Skeptics in the Pub December 2008
London Skeptics in the Pub
Monday 8th December 2008
The Penderel’s Oak, Holborn. A £2 donation is requested to cover the guest speaker’s travelling expenses and sundries. All are welcome. Turn up at any time during the evening. The room is open for food and drink from about 5.30pm and talks start at 7pm.
The event was founded in 1999, for all those interested in the paranormal, alternative medicine, psychic powers, pseudo-science, UFOs, alien abductions, creationism, Fortean phenomena, cult religions, water-divining, lost civilizations etc. A guest speaker is invited each month to present a topic of interest, which is followed by an informal discussion in a relaxed and friendly pub atmosphere. The UK-Skeptics forum is a good place for continuing discussions after the meeting. There is also an associated facebook group you can join.
Skeptics versus Believers
UFOs and alien abductions: Serious defence and national security issues at stake, or intriguing phenomena with their roots in psychology and belief? Professor Chris French and Nick Pope square up to each other in a head-to-head debate with a difference. Because we like to be a little bit controversial (and we thought it would be fun), we have them swap roles and argue each other’s case. Will Chris French convince you that ET really is visiting us on a regular basis? Or will Nick Pope persuade you that psychological factors can account for such claims? Come along and cast your vote!
Speakers
Professor Chris French and Nick Pope
Chris French is a Professor of Psychology and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths College, University of London (www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru). He teaches a course entitled Anomalistic Psychology as part of the BSc (Hons) Psychology programme at Goldsmiths College. He is a Chartered Psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce, and the Institute for Cultural Research. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the British False Memory Society and the Advisory Board of the Center for Inquiry, London. 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. In addition to academic activities, such as conference presentations and invited talks in other departments, he frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims.
Nick used to work at the Ministry of Defence, where from 1991 to 1994 he was posted to a division where his duties included investigating UFOs. Initially sceptical, his official research and investigation convinced him that the UFO phenomenon raised important defence, national security and flight safety issues. He was particularly interested in cases where the witnesses were pilots or where UFOs were tracked on radar. Nick is now recognised as a leading authority on UFOs and the unexplained.
