Stop The Illusions
Transcriber: Karla Cisneros
Reviewer: Emma Gon
If you had to choose between living in
in a beautiful 3000 square foot house
or living in a 300 square foot bus,
what would you choose?
In fact, think about it in your brain
make a decision right now.
You can choose to live in a 3000 square
foot house or a 300 square foot bus.
And now that you’ve made your choice,
is there any chance
that I could change your mind?
So you hear a question like,
do you want to live in a house or a bus?
Our initial response is probably
to say this is a no brainer.
I don’t even need to think about it.
But even though you might say
it’s a no brainer,
a lot just happen inside your head.
It’s possible that a picture of a home
you once lived in came to your mind.
Maybe you thought about somebody
you know in a decision that they made
or a story you’ve been told
in the split second
your brain processed
all of this information
and then attempted to predict the future.
Specifically, you made an assumption
about what your life
might be like if you chose
to live in a house or a bus.
But what if the information
that you processed
and the assumptions
that you made were wrong?
For the past 18 years, I’ve made a living
as an illusionist, a magician.
I love to study how the brain works,
how we process information and assumptions
that we make about the world around us.
Then, through the art of illusion,
I do my best to help people see
that things are not always as they appear.
Maybe even change the way you think about
what’s real and what’s possible.
Along the way, I’m also reminded
that sometimes I need
to look at things differently.
When I was first asked the house
or bus question, I was convinced,
like most of you, that the house
was definitely the best choice.
However, my wife and I, along with
our four kids and Chocolate Lab,
have at least for this season of life,
chosen to live in a bus.
Now this decision required me
to change my focus.
As an illusionist there’s a concept
referred to as misdirection.
This is similar to a cognitive psychology
called selective attention
and what that means is
that at any given moment,
we are surrounded by numerous things
that we can see, hear,
smell and even physically feel.
But there’s so much information around us
it would overload your brain
to actually try to process
every single detail.
So instead, your brain is
constantly trying to filter out
the things that it perceives
to be unimportant,
so you can focus on
the things that matter most.
Unfortunately,
we sometimes give our attention
to what we think is most important
only to discover that
our focus was in the wrong place.
In fact, we don’t just focus
on the wrong things.
Our brains actually create illusions
of what we’re experiencing.
In 2019, neuroscientists from MIT found
that our beliefs and experiences
effect our brain behavior
by warping the representation
of sensory events in the brain.
What that means is
that when you are unsure
of what’s happening
or what’s about to happen,
your brain just makes an assumption
and inserts what it thinks you’re
experiencing or are going to experience.
For example, if you were about
to play an instrument,
take a test, play a sport,
maybe give a presentation,
you begin to anticipate
how you might do.
These assumptions,
which are often subconscious,
might give you a feeling of confidence.
They may also leave you feeling
anxiety and self-doubt.
In fact, it’s completely possible
that we can possess the knowledge,
expertise and experience
that we need to succeed
and our brains still tell us
we are going to fail.
These illusions of failure can
keep us from trying new things,
having important conversations
and even make us unable to do things
that normally come easy for us.
These are illusions we can learn to stop.
Let’s try an experiment.
I want you to grab a coin
out of your pocket or your bag.
it doesn’t have to be a coin
but make it an object small enough
that you could put it in the palm of
your hand, close it and nobody can see it.
In a moment, I want you to choose to hide
that object in one of your hands.
Fair warning. I am going to do
my best to influence this decision.
Here’s how this will happen in a moment
You’ll stand to your feet,
place your hands behind your back.
Once you’re here, place the coin
in a hand that feels right
and bring your hands
out in front of you
At this point, one of your hands
will have the coin inside
the hand that’s left will be empty.
Simple enough? Go ahead.
Stand to your feet.
Place your hands behind your back.
Now, place your coin or object
In the hand that feels right
leaving your hand that’s left empty and
bring your hands back out in front.
Now, a moment ago, I told you I was going
to attempt to influence this decision.
Once I said that, you all began to pay
much more close attention
to everything I said and did.
You likely realize that
I was over emphasizing the word right?
When I said left, it was
in the context of saying
the hand that’s left will be empty.
I’m sure you probably noticed
these subtleties, some of you,
which led you to believe
I was likely trying to influence you
to put the coin in your right hand,
which means some of you
instead put it in your left hand.
If your coin or object is in your left
hand, raise their hand up in the air.
Awesome. You may all now have a seat.
You’re part of the experiment is over.
Everybody who’s left standing
does have the coin in their right hand
or they’re lying.
Either way, we’ll do it again.
Place your hands behind your back
choose between right
and left hand, bring it back out front.
At this point, it’s pretty obvious
there are only two choices right or left.
Typically when the odds are 50-50
your brain would tell you that
whatever you did last time
should lead you to do
the opposite this time.
Meaning if last time
the right hand was a safe choice,
this time it should be left hand.
However, because of
the nature of this game,
you also think that I might think
you’re thinking what you’re thinking,
which could lead you to overthink
this choice of basically no consequence
so much you end up standing there,
frozen in indecision,
do nothing and just keep
the coin in your right hand.
If the coin’s still in right hand
raise the hand in the air.
Yeah, you are all now out. Have a seat.
After two questions,
we are down to three people.
Wow. Four.
Those of you still standing
are the champions.
Let’s give them
a round of applause, please.
Now, except for this gentleman
right here, what’s your name?
Jimi, would you mind
leave what you have there,
come and join me
on the stage please, Jimi,
are you willing to do that?
You had a wrapper
or something like that?
A wrapper in your hand? We’re gonna
get fancier than that If that’s OK.
So stand over here, could you please
give Jimmy a round of applause?
So, Jimi, just a moment ago,
you were still standing after both rounds
when I said, if it’s in your left,
you had it in your right.
When I said, if it’s still in your right,
you moved it to your left.
That’s good because it tells me
a couple of things.
Number one, Jimi, you tend to think
differently than a lot of other people.
That also makes the next part of
this experiment more challenging,
because Jimi, we’re going
to play the game again.
instead of a wrapper
you get an official quarter
but everything else
will be the same.
You’ll put your hands
behind your back.
Choose one of your hands
and bring it back out in front.
Jimi, go ahead and take the quarter
You can take half a step that way
and choose your right or left hand
when you’re ready bring
your hands back out in front of you
Jimi, turn and face me because
here’s how this is going to work
You’re up two to zero,
but now that we’re close,
I tend to be pretty good at guessing.
In fact, if I mess up even one time,
Jimi, I will give you $20.
My assumption right now is
that I can guess which hand you hit
the coin in four times in a row.
If I guess wrong, just once you get
the $20. Fair enough. Right, Jimi.
Jimi, I have a couple
of questions for you
Number one, are you right handed
or are you left handed?
You’re right handed.
That’s good because Jimi, you are not
expecting to come up on the stage today.
Now, typically, if somebody
is put in a situation
and they’re not really expecting it,
they don’t know what to do,
we gravitate toward
what we’re most confident in.
Meaning most people, Jimi,
if they were right handed, would come up
and put the coin in the right hand.
But you already showed you don’t do
what everyone else has done,
you may not put it
in the hand you’re most confident
you might start with
your left hand,
put this hand down by your side,
turn that one over.
My guess is it’s right here.
Open it up. There it is,
inside your left hand.
Now that’s one guess it could just be
lucky, but Jimi, I’m going for four.
Take that again.
Place it behind your back.
Jimi quickly choose between
your right and left hand.
Bring your hands back out in front.
Now at this point, Jimi
your mind is starting
to look back to the pattern
that was established
when you were in the audience.
When you were in the audience,
the correct thing to do the second time
was to switch the coin to the other hand.
So now you’re starting to wonder,
should I still switch it or
should I keep it in my left hand?
I think that what you’d do is
instead of switching
because that’s what worked last time,
again, your brain’d say odds are 50-50
I should do the opposite.
Put the hand down.
I think it’s still in this one.
Turn it over. Open it up. There it is.
Two out of two.
Jimi, this is where
it gets interesting,
we’re about to venture into
unchartered territory,
so one more time go ahead and
take that, place it behind your back.
And when you’re ready,
bring your hands out in front.
Now, Jimi, a pattern has started
to be established so far.
You have not chosen
your right hand at all.
Maybe now you’re gonna choose the right
hand or are you gonna move it to the left?
But quite honestly, Jimi, at this point,
I’m not exactly sure what you might do.
You could have it in your right,
you can have it in your left.
But Jimi, I want you to turn
and face the audience
because I’m not really looking for those
patterns, I’m looking at something else.
Normally, if somebody was on the stage
and we had something we wanted
as many people as possible to see
we would hold it is high
in the air as we could.
if we had something to hide,
we would subconsciously lower it.
Jimi, when you turned around,
you were holding your left fist
slightly lower than your right,
which tells me you might be hiding
something there. Most likely the coin
Place this hand down, turn that one over.
Yes, there it is. One more time.
Three out of three.
But Jimmy, you only need
to fool me this last time.
And I’ll tell you, this is not an exact
science, I really can mess this up.
So just one time you have to fool me,
Jimi, and the $20 is yours.
I’m not telling
what I’m looking for this time.
just bring your hands out
when ready.
So, Jimi, up until now, you have yet
to place the coin in your right hands.
Are you going to continue
with that pattern
or have you finally moved
it to your left hand?
Jimmy, I’m going to give you
the chance to mess with my brain.
I’m going to ask you a question.
You get the chance
to tell the truth or lie.
I’m going to say,
is the coin in your right hand?
You can say yes or no,
no matter if it’s there or not.
I’ll then say, is it in your left hand?
one more time, yes or no?
You get to tell the truth or lie.
It’s totally up to you.
Jimmy, is the coin in your right hand?
Jimmy, is the coin in your left hand? No.
(Laughs)
The first time there was a little twinkle
in the eye that told me you were lying.
Put that one down.
Turn this one over. It’s there.
There it is, right there.
Inside your hands.
You didn’t fool me,
but you were still a fantastic sport.
The $20 is still yours to keep.
Thanks for being a great volunteer.
A big round of applause for Jimmy.
(Applause)
In that experiment,
you were asked to make a decision,
but ultimately there was no way
to know what the right choice was.
It was a game of chance.
There are, however, times in life where
our success is not based on a lucky guess.
When my wife, my kids and I made
the decision to live in a bus,
of everyone in my family,
I was the most hesitant
because I expected that living in a bus
would be challenging,
frustrating, difficult and dirty.
I was right.
But my family helped me realize
it was an illusion to think that
those were the only possible outcomes.
I could choose to focus on
the illusions of all that might go wrong
or stop focusing on the illusions
and instead see the possibility
of an amazing adventure.
The chance to have
meaningful time with my family.
To slow down and take in these moments
that I know will become lifelong memories.
You see your best decision
probably isn’t at all about a real bus.
But I wonder,
is there an illusion in your life?
An assumption that you have made
that has kept you from doing
something you know you should do.
You might be hesitant to pursue
fixing a broken relationship
that you assume can never be restored.
It could be a degree
that you think you’ll never finish.
Maybe it’s as simple as
speaking out or standing up
for something you believe in.
Or maybe there’s that dream
you’ve always wanted to chase,
but you can still hear
whispering your name.
You might be missing out
on your own incredible adventure
because you’re so focused on the illusions
of what might go wrong.
Stop the illusions.
Instead, choose to see the good
that could come from making a difficult
or unusual decision.
Don’t look back on your life one day
and wonder where did the time go?
What just happened?
Instead, choose to be intentional
about what happens next.
Thank you.
(Applause)