The Science of Weird S**t! - why our minds conjure the paranormal. Chris French

All Fools Day! No, this is not an April Fool - our event is on Easter Monday, bank holiday......and what better way to mark it than an event that seeks to debunk the myths around the paranormal.

Ever since records began, in every known society, a substantial proportion of people have reported unusual experiences, often labelled 'paranormal'. Opinion polls show that the majority of the public accept that paranormal phenomena do occur. This widespread belief can only mean one of 2 things. Either the paranormal is real or else belief in the paranormal can be explained psychologically

Ghostly encounters, alien abduction, reincarnation, talking to the dead, UFO sightings, inexplicable coincidences, out-of-body and near-death experiences. Are these legitimate phenomena? If not, then how should we go about understanding them? Chris French investigates paranormal claims to discover what lurks behind this "weird s**t."
In the Science of Weird S**t he will debunk ESP, communicating with the dead, and alien abduction claims, among other phenomena. All the while, however, he says that our belief in such phenomena is neither ridiculous nor trivial; if anything, such claims can tell us a great deal about the human mind if we pay them the attention they are due.

Chris French is Emeritus Professor and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of Humanists UK. He has published well over 150 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. 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. His most recent book, to be published in March 2024 by MIT Press, is The Science of Weird S**t: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal.

A bookstall selling this new book will be provided by Heron Books.

Everyone is welcome to attend our events. They are FREE to members, we ask others to make a contribution of £3/£1. You can join Bristol Humanists here https://www.bristolhumanists.com/membership and for more information on Bristol Humanists https://www.bristolhumanists.com/