Disclaimers and Critical Thinking With Kent Axell
About this episode
Kent Axell discusses the nuances of critical thinking and its implications in various fields, including mentalism and law.
Most people think critical thinking means finding the right answer faster. Kent Axell has spent a career proving it means knowing exactly which doors you're closing behind yourself, and why that distinction changes everything from a Las Vegas stage to a jury room. In this episode: Why magicians develop critical thinking skills that investigators and analysts rarely get trained in The assumption gradient: where useful belief ends and self-deception begins Why "I don't know" is a more powerful position than certainty, and how the skeptic community gets this wrong Disclaimers in mentalism, what they actually communicate, and why technically honest is still functionally deceptive The Chris Voss story: what happened when a master negotiator watched a mentalism show and still ended up in the wrong box Why "body language" as a term sets people up to believe in something that does not work the way they think Vincent Denault's research on how public misconceptions about behavioural reading are actively influencing police training, jury evaluation, and interrogation If the gap between what people believe they can read and what the evidence actually supports concerns you, this episode goes…
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