Deception by DesignDeception by Design

Occasional essays on the art, science and psychology of deception and counterdeception.

Simon Henderson is an independent deception consultant working in the UK and the US.  His career has involved researching, teaching, and consulting on deception, counter-deception, information operations and cyber operations within a variety of government, military, and law enforcement organisations.  He is a keen student of magic and is passionate about novel and pro-social applications of deception.

Deception Offstage: Applying Magic to the Military

By Simon Henderson on

It was a pleasure to speak recently at the Science of Magic Association (SOMA) seminar on Deception Offstage.

I shared the podium alongside:

  • Professor Patricia Kingori at Oxford University who studies the ethical experiences of frontline workers in global health (and who has a podcast on Genuine Fakes).
  • Professor Koen Peters who heads the Socio-ecological Health Research Unit at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.
  • And magician and scam expert Brian Brushwood (who has an excellent podcast on Operation Mincemeat).

The seminar addressed two questions:

  1. Beyond entertainment, can techniques developed for magical deception be used for social good?
  2. Can concepts derived from magic and deception be useful in areas such as public health and security?

I spoke about the contribution of magic to defence and security.

The session is available to view on YouTube or below:

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