Open Spaces launch event with Professor Roger Kneebone with magician Will Houstoun

Watch the Open Spaces launch event

This session was prompted by the recent publication of Roger Kneebone’s book Expert: Understanding the Path to Mastery by Viking Penguin (August 2020). In the book Roger explores his belief that we are all on a path towards becoming expert and that understanding that journey can provide valuable insights.

The book draws on Roger’s experience over several decades - as a trauma surgeon, a GP and an academic. It also draws on stories of extraordinary experts, both within and outside medicine, whose perspectives shed light on the process of becoming experts. One of these is Will Houstoun, a leading close-up magician who holds a PhD in the history of Victorian magic.

An introduction by Roger to the ideas in his book Expert will lead into a conversation between Roger and Will, revealing some unexpected parallels between medicine and magic. Focusing on the clinical consultation as a close-up live performance with a very small audience, Roger and Will show how a collaboration between apparently unrelated domains can challenge the thinking of all who take part and lead to reciprocal illumination. The session will then open up for wider discussion with the audience.

In the meantime please see Roger Kneebone's latest book, Expert: Understanding the path to mastery (Penguin, Waterstones).

This workshop is part of our Open Spaces programme.