Related to Widening the View: Looking at the limits of Human Perception

1. 

   A Skeptical Look at Statistics

   John Fletcher presents a talk on how stats are used and abused.

2. 

   The Modern Face of Physiognomy

   The notion that one can judge a person's character on the basis of their facial appearance is an idea that dates back to the ancient Greeks and for a short period, the practice of physiognomy was considered scientific. Despite the fact that this ancient practice has long been discredited, the idea that one can "read" a person's character simply by looking at their face still persists within folk psychology. In fact, this belief and our natural tendency to judge people on the basis of facial appearance has a surprisingly pervasive effect on all of our lives.

3. 

   Superstition - The Odd Delusion

   Where does superstition come from? Who are the most superstitious people in the world? Can scientists be superstitious? What about atheists? What's God got to do with it? Does it matter? Just some of the questions we'll explore, touch wood.

4. 

   How Do People Lose Religion?

   Millions of people have lost religion in the western world since the 1960. How does this happen? At what ages? What are the triggers? Is there a difference between men and women? Professor Callum Brown draws on the accounts of those he has interviewed in North America and Britain.

5. 

   You Know Less Than You Think

   Every day we all make perceptions of people and the world around us. But perception is a two-way process and most people don't stop to think about the biases inherent in their own perception. What are these cognitive biases and how much can they affect our judgement?

6. 

   Brainwashed! A Cult Survivor's Tale

   Arthur Chappell describes how he was seduced into an Eastern meditation cult in the early 1980's, despite being an ex-Catholic atheist. The talk takes you step by step through the process of conversion, so that you can see step by step how the cult world wraps itself around you, cutting off exits, making rational thinking and doubt difficult and later near impossible.

7. 

   Psychology of Anomalous Experiences

   Ever since records began, in every known society, a substantial proportion of the population has reported unusual experiences many of which we would today label as "paranormal". Opinion polls show that the majority of the general public accepts that paranormal phenomena do occur. Such widespread experience of and belief in the paranormal can only mean one of two things. Either the paranormal is real, in which case this should be accepted by the wider scientific community which currently rejects such claims. Or else belief in and experience of ostensibly paranormal phenomena can be fully explained in terms of psychological factors.