Together at last …

… science and magic: How Neuroscientists and Magicians Are Conjuring Brain Insights | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Why are scientists working with sleight-of-hand artists? Their tricks, honed through the decades, have revealed that people respond to certain situations in specific ways. Like detectives looking for new leads to solve a mystery, scientists can mine magicians’ knowledge for ideas to test in the lab. And for the magicians, understanding principles about the brain—that is, why a trick works the way it does—can suggest new ways to advance their art as they develop new tricks or improve existing ones.

Who knows? Maybe they'll find they have more in common than they thought.