How Magic can be the Elixir of Life? The unusual question will be at the core of the magic talk I will give tomorrow afternoon at Tobacco Dock, London for the WIRED 2014 event “The Future is Closer than You Think”.

Involved with a group of speakers described as “disrupters, inventors, designers, business leaders, policymakers and more”, I will focus on the slogan “Magic to the People!”, exploring the possibility of stretching life using the weapons of wonder and surprise.

Being a magician – and in the wake of a very old tradition – I’m looking for the Elixir of Life. During this search (a kind of “alchemical quest”) I have made some discoveries that I will share with the audience, in the attempt of finding a truly evidence-based Elixir.

During my session (“Mind Games”) also professor Bruce Hood will present his lecture: I’m really excited to meet him because I really enjoyed his book SuperSense, focused on the reasons why we believe in the unbelievable: a deep and wide analysis of the brain processes that magicians can manipulate to create a “believable” illusion of the Impossible.

Stay tuned: script&slides from my speech will be available immediately after the event and in some days the video will be uploaded on the website of the event.

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