The small yellow ball disappears from the magician's left hand, reappearing moments later, plucked out of thin air, by his right. Hardly a mind-boggling move at a magic show, but this is an academic ...

Magicians have one job: To exploit what we don’t know. Whether we’re watching David Blaine withstand a million-volt jolt of electricity or Darren Criss rip bodies apart, we’re entertained because we ...