What Magic & Mind Reading Reveal About the Brain | Asi Wind

In this episode, my guest is Asi Wind. He's one of the world’s top magicians and mentalists. We discuss what magic and mentalism reveal about the human mind, including how memories are made, how to erase them, and how and why we perceive things the way we do, all in the context of how he performs his astonishing tricks. Asi explains that magic works because it involves storytelling, which is key to how we organize memories. He also explains how emotional connection allows people to co-create and believe a common narrative, even one that did not actually occur. We also discuss how Asi's love of painting and photography and his specific daily routine allow him to access creativity. We also discuss fear, perfectionism, and how feeling emotions deeply serves his craft. Whether you are interested in magic or not, this conversation with Asi will give you an incredible window into how you perceive, learn, and remember the world around you and how what you believe may or may not be based in reality. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman AeroPress: https://aeropress.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Asi Wind Website: https://www.asiwind.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@asiwind Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asiwind X: https://twitter.com/asiwind Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsiWindsIncrediblyHuman Before We Begin (book): https://bit.ly/3TxN9Wt Masterclass: https://bit.ly/43vdsBk Asi Wind Clips Penn & Teller: Fool Us: https://youtu.be/fg0CC99hVK8 Salt and Pepper Trick: https://youtu.be/aEg3bKYiaGI Invisible Die Card Trick: https://youtu.be/OrLpp6I_YM8 Kelly Clarkson: https://youtu.be/BNAd_HoYtAo The View: https://youtu.be/YaVneB7YCus Other Resources The Magic Castle: https://bit.ly/3IQH9mR Karl Deisseroth on Lex Fridman Podcast: https://bit.ly/43EqVqz Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: https://amzn.to/3Tzsph8 Epicly Later’d: The John Cardiel Story: https://youtu.be/xSESz6oU4Ss Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned Dr. Karl Deisseroth: Understanding & Healing the Mind: https://youtu.be/w9MXqXBZy9U Rick Rubin: How to Access Your Creativity: https://youtu.be/ycOBZZeVeAc Dr. David Spiegel: Using Hypnosis to Enhance Mental & Physical Health & Performance: https://youtu.be/PctD-ki8dCc Chris Voss: How to Succeed at Hard Conversations: https://youtu.be/q8CHXefn7B4 People Mentioned David Blaine: illusionist, magician: https://davidblaine.com Avner the Eccentric: magician, clown, mime: https://bit.ly/3Tqvpwi Franco Pascali: magician, cardist: https://bit.ly/3TElMdI Juan Tamariz: Spanish magician: https://nyti.ms/3Tz8qz4 Tommy Wonder: Dutch magician: https://youtu.be/AgteMZ8qnog Chan Canasta: Polish mentalist: https://bit.ly/3TN5vEr Lucian Freud: English painter: https://bit.ly/3TMFmFE Andrew Wyeth: American realist painter: https://mo.ma/3Twm0mT Vincent van Gogh: Dutch painter: https://bit.ly/3TyZFoU Mark Rothko: American painter: https://bit.ly/4crUkZ3 Bevil Conway: researcher, senses and perception: https://bit.ly/4cohAax Chuck Close: American painter: https://bit.ly/3TxPO2x John Cardiel: skateboarder: https://www.instagram.com/johncardiel Henri Matisse: French artist: https://bit.ly/4ctyTH6 Laura Alexander: American artist: https://bit.ly/3VxBklL Harry Lorayne: American magician: https://bit.ly/4cvHMjf Hernri Cartier-Bresson: French photographer: https://bit.ly/3vhlnpp John Graham: magician, mentalist: https://bit.ly/3TuhZzj Doug McKenzie: magician, mentalist: https://bit.ly/43tIDwV Timestamps 00:00:00 Asi Wind 00:02:48 Sponsors: LMNT, BetterHelp & AeroPress 00:07:07 “Jazzy Magic”, Tricks & Improvisation, Memory 00:14:57 Magic & Imagination 00:24:06 Memory “Experiments” 00:29:18 Sponsor: AG1 00:30:46 Reality Augmentation, Free Will 00:35:31 Audience Interactions & Connection, Empathy, Tool: Breathing 00:41:20 Audience, Empathetic Attunement & Connection; Skeptics 00:49:10 Trick Explanation, Props 00:57:21 Exposing Magic, Misdirection, Storytelling 01:07:29 Sponsor: InsideTracker 01:08:36 Delight, Hypnosis, Behavior Patterns 01:17:35 Hypnotists & Guiding Attention; Social Media 01:23:01 “Power of Pauses” & Memory; Tool: Gap Effects & Learning 01:30:14 Tension, Understanding Magic 01:36:16 Storytelling 01:43:00 Painting & Composition 01:51:08 Truths, Clean Slate, Art & Storytelling 01:59:03 Art & Motivation, Honesty 02:05:17 Inspiration & Creativity, “Sponge” 02:12:38 Morning Routine & Creativity 02:19:28 Memory & Fear, Power of Story; Tool: Walking & Creativity 02:29:53 Body Language 02:33:01 Perfectionism; Negative Emotions, Photography 02:40:19 Sensitivity, Empathy, Family 02:45:16 Incredibly Human Show 02:49:22 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter #HubermanLab Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer