Eric Mead - The Magic of the Placebo

Growing up, Eric Mead had a typical interest in magic. By the time he was a teenager, his interest had become a full-fledged obsession. Eric was getting paid to perform birthday parties and banquets in his hometown. He began performing street magic in 1985 and four years later was offered a job as the “Magic Bartender” at the Tower Comedy/Magic Bar owned by John Denver. Working at the bar and performing regularly at private parties and comedy clubs, he became well-known in the magic world and went on to perform one of the most memorable pieces in The Aristocrats.

Mead is also known as the author of Tangled Web, a collection of magic and mentalism taken from his personal repertoire. Nice 9 minute plus video from TED. Don't watch if you are squeamish or afraid of a little blood..

Why We Believe What We Believe...

Ted Shermer, founder and publisher of Skeptic Magazine, exposes fallacies behind intelligent design, 9/11 conspiracies, the low-carb craze, alien sightings and UFO's, as well as other popular beliefs and paranoias. But, Ted deoesn't debunk for debunking's sake. He defends his belief that we can understand our world better only by matching good theory with good science. Nice video.. provided by TED.