Author Archives: Mark

Results of voting from the Libel Reform Campaign: Free Speech Hustings

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The results of the online voting held after the Index on Censorship/Libel Reform/Sense About Science Free Speech Hustings are as follows (results of the votes cast in person are here):

Conservative: 2%
Labour: 5%
Liberal Democrats: 93%

Votes were cast on the specific issue of libel reform.

Following the debate, a total of 55 people voted online. 26% of the online voters were female and 29% of online voters lived in London.

Reasons why individuals voted Liberal Democrat included:

"Convincing argument from Evan Harris"

"Appear to be more principled on the topic."

"Most considered and thoughtful contributions to the debate. If it is a hung parliament there will be a need to maintain a high profile for libel reform." and

"On the issue of whether corporations should be stopped from suing Lib Dem was the only one that said yes. Labour and Conservative didn't appear as knowledgeable of the issues as Lib Dem"

One individual who voted Labour also stated:

"I would vote for the LibDems over Labour, but my MP Jeremy Corbyn is fully on board with the Libel Reform movement and I agree with him on many other issues as well."

Perhaps the strong Liberal Democrat vote by those watching the broadcast is not surprising as Evan Harris has been an long-standing and outspoken supporter of Simon Singh's defence against the British Chiropractic Association libel claim, however on the sole issue of libel reform the Liberal Democrats gained a clear majority of votes.

There were over 100 simultaneous connections made by 359 different devices to the live broadcast, which was watched by individuals and groups in 28 different towns/cities (including at least two overseas).

    The Human Zoo – the social psychology of everyday life.

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    If you're familiar with the 1960s and 1970s seminal research into social psychology, obedience, and conformity by Milgram and Zimbardo, you might be interested in The Human Zoo. Originally broadcast in May 2000, this three part series examines the psychology of 'brief encounters', 'following the herd' and 'crimes of obedience'. The programme features Zimbardo alongside other social psychologists discussing first impressions, deception, conformity, group dynamics and more.

    It's essentially a slightly more serious version of Richard Wiseman's BBC2 series The People Watchers.

    Thanks to Tamas Borbely for the recommendation.

      Dr Sam Parnia on Near Death Experiences, live from the APRU at Goldsmiths (#goldapru).

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      This event was broadcast on 23/03/10 from 18:10 to 19:10.

      Speaker: Dr Sam Parnia
      Title: Near Death Experiences During Cardiac Arrest

      One of the subjects that has both captivated and eluded humankind throughout time is the mystery of what happens when we die. Although traditionally a subject for philosophical or theological debate, scientific progress has begun to shed light on both the physiological as well as cognitive processes such as near death experiences that take place during clinical death. Dr. Sam Parnia, author of What Happens When We Die, chronicles the history and development of the study of cardiac arrest as well as near death experiences. At the same time, he will introduce the novel method he and his colleagues have devised to study the phenomenon of consciousness and the human mind at the end of life, which they hope will finally enable science to resolve the mystery of near death experiences.

      One of the world’s leading experts on the scientific study of death, the state of the human mind-brain, and near-death experiences, Dr. Sam Parnia spends his time between hospitals in the United Kingdom and Cornell University in New York, where he is a Fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Founder of the Human Consciousness Project and Horizon Research Foundation, he has published extensively and presented his work at scientific institutions across the country. His groundbreaking research has been featured on the Discovery Channel documentary, The Day I Died.

      This talk is part of a regular series, run by Prof. Chris French from the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU). For details of other talks in the series please see this page.

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