Philoctetes Center Benefit
[photo by Hallie Cohen]
Just did a benefit last night for the Philoctetes Center on the Upper East Side, a wonderful organization which organizes round-table discussions and film screenings year-round about all sorts of fascinating subjects. I’ve moderated several panels for them in the past, and I’ve also enjoyed attending many amazing discussions there. This coming weekend Deepak Chopra is moderating a panel on ‘The Nature of Reality‘.
Stuart Firestein, Professor of Neurobiology, and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, kicked off the evening with a very interesting and funny presentation about perception. Stuart’s laboratory investigates the sense of smell, attempting to understand the mechanisms that make the vertebrate nose the best chemical detector on the planet, and providing a model of how to study perception in general. You can see his ideas presented here.
After Stuart’s opening, I did my perception show, including both magic and the science behind magic, with lots of audience interaction.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support the center. It was great to have you at the show!