Should We Teach About the Paranormal?

I am currently working on a textbook for psychology undergraduates. One of the reviewers who commented on the original proposal I submitted recommended that it should include a section on parapsychology. They have a point. One of the reasons I was so interested in psychology as a student was that I was wanted to learn [...]

US Atheist Buses Stirs Up Controversy

 
Yesterday, I learned that a dispute has broken out in Des Moines, Iowa –  home town of anglophile Bill Bryson.  Iowa atheists paid for the above bus ad compaign that was initially pulled and then reinstated by the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) officials on Friday. The excuse was that they had never [...]

Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Watch the following clip CAREFULLY and then decide what you think you heard first time round.

The phenomenon known as the McGurk effect demonstrates how the brain can take differing visual and auditory signals and generate a new phenomenological experience. Richard Wiseman wasn’t so sure it worked and I think it depends on [...]

Mindreading – Is It Really Possible?

Most of us read minds quite easily. Of course, I am not talking about true telepathy because we cannot directly access the content of someone else’s mind but we can readily infer what someone might be thinking given the circumstances of  the situation they are in. This allows us to understand their actions and predict [...]

Do I Sound Like Robin Williams or on Speed?

Thank you Little Atoms for the interview last friday in London. I have to say  that I think I sound a bit like Robin Williams (a comparison I have had before). So have  listen and let me know. I am really so surprised that I sound so manic! Do I really talk that fast? Gosh.
 
Thanks to [...]

Looks a Bit Like Russell but Minchin is More Talented

As I consolidate my standing in the ranks of the skeptical community, I have increasing encountered the name of Tim Minchin in conversation, on You Tube and rising rapidly up the greasy pole of celebrity status. If you don’t already know about Tim , there’s a bit of Russell about him with the hair and [...]

What’s in a Name?

I recently came across this report from the PsyBlog site that often produces nuggets of SuperSense relevent research. Apparently, people underperform in situations where poor outcomes are associated with the initials in their name. For example, researchers studied baseball records and found that baseball batters were much more likely to strikeout (that means failing to hit [...]