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.

For updates about related events and news of interest, please subscribe to the Psychology of the Paranormal Email Network.

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http://skeptic.org.uk/pub
http://www.gold.ac.uk/apru/speakers
http://www.meetup.com/Central-London-Humanists
http://www.skepchick.org
http://www.ncse.com
http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP07398441_c.pdf
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maybe-Yes-No-Guide-Skeptics/dp/0879756071/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Detectives-Solving-Strange-mysteries/dp/0879755474/ref=sr_1_10/1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Infidel-Ayaan-Hirsi-Ali/dp/1416526242/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259679989&sr=1-1/

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Links mentioned in this video are:
www.skepchick.org
www.theskepticsguide.org
www.randi.org
Richard Dawkins – The Greatest Show on Earth
www.onelawforall.org.uk
http://skeptic.org.uk/atheistxmas
www.surlyramics.com
www.charliesplayhouse.com
www.gold.ac.uk/apru/email-network
www.gold.ac.uk/apru/participate-research

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Yes it’s time for Skeptic vodcast number 4… which features a Darwinian adventure you can’t afford to miss.

Dany

dany@skeptic.org

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This is your final reminder that Susan Blackmore is kicking off the APRU’s Invited Speaker Series today at 6.10 pm in Room 256, Richard Hoggart Building, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW (for maps, directions, etc., visit the College web site: www.goldsmiths.ac.uk NB: if you do not know your way around Goldsmiths, allow enough time to find the room. Note that it is NOT the room we used last year!)

All talks are open to everyone.

Attendance is free and there is no need to book in advance. For further information, visit http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/speakers.php

The title of Susan’s talk is “Is God a Dangerous Meme?” and here is her abstract:

God is certainly a meme; an idea (or set of loosely related ideas) that is copied from person to person, and shows a fascinating variety of survival tricks. Not only does the God meme satisfy minds that were not evolved to accurately assess the origins of the universe or the likelihood of life after death, but wraps itself up in religious memeplexes that use threats and promises to ensure their own propagation. But is it dangerous? Taking a memetic perspective we can ask how religious memes manage to infect so many people and how this infection affects individuals, societies, or indeed the whole planet.

Biography
Sue Blackmore is a freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She has a degree in psychology and physiology from Oxford University (1973) and a PhD in parapsychology from the University of Surrey (1980). Her research interests include memes, evolutionary theory, consciousness, and meditation. She practices Zen and campaigns for drug legalization. Sue Blackmore no longer works on the paranormal

Best wishes,

Chris French

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