Blog | Nicholas J. Johnson

Teacher's Resources

Scamapalooza 59 - The Music Man with Em Chandler

There is a popular image of a con artist that doesn’t exist in the real world. It’s an image of well-dressed, suave, fast-talking...

Scamapalooza 58: Deepak Chopra's Bullshit with Gordon Pennycook

I have long suspected that Deepak Chopra spouts garbage. Despite being a trained physician, the author and self-help guru’s trademark...

Scamapalooza 57: Cassie Chadwick with Tori Telfer

How does the daughter of a railroad hand become a millionaire in an age when women couldn’t even open a bank account? If you’re Cassie...

Scamapalooza 56 - Performing Deception with Brian Rappert

Have you ever thought about how magicians learn their tricks? Not the methods—the smoke and mirrors behind the illusion—but the actual...

Scamapalooza 55: Science Magic with Dr Matt Pritchard

If you know me then you’ll know that my nemesis is magician and science communicator Dr Matt Pritchard. For the last few years, this evil...

Why you can't teach critical thinking

I'm going to make a confession. I've spent close to twenty years teaching critical thinking to high school students... ...even though...

Deceptology with State Library Victoria

I've teamed up with State Library Victoria to create a series of videos that both teach you how to perform extraordinary magic AND the...

Scamapalooza 54: Hocus Pocus Practice Focus with Amy Kimlat

My kid just performed their first solo magic show. In front of 300 of their peers, they correctly predicted a randomly selected TV show,...

Scamapalooza 53: Card Shark with Nicolaï Troshinsky

Why have there not been more video games about card cheating? I remember playing Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist as a kid and...

Scamapalooza 52 - The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit

Did you know the word “bullshit” might just be an Australian invention? During World War I, Australian troops found themselves arriving...

Don't Be Fooled by ChatGPT: The Dangers of Talking to Machines

Have you heard about ChatGPT? It's a wild new technology that can hold a conversation with you and make it seem like you're talking to a...

Scamapalooza 51 - Harry Potter and The Cursed Child with Lee Cohen

Magicians have a complicated relationship with the Harry Potter franchise. On the one hand, the success of J K Rowling's creation has...

Here you'll find resources for teaching and promoting critical thinking, scam protection, and deception education. Many are linked to his school incursions while others are just for fun.

Make sure you subscribe to Nicholas's podcast. Scamapalooza. He interviews psychologists, authors, and researchers about why people are so easy to fool.

Nicholas J. Johnson

Teacher's Resources

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