Brain Science - The Magic and Deception with Dr. Amir Raz

On today's show, I am pleased to have Dr. Amir Raz, a leading cognitive neuroscientist, and educator share his insight and wisdom.  Dr. Amir Raz is a professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychology at McGill University in Montreal.

He is also the Founding Director of The Brain Institute at Chapman University.

We dived into what it is like to be a brain scientist, what is the next big thing in neuroscience, and his next book “The Suggestible Brain”.

ABOUT DR. AMIR RAZ

Dr. Amir Raz is a leading cognitive neuroscientist and educator whose work has been covered widely in the media (e.g., New York Times, Scientific American Mind, Globe & Mail).  He received a Ph.D. in Brain Science and Neuropsychology from the Interdisciplinary Center for Computational Neuroscience at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the supervision of the late Israel Prize Recipient, Professor Shlomo Bentin.  He then went on to a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Michael Posner, a member of the American National Academy of Science and recipient of the National Medal of Science at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he later took on a faculty position.  A few years later, Dr. Raz joined the faculty at Columbia University as well as The New York State Psychiatric Institute.  In 2007 he moved north, with his family, to become the Canada Research Chair in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University.

 

Today, Dr. Raz is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology & Neurosurgery, and Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Senior Researcher at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research in the Jewish General Hospital and the Institute for Community and Family Psychiatry, and a member of the Montreal Neurological Institute (The Neuro)—one of the premier brain research centers of North America.  His position of expertise also extends to the other side of the continent, in Southern California, as the Founding Director of The Institute for Interdisciplinary Brain and Behavioral Sciences (The Brain Institute) at Chapman University.  With more than 200 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, multiple research grants (most recently one of more than seven million dollars from the Templeton Foundation to research suggestion and free will), six academic books, and a long list of academic accolades and merit distinctions, Dr. Raz is a world-renowned expert on the science of suggestion.

But before Dr. Raz became the accomplished neuroscientist and educator he’s known as today, he was first and foremost a professional magician and entertainer. Certified by the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis and with an award-packed CV, including the recent prestigious Erika Fromm Award for Excellence in Teaching of Hypnosis (2019), Dr. Raz is a natural showman comfortable in front of cameras and audiences of any size.  His ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple, yet captivating, style has won him a special standing as a speaker in high-demand (e.g., his TEDx talk, “When can deception be good for you?”).  He has been featured in documentaries (e.g., with the BBC, National Geographic, and the CBC), and has made countless media appearances demonstrating his skill in mentalism, hypnosis, and mind-control acts.

Running busy research operations in both Southern California and Montreal, the (pre-Covid19) jet-set lifestyle of Dr. Raz keeps him personable and gregarious, but mostly productive.  His contributions to date have earned him a place of distinction, not only among hi