A leading magician helping professors teach more effectively
A different way magicians and scientists collaborate is exemplified by magician Vito Lupo . Lupo was the first American to win the prestigious international Grand Prix of Magic competition and later spent a decade as a consultant to Disney , designing illusions to make some of their highest profile events more magical .
Lupo , who currently resides in Venice Italy , was recently invited to participate in
Padua University ’ s Teaching 4 Learning project , which promotes innovative methods to improve and modernize teaching . Lupo ’ s talk , “ Magic and Teaching … Magic Transformations ,” gave a magician ’ s perspective on how to engage students and teachers . The lecture was well received by Padua ’ s faculty , and Lupo was energized by experiencing how the magician ’ s perspective can catalyze more effective education and communication .
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Can studying magic increase the odds of a scientist winning a Nobel prize ?
What makes one an Olympic medalist , or a Nobel prize-winning scientist ? While part of it is winning the genetic lottery , are there unexpected , non-traditional activities or skillsets that up the odds for exceptional achievement ? For example ,
according to University of Michigan research , scientists who are musicians are twice as likely to win a Nobel prize . The hotly debated and oft-reputed research finds that scientists who are amateur magicians are 22 times more likely to win a Nobel prize . Even if this research is highly skewed , it suggests that scientists with creative , performanceoriented pursuits ( music , magic ) outperform scientists who don ’ t .
Even as we live in an era where new “ technological marvels ” that would have been seen as utterly “ magical ” just a few years ago become more and more commonplace , the influence of the conjuring arts on science and technology is on an upswing . When magicians share their knowledge with scientists , technologists and researchers , new possibilities are revealed .
We believe the time is ripe for a symposium where the top minds in the magic world collaborate with researchers , technologists , and academics to progress this unique confluence . In fact , we ’ ve got one in the works – if you ’ re interested in supporting such a symposium , contact : info @ themagicsymposium . com ■
About The Author
Adam Fleischer earned his B . A . in Ancient Studies , focusing on a cross-disciplinary examination of the philosophy of Socrates , from Columbia University in New York City in 1987 . produced off-Broadway theatricals in New York City and prime-time TV specials , all before attending Stanford ’ s Graduate School of Business and earning his MBA in 1991 . He then founded and was CEO of E . ON Interactive Design , one of Silicon Valley ’ s earliest boutique creative interactive marketing agencies . Today , Adam serves as a technology marketing consultant with clients including Microsoft , IBM , Panasonic , SAP , Analog Devices , Arrow Electronics , Coupa , MuleSoft and other technology leaders . Adam can be contacted via - adam @ adamjf . com
At the same time , he was a magic impresario producing The New York Magic Symposium , an international magic convention , and publishing magic ’ s first full-color glossy magazine , The Magic Manuscript . He also