Alice Pailhès unveils the magic of the mind. A researcher specialized in magicians’ mind-control techniques, she explores the hidden forces that shape perception, belief, and creativity — and turns them into tools for transformation.
Why you should listen
Dr. Alice Pailhès is a psychological scientist, speaker and author who explores the hidden forces shaping our choices, beliefs and behaviors. Blending the rigor of psychology with the art of illusion, she reveals what our minds conceal — and how understanding these blindspots can unlock clarity, change and awe. She is one of the few researchers in the world specializing in the psychology of magic, a field that uses magic as a lens to study how we perceive, decide, remember, believe and make sense of the world. Pailhès is the author of The Psychology of Magic and the forthcoming The Art of Being Fooled (MIT Press, 2026).
Through her initiative, WonderLab, she brings science and magic together to show how illusions — on stage and in the mind — reveal the hidden mechanisms of human behavior, helping leaders, creators and individuals harness them for curiosity, innovation and transformation.
Through her initiative, WonderLab, she brings science and magic together to show how illusions — on stage and in the mind — reveal the hidden mechanisms of human behavior, helping leaders, creators and individuals harness them for curiosity, innovation and transformation.
