Weird Science Day: A CFI London event (in conjunction with South Place Ethical Society)

Saturday, 17th January 2009. 10.45am-4pm

Venue:
Conway Hall
25 Red Lion Square
London
WC1R 4RL

11am-12am
Prof. RICHARD WISEMAN
Investigating the impossible: A skeptical approach

For over 20 years, psychologist Richard Wiseman has delved deep into  the mysterious world of the paranormal, carrying out high profile,  and often controversial, investigations into the impossible. In this  talk, Wiseman describes some of his more colourful adventures,  presenting a scientific look at a range of seemingly paranormal  phenomenon, including fire-walking, ghostly encounters, and ESP.  Discover whether such phenomena really exist, what the future holds  for parapsychology, and why we are all attracted by the lure of  strange stuff. Free packet of peanuts for the best question.

Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman started  his working life as a professional magician and currently holds  Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of  Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He frequently appears  on the media, and has written over 60 academic articles and several  books, including The Luck Factor and Quirkology.

12am-1pm
Prof. CHRIS FRENCH
Eight Years of Weird Science at Goldsmiths

The Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU) was set up by  Professor Chris French in 2000 in the Department of Psychology at  Goldsmiths (for full details, visit www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru).  Anomalistic psychology may be defined as the study of extraordinary  phenomena of behaviour and experience, including (but not restricted  to) those that are often labeled “paranormal”. Over the last eight  years, members of the APRU have investigated a wide range of weird  and wonderful topics, including alien contact experiences, sleep  paralysis, haunted houses, dowsing, and telepathy. Many paranormal  claims have been scientifically tested under properly controlled  conditions along the way. This overview will present the results of  such investigations – and also reveal why Uri Geller cannot stand  Richard Wiseman!

Chris French is a Professor of Psychology and  Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology  Department at Goldsmiths. He has published over 100 articles and  chapters covering a wide range of topics within psychology. His main  current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and  anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television  casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. He is the editor of  The Skeptic magazine (UK version; www.skeptic.org.uk).

2pm-3pm
Dr STEPHEN LAW
Is creationism scientific?

Polls consistently indicate about 100 million Americans believe the  entire universe is six thousand years old and that all species were  created as described by Genesis. Even more amazingly, many of these  people also believe that this theory is consistent with the  scientific evidence. Indeed, there are multi-million dollar research  centres in the U.S., run by PhD-qualified staff, that aim to defend  young-Earth creationism. How have so many people become so deluded  about what is, and isn’t, good science? What are the basic  confusions? Stephen Law illustrates with his own pet theory – that  dogs are spies from the planet Venus.

Stephen Law is senior lecturer in philosophy at  Heythrop College, University of London, editor of THINK: Philosophy  for Everyone (Royal Institute of Philosophy), and Provost of CFI  London. He is the author of many philosophy books, including The  Philosophy Files (for children 12+) and The Philosophy Gym (which  contains such dialogues as “The Strange Case of The Rational  Dentist” and “What’s Wrong With Gay Sex?”)

3pm-4pm
Dr BEN GOLDACRE
Listen up flakes: science is seriously so much more interesting than  anything you can make up with your woolly new age claptrap.

Ben Goldacre is a writer, broadcaster and medical  doctor from the UK who is best known for his ‘Bad Science’ column in  The Guardian newspaper, examining the claims of scaremongering  journalists, quack health products, pseudoscientific cosmetics  adverts, and evil multinational pharmaceutical corporations, as well  as wider themes such as the medicalisation of everyday life and the  psychology of irrational beliefs. He has a background in medicine and  academia, trained in Oxford and London, works full time for the NHS,  appears regularly on radio and TV, and has written for publications  as diverse as Time Out, the British Medical Journal, New Statesman  and The Lancet, as well as writing and presenting ‘The Rise Of The  Lifestyle Nutritionists’ and ‘The Power of Placebo’ in 2008 on BBC  Radio 4.

Starts:
Monday, May 5th
Ends:
Saturday, May 10th

Lecturers:

Professor R. Joseph Hoffmann, Senior Vice President of the Center for Inquiry and Head of The CFI Institute; Adjunct Professor of History at the State University of New York, Buffalo.

Ibn Warraq, MA, distinguished author of Why I am Not a Muslim, and Whose Koran? Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry, Amherst, New York.

This six day course is an intensive exploration of the literary origins of the books that define the Jewish, Christian and Islamic world-views. It is sometimes thought that the sacred scriptures of the book religions emerged from the pages of history as a fully developed canon. In fact, the materials themselves were the product of disagreement, heresy, rivalry between sectarian perspectives, and attempts to glorify their founders and beliefs. Join R. Joseph Hoffmann and Ibn Warraq for an unusual tour of the “origins” of the books and learn what critical modern scholarship has to tell us about the dating, origin, and purposes of the Bible and the Qur’an.

Registration fee: £30.00 for all six classes; £7 for individual classes.
Advance booking and payment preferred. Registration is limited.

May 5-10th
7-9 PM at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1
tel. 020 7242 8037 fax 020 7242 8036
http://www.conwayhall.org.uk

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/london/events/the_sources_of_the_book/

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