Imagine being able to spend a whole year side by side “with a true genius, observing him at work, working with him and learning as much as you can about his way of thinking, reasoning, facing problems, overcoming difficulties, devising projects, finding solutions”. Massimo Polidoro, journalist and science popularizer, had this fortune and tells it in a book just released by Feltrinelli “Brilliant. 13 lessons I received from a legendary magician on the art of living and thinking”. The teacher in question is James Randi, famous Canadian illusionist, naturalized American, who passed away in 2020. At 18, with a scholarship offered to him by Piero Angela, Polidoro left for the United States becoming the first student of “The Amazing Randi “, as the world-famous magician was called, who at the same time was a champion of rationality and a great frequenter of scientific thought, honored by figures of the caliber of Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan and the Nobel laureate Richard Feynman. The experience alongside the genius was “an extraordinary school of life and an unparalleled intellectual training ground – he tells Adnkronos Polidoro – I received a ‘toolbox’ which is essential to enhance my mental abilities. One step after another I have learned to think clearly and critically, to cultivate trust, to recognize my limitations, to explore the unusual, chasing scientific pseudo-truths and hoaxes “. But above all” I learned the art of living with intelligence and passion, cultivating rationality and at the same time nurturing a constant sense of wonder “. Today, recovering anecdotes of out of the ordinary events and enlightening stories, he retraces this extraordinary experience summarized in 13 lessons. Author of over 50 books, presenter and consultant of TV programs, Polidoro is a regular presence at “Superquark” alongside Piero Angela. Known for his scientific investigations on hoaxes and alleged mysteries, he co-founded and directs the Italian Committee for the control of claims on pseudoscience and coordinates the organization of the Cicap Fest in Padua.