Episode
Disclaimers and Critical Thinking With Kent Axell
- Podcast
- The Deductionist Podcast
- Published
- May 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4920
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
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 there. Kent is at @kenttalksmagic on youtube @kentaxell on instagram Ghost stories is at https://www.1923lv.com/ghost-stories-show-las-vegas-with-kent-axell/ Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Access the free tier or go deeper with exclusive paid challenges: https://www.omniscient-insights.com/axiom https://www.omniscient-insights.com/community-home MERCH -- https://the-deductionist.myspreadshop.co.uk/all E-SCAPE GAME -- https://www.youtube.com/@thedeductionistteam Everything else you need -- https://linktr.ee/bencardall #criticalthinking #kentaxell #magic Music provided by https://robertj…