Can you think a thought that isn’t yours? A remarkable new study, led by psychologist Jay Olsonfrom McGill University in Canada, suggests you can.

The research, published in Consciousness and Cognition, used a form of stage magic known as “mentalism” to induce the experience of thoughts being inserted into the minds of volunteers. It is an ingenious study, not only for how it created the experience, but also for how it used the psychology lab as both a stage prop and a scientific tool.

Years before he was famous, stage illusionist Derren Brown wrote a book called “Pure Effect,” where he argued that presenting tricks as “psychology” could be an effective form of misdirection.

In his innovative shows, Brown often claims he is debunking psychics by demonstrating how psychology can be used to manipulate people’s minds. In practice, his mind-reading and mind control feats can involve the same traditional techniques used by stage magicians, it’s just that he presents them as psychology rather than magic. Read More…

http://www.techinsider.io/psychologists-magic-implant-thoughts-2016-6