Anthony Barnhart, Ph.D. is a teacher-scholar who aims to inspire intellectual curiosity, nurture skeptical inquiry, and promote rigorous science through his teaching, laboratory research, and public speaking.
News from Prof. Barnhart and the MAGI Lab:
Through the Magic of Television…
The 1990s were the advent of television magic as we know it today. I recently appeared on the “Through the Magic of Television” podcast to discuss one of the lesser-known TV specials that shaped me as a young magicians. Although it’s a paywalled audio podcast, the host, Alex McAleer, also produces video versions to accompany the discussion!
The 1990s were the advent of television magic as we know it today. I recently appeared on the “Through the Magic of Television” podcast to discuss one of the lesser-known TV specials that shaped me as a young magicians. Although it’s a paywalled audio podcast, the host, Alex McAleer, also produces video versions to accompany the discussion! You can watch our analysis of “Magicians’ Favorite Magicians” below.
"Big Five personality traits, curiosity, and exploration in the world’s best magicians"
Napora, W., & Barnhart, A. S. (2025). Big Five personality traits, curiosity, and exploration in the world’s best magicians. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000745
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
"Identifying the Boundaries of Magic"
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.