Magic, Science, and Psi

A magic show! Undergrads and grad students alike eagerly crammed the auditorium to see one of our psychology professors, Daryl Bem, present an hour of tricks, illusions, and sleight-of-hand. Bem, who had joined the Psychology faculty at Stanford in 1971, was a respected research scientist. And he proved to be a great showman. By the final curtain, I was ready to believe in magic. But Dr. Bem was not only a professional magician. He also debunked demonstrations of ESP (ExtraSensory Perception- today called “psi.”) For example, he appeared in an Introductory Psychology video series in which he revealed how a magician “sets up” card and mind-reading tricks. (See the Annenberg Learning website for the series produced by Dr. Phillip Zimbardo called “Discovering...

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