The Human Experience · Episode

Episode 100 – Brian Brushwood on the Art of Deception, his career in Magic, and Scam School

A conversation with Brian Brushwood on the Art of Deception, his career in Magic, and Scam School

Brian Brushwood, born January 17, 1975, in Fountain Valley, California, is a well-rounded and successful magician, author, podcaster, lecturer, and comedian. Brian was born in California, but has also lived in…

Published
July 25, 2017
Runtime
33:10
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Brian Brushwood, born January 17, 1975, in Fountain Valley, California, is a well-rounded and successful magician, author, podcaster, lecturer, and comedian. Brian was born in California, but has also lived in Norway, Colorado and Texas, where he currently resides with his wife and 3 children. How does that sound for a fun, fulfilling life? Too good to be true, you say? Well if that’s not enough, Brian is also known for the series Scam School, Podcasts: Weirings, Cordkillers, Night Attack & more, and is the author of six books. If that’s not enough to make you feel as though you’ve got a lot of catching up to do, Brushwood co-hosts a YouTube show called The Modern Rogue and has appeared on national television numerous times including the yummy Food Network, CNN and even The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

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Brian catapulted his life into the awesome state it is, all beginning with a magic kit he received as a child for Christmas and his being introduced to scientific skepticism in his pseudoscience class in college. With all of his exciting work experience like testing video games and designing high end computer systems for a well known computer company, he wisely chose to follow his heart. So, beating the inward path of his heart’s desire, he began performing his magic show full time. As a result, Brian manifested the exciting and exotic lifestyle of his dreams!

Brian was asked about myth debunking in his various shows. Brushwood responded,“Part of the reason I love educating the masses as how to deceive is from my experience, because I got into magic before I took this pseudoscience and paranormal course, so I had these tools on how to fool people and I just had this vague understanding that people are really easy to fool, and it’s not that we are broken, or dumb, or bad, or whatever. It’s that the brain is built a certain way and magicians take advantage of that. And, it was only after taking the pseudoscience class that it crystallized everything and I realized that that’s exactly what scam artists do as well. So, if I can get more people familiar with the tools and familiar with how easy it is to deceive other people, maybe more people will begin to question their own experiences.” Anyone wondering or on the path to figure out what this life is really all about or wondering the highly asked question, how can I change my life? This is a highly recommended podcast worth going back and listening to, but ONLY if you want your life to change for the better 😉

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To follow Brian and learn more about him, check him out here: www.shwood.com
Twitter: @shwood
YouTube: Scam School

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Transcript

A full transcript has been published for this conversation.

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Quotes

Five substantial excerpts from the published transcript, lightly edited for clarity without changing their meaning.

  1. “I knew that staying on the safe path could leave me spending my life wondering what might have been and resenting people who took the chance I avoided. I did not know whether magic would become a full-time career. I only knew that giving it one honest year—even if I accumulated debt and returned to a regular job—would free me from that lifelong question.”
    From the conversation
  2. “Some performers have been criticized for implying that psychological programming, rather than a magic method, explains an effect. I understand that concern, but I also love the theatrical challenge. A stunt such as driving a nail into the nose is an old sideshow technique; the story around it determines what the audience believes it has witnessed.”
    From the conversation
  3. “At Lollapalooza, people fainted because the show first told them that what they were about to see was so extraordinary that some audience members would collapse. The performance primed everyone to expect that response and even explained how to summon paramedics. Suggestion changed the social atmosphere before the stunt began.”
    From the conversation
  4. “Learning magic helped me recognize when a cash-counting scam left the till fifty dollars short. With more experience, I would have been even harder to deceive. My hope is that people who learn a little magic through Scam School either develop a deeper love of the craft or become better equipped to recognize fraud.”
    From the conversation
  5. “The Texas sharpshooter fallacy means firing first and drawing the target around the bullet afterward. A magic routine can work the same way: I do not predict every detail in advance; I reveal and frame whichever outcome occurred. The audience experiences a remarkable match without noticing how the target was defined after the fact.”
    From the conversation

About the guest

Brian Brushwood on the Art of Deception, his career in Magic, and Scam School

Brian Brushwood, born January 17, 1975, in Fountain Valley, California, is a well-rounded and successful magician, author, podcaster, lecturer, and comedian. Brian was born in California, but has also lived in Norway, Colorado and Texas, where he currently resides with his wife and 3 children. How does that sound for a fun, fulfilling life? Too good to be true, you say? Well if that’s not enough, Brian is also known for the series Scam School, Podcasts: Weirings, Cordkillers, Night Attack & more, and is the author of six books. If that’s not enough to make you feel as though you’ve got a lot of catching up to do, Brushwood co-hosts a YouTube show called The Modern Rogue and has appeared on national television numerous times including the yummy Food Network, CNN and even The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

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