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Susan Blackmore
Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a visiting professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known for her book '' The Meme Machine''. She has written or contributed to over 40 books and 60 scholarly articles and is a contributor to ''The Guardian'' newspaper. Career In 1973, Susan Blackmore graduated from St Hilda's College, Oxford, with a BA (Hons) degree in psychology and physiology. She received an MSc in environmental psychology in 1974 from the University of Surrey. In 1980, she earned a PhD in parapsychology from the same university; her doctoral thesis was titled "Extrasensory Perception as a Cognitive Process." In the 1980s, Blackmore conducted psychokinesis experiments to see if her baby daughter, Emily, could influence a random number generator. The experiments were mentioned in the book to accompany the TV series '' Arthur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Meme Machine
''The Meme Machine'' is a popular science book by Susan Blackmore on the subject of memes. Blackmore attempts to constitute memetics as a science by discussing its empirical and analytic potential, as well as some important problems with memetics. The first half of the book tries to create greater clarity about the definition of the meme as she sees it. The last half of the book consists of a number of possible memetic explanations for such different problems as the origin of language, the origin of the human brain, sexual phenomena, the Internet and the notion of the self. These explanations, in her view, give simpler and clearer explanations than trying to create genetic explanations in these fields. The idea of memes, and the word itself, were originally speculated by Richard Dawkins in his book ''The Selfish Gene'' although similar, or analogous, concepts had been in currency for a while before its publishing. Richard Dawkins wrote a foreword to ''The Meme Machine''. In t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theory & Psychology
''Theory & Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Psychology. The journal's founding editor is Henderikus J Stam. The journal's current editor is Kieran C O'Doherty. It has been in publication since 1991 and is currently published by SAGE Publications. Scope ''Theory & Psychology'' is a forum for theoretical and meta-theoretical analysis in Psychology. The journal publishes papers which focus on the emergent themes of contemporary psychological debate. ''Theory & Psychology'' is published six times a year and is aimed at a broad psychological audience, particularly those concerned with the evolution of Modern Psychology. Abstracting and indexing ''Theory & Psychology'' is abstracted and indexed in, among other databases: SCOPUS, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', its 2021 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Scientist
''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishes a monthly Dutch-language edition. First published on 22 November 1956, ''New Scientist'' has been available in online form since 1996. Sold in retail outlets (paper edition) and on subscription (paper and/or online), the magazine covers news, features, reviews and commentary on science, technology and their implications. ''New Scientist'' also publishes speculative articles, ranging from the technical to the philosophical. ''New Scientist'' was acquired by Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) in March 2021. History Ownership The magazine was founded in 1956 by Tom Margerison, Max Raison and Nicholas Harrison as ''The New Scientist'', with Issue 1 on 22 November 1956, priced at one shilling (). An article in the magazi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skeptical Inquirer
''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating claims of the paranormal, but evolved and expanded to address other pseudoscientific topics that are antithetical to critical thinking and science. Notable skeptics have credited the magazine in influencing their development of scientific skepticism. In the "Letters to the Editor", the most frequent letters of appreciation come from educators. History The magazine was originally titled ''The Zetetic'' (from the Greek meaning "skeptical seeker" or "inquiring skeptic"), and was originally edited by Marcello Truzzi. About a year after its inception a schism developed between the editor Truzzi and the rest of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). CSICOP was more "firmly opposed to nonsense, more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Out-of-body Experience
An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world as if from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly used to refer to the pathological condition of seeing a second self, or doppelgänger. The term ''out-of-body experience'' was introduced in 1943 by George Nugent Merle Tyrrell, G. N. M. Tyrrell in his book ''Apparitions'',G. N. M. Tyrrell, ''Apparitions'', Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd, London, 1943, pp. 149. and was adopted by researchers such as Celia Green, and Robert Monroe, as an alternative to belief-centric labels such as "astral projection" or "spirit walking". OBEs can be induced by Traumatic brain injury, traumatic brain injuries, sensory deprivation, near-death experiences, dissociative and psychedelic drugs, dehydration, sleep disorders, dreaming, and electrical stimulation of the brain, among other causes. It can also be d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parapsychological Association
The Parapsychological Association (PA) was formed in 1957 as a professional society for parapsychologists following an initiative by Joseph Banks Rhine, Joseph B. Rhine. Its purpose has been "to advance parapsychology as a science, to disseminate knowledge of the field, and to integrate the findings with those of other branches of science." The work of the association is reported in the ''Journal of Parapsychology'' and the ''Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research''. (primary source) The Parapsychological Association became affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1969, and it is still an affiliate as of 2019. History The Association was created in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina, on June 19, 1957. Its formation was proposed by Rhine, then Director of the Rhine Research Center, Duke Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University, at a ''Workshop in Parapsychology'' held there. Using the occasion afforded by this wide re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to extrasensory perception (for example, telepathy), spiritualism and the pseudosciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology, and ufology. Proposals regarding the paranormal are different from scientific hypotheses or speculations extrapolated from scientific evidence because scientific ideas are grounded in empirical observations and experimental data gained through the scientific method. In contrast, those who argue for the existence of the paranormal explicitly do not base their arguments on empirical evidence but rather on anecdote, testimony and suspicion. The standard scientific models give the explanation that what appears to be paranormal phenomena is usually a misinterpretation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of The West Of England
The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of higher education in the South West of England. The institution was known as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1969; it received university status in 1992 and became the University of the West of England, Bristol. In common with the University of Bristol and University of Bath, it can trace its origins to the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, founded as a school in 1595 by the Merchant Venturers, Society of Merchant Venturers. UWE Bristol is made up of several campuses in Greater Bristol. Frenchay Campus is the largest campus in terms of student numbers, as most of its courses are based there. City campus provides courses in the creative and cultural industries, and is made up of Bower Ashton Studios, Arnolfini, Bristol, Arnolfini, Spike Islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur C
Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo. Etymology The earliest attestation of the name Arthur is in the early 9th century Welsh-Latin text '' Historia Brittonum'', where it refers to a circa 5th century Romano-British general who fought against the invading Saxons, and who later gave rise to the famous King Arthur of medieval legend and literature. A possible earlier mention of the same man is to be found in the epic Welsh poem '' Y Gododdin'' by Aneirin, which some scholars assign to the late 6th century, though this is still a matter of debate and the poem only survives in a late 13th century manuscript entitled the Book of Aneirin. A 9th-century Breton landowner named Arthur witnessed several charters collected in the '' Cartulary of Redon''. The Irish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random Number Generator
Random number generation is a process by which, often by means of a random number generator (RNG), a sequence of numbers or symbols is generated that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by random chance. This means that the particular outcome sequence will contain some patterns detectable in hindsight but impossible to foresee. True random number generators can be '' hardware random-number generators'' (HRNGs), wherein each generation is a function of the current value of a physical environment's attribute that is constantly changing in a manner that is practically impossible to model. This would be in contrast to so-called "random number generations" done by ''pseudorandom number generators'' (PRNGs), which generate numbers that only look random but are in fact predetermined—these generations can be reproduced simply by knowing the state of the PRNG. Various applications of randomness have led to the development of different methods for generating random data. Some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Psychology
Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that explores the relationship between humans and the external world. It examines the way in which the natural environment and our built environments shape us as individuals. Environmental psychology investigates how humans change the environment and how the environment influences humans' experiences and behaviors. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments. According to an article on APA Psychnet, environmental psychology is when a person thinks to a plan, travels to a certain place, and follows through with the plan throughout their behavior. Environmental psychology was not fully recognized as its own field until the late 1960s when scientists began to question the tie between human behavior and our natural and built environments. Since its conception, the field has been committed to the developm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
