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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>**** 2ND CALL FOR ILLUSION SUBMISSIONS: THE WORLD’S 10TH ANNUAL BEST ILLUSION OF THE YEAR CONTEST****<br><br><a href="http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/" target="_blank">http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com</a><br><br>*** We are happy to announce the 10th anniversary edition of world's Best Illusion of the Year Contest!!***<br>Submissions are now welcome!<br><br>The 2014 contest will be held in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the <a href="http://www.tradewindsresort.com/" target="_blank"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>TradeWinds Island Resorts</span></a> (headquarters of the Vision Sciences Society conference), on <b>May 18th</b>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><br>Past contests have been highly successful in drawing public attention to perceptual research, with over ***FIVE MILLION*** website hits from viewers all over the world, as well as hundreds of international media stories. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The First, Second and Third Prize winners from the 2013 contest were Jun Ono, Akiyasu Tomoeda and Kokichi Sugihara (Meiji University and CREST, Japan), Arthur Shapiro and Alex Rose-Henig (American University, USA), and Arash Afraz and Ken Nakayama (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, USA).<br><br>To see the illusions, photo galleries and other highlights from the 2013 and previous contests, go to <a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com">http://illusionoftheyear.com</a>. <br><br>Eligible submissions to compete in the 2014 contest are novel perceptual or cognitive illusions (unpublished, or published no earlier than 2013) of all sensory modalities (visual, auditory, etc.) in standard image, movie or html formats. Exciting new variants of classic or known illusions are admissible. An international panel of impartial judges will rate the submissions and narrow them to the TOP TEN. Then, at the Contest Gala in St. Petersburg, the TOP TEN illusionists will present their contributions and the attendees of the event (that means you!) will vote to pick the TOP THREE WINNERS! <br><br><b>The 2014 Contest Gala will be hosted by world-renowned magician Mac King. </b>Mac King is the premiere comedy magician in the world today, with his own family-friendly show, "The Mac King Comedy Magic Show," at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrah%27s_Las_Vegas" title="Harrah's Las Vegas"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Harrah's Las Vegas</span></a>. He was named “Magician of the Year” by the Magic Castle in Hollywood in 2003, and is a frequent guest and host of television specials.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Illusions submitted to previous editions of the contest can be re-submitted to the 2014 contest, so long as they meet the above requirements and were not among the TOP THREE winners in previous years. Submissions will be held in strict confidence by the panel of judges and the authors/creators will retain full copyright. The TOP TEN illusions will be posted on the illusion contest's website *after* the Contest Gala. Illusions not chosen among the TOP TEN will not be disclosed. Participating in to the Best Illusion of the Year Contest does not preclude the illusion authors/creators from also submitting their work for publication elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><br>Submissions can be made to Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde (Illusion Contest Executive Producer, Neural Correlate Society) via email (<a href="mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com">smart@neuralcorrelate.com</a>) until February 14<span style='color:black'>, 2014. </span>Illusion submissions should come with a (no more than) one-page description of the illusion and its theoretical underpinnings (if known). <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Women and underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to participate. <b>The Neural Correlate Society reserves the right to disqualify illusion entries that are potentially offensive to some or all members of the public, or inappropriate for viewing by audiences of all ages.</b><span style='color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Illusions will be rated according to:<br> <br>. Significance to our understanding of the mind and brain <br>. Simplicity of the description <br>. Sheer beauty <br>. Counterintuitive quality <br>. Spectacularity<span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><br>Visit the illusion contest website for further information and to see last year's illusions: <a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com">http://illusionoftheyear.com</a>.<br><br>Submit your ideas now and take home this prestigious award! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On behalf of the Executive Board of the Neural Correlate Society:<br>Jose-Manuel Alonso, Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Luis Martinez, Xoana Troncoso, Peter Tse<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>----------------------------------------------------------------</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Executive Producer, Best Illusion of the Year Contest<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>President, Neural Correlate Society<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/search/?q=macknik"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Columnist, Scientific American Mind</span></a><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://sleightsofmind.com/"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Author, Sleights of Mind</span></a><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Director, Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Division of Neurobiology<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Barrow Neurological Institute<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>350 W. Thomas Rd<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Phoenix AZ 85013, USA<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Phone: +1 (602) 406-3484</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Fax: +1 (602) 406-4172<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Email: </span><a href="mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>smart@neuralcorrelate.com</span></a><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com</span></a><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>