# 308 - Magical Thinking - Matt Tompkins

An episode of [You Are Not So Smart](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/521594713), 3 Mar 2025, 1 h 19 min.

Audio: https://stitcher.simplecastaudio.com/aa9f2648-25e9-472a-af42-4e5017da38cf/episodes/c3ae31ad-3a3c-4316-bc66-1ea56c05caae/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=aa9f2648-25e9-472a-af42-4e5017da38cf&awEpisodeId=c3ae31ad-3a3c-4316-bc66-1ea56c05caae&feed=N5eKDxJI

In this episode, the story of Clever Hans, the horse who changed psychology for the better. We also sit down with psychologist and magician Matt Tompkins. Matt is the author of The Spectacle of Illusion, a book about the long history of the manipulation of our own magical thinking and how studying deception can help us better understand perception, memory, belief, and more. How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Matt Tompkins The Spectacle of Illusion Prisoners of Silence Clever Hans Wilhelm von Osten Carl Sagan Quote Science of Magic Association Society for Psychical Research Skeptical Inquirer Magazine Houdini's Debunking Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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