However, we also talked about current trends in magic, including DEI committees and movement towards audience-centric, narrative-driven magic...magic that makes you feel something. John Sturk talked about his experience on the panel in his monthly column in M-U-M Magazine, the official publication of the Society of American Magicians. You can read his piece here.

Today, InsideHigherEd has published an essay I wrote while reflecting on time management for faculty members during this era of storm and stress in higher education. I firmly believe I have articulated the appropriate mindset for faculty to adopt...especially under current circumstances. I look forward to hearing folks' thoughts on the piece at https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/advancing-faculty/2024/02/29/benefits-being-selfish-teacher-scholar-opinion

Educators: I have a presentation on this topic I would be pleased to offer to your faculty group.

Friend of the MAGI-Lab, Joe Diamond, will appear on an episode of "Penn & Teller Fool Us" on Friday, February 2nd. If you want a peek behind the magic curtain, join Joe and me for a Q&A at the Stage Left Cafe in Woodstock, IL on the evening of Tuesday, February 20th. The event is free and open to the public! More info on the Facebook event page here: https://fb.me/e/4nPhM8Xtp

2/21/2024 Update: Video from the event is available at https://fb.watch/qmi77IOsBS/.

I had the pleasure of serving as the illusion consultant for a recent production of "Carrie, the Musical" at Carthage College. We did some fun stuff, making a chair levitate and a statue of Jesus float through the air. A faculty respondent for the Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival saw the show and issued a Certificate of Merit for our work!

"Martin McClendon, William Newcomb, Anthony Barnhart - Illusions and Special Effects - These were a collaborative creation to make this story magical. It is deserving of recognition."

This summer, Sarah Tuchel, and I will be traveling to London to present some of our work at the British Society of Aesthetics (BSA) Workshop on the Art & Aesthetics of Illusions, funded by BSA  and co-sponsored by the Science of Magic Association (SoMA) and in collaboration with The Magic Circle Foundation (TMCF) and The Magic Circle (TMC). In collaboration with Gustav Kuhn and Dan Simons, we've been interviewing expert magicians in an attempt to find the boundaries of performance magic. Where does magic end and some other performance art begin? Here is the abstract for our presentation:

I had a fun conversation with my friend, Andy Luttrell, on his "Opinion Science"podcast. We covered a lot of ground, from magic and mentalism to attention to education to skepticism. Andy's pedigree is similar to mine; he was a mentalist before he was a psychologist. Consequently, we went down some fun rabbit holes. As the kids say, "smash that 'like' button and subscribe" to Andy's podcast.

Today, September 2, 2022, is World Magic Day. Coincidentally, it also marks the release of a special issue of Vanish Magazine devoted to the interaction of science and magic. The issue includes a piece by me, exploring the pedagogical value of using magic in the classroom. It also includes pieces from many of my friends and colleagues, including Gustav Kuhn, Jason Leddington, Jeanette Andrews, Jamy Ian Swiss, and Richard Wiseman. The issue is free to download at https://joom.ag/IjId.

I had a lengthy conversation with Milena Korostenskaja for her Neurocareers Podcast...So lengthy that it will be broken into two parts! We covered a lot of ground, from the science of magic to how undergraduate students can set themselves up for success in graduate school and on the job market. The first part is out now. I'll update this post once the second part becomes available.

08/29/2022 Update: And Part 2 is now available!

I'll be presenting my "Magic in the Lab" talk virtually for the Capital District Humanist Society on August 14th at 1pm Eastern Time. The event is free and open to the public with registration. To register, send an email request to w[email protected] several days prior or  login to their Meetup page:  https://www.meetup.com/Capital-District-Humanist-Society/.  Click on Join, then on Attend, and use the RSVP function. The Zoom link will then be available to you.

Update: Video from this presentation is available below!