Events

The third meeting in a series - dialogues with researchers who have written essays on various aspects of illusion in their fields of research, as appeared in the 2026 edition of ‘Poetry of Science’, a periodical published once a year concurrently with the Weizmann Institute’s annual Ofer Lider prize for encouraging creative writing among scientists award ceremony. The editor of ‘Poetry of Science’ is Idan Barir, a translator of poetry and prose from Portuguese, Arabic, English, and Turkish.

“The neural networks involved in positive expectations, those that incite a sense of hope, satisfaction, and motivation, are not limited to the mental realm. They influence the entire body, activate the immune system, and stimulate healing processes. Placebos, in this sense, serve as a portal to understanding the power of the brain to shape a physiological reality – how thought or faith can stimulate actual biological mechanisms.” (Prof. Asya Rolls)

The placebo effect is a phenomenon in which a patient receives a sham treatment, but the brain and the immune system are stimulated into performing an actual healing process. 

Prof. Asya Rolls in a dialogue with Idan Barir, on the potential of understanding the relationship between body and soul, the extent to which physical reality can be based on illusions created in the brain, and the role of faith and hope in the healing process.
Prof. Asya Rolls – Researcher at the School for Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics at Tel Aviv University’s Life Sciences Faculty.

Sponsored by the Berginsky Center for the Interface between Science and Humanities
 

Schedule:
16/2 Travels to the Past as Deceptive Illusion, with Prof. Avner Wishnitzer
25/5 The Psychedelic Renaissance, with Prof. Shaul Lev-Ran

 

An entertaining performance that brings the audience face to face with the creators-and with themselves. Children meet Stav and Nada and create a brand-new episode of Hesketos together. Come discover what sounds and voices look like, and what a Kishofon - an imaginary, magical device-sounds like.
After more than 50 sold-out performances across the country, the creators of Hesketos present a fresh new show, born out of Hesketos, Israel’s most listened to children’s podcast, with millions of listens.

This is an innovative performance in both form and content: minimalist in nature, it features no sets, costumes, or visual effects, and is built on imagination, sound, and direct communication with the children. Parents and children are active partners in building the story world, defining its character anew at every performance.

With Stav Palti Negev and Tamar Hochstetter 
 

An entertaining performance that brings the audience face to face with the creators - and with themselves. Children meet Stav and Nada and create a brand-new episode of Hesketos together. Come discover what sounds and voices look like, and what a Kishofon - an imaginary, magical device-sounds like.
After more than 50 sold-out performances across the country, the creators of Hesketos present a fresh new show, born out of Hesketos, Israel’s most listened to children’s podcast, with millions of listens.

This is an innovative performance in both form and content: minimalist in nature, it features no sets, costumes, or visual effects, and is built on imagination, sound, and direct communication with the children. Parents and children are active partners in building the story world, defining its character anew at every performance.

With Stav Palti Negev and Tamar Hochstetter