"Science and the paranormal", a talk by Dr. Joe Schwarcz

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Published Oct 11, 2016

Since the dawn of civilization humans have been fascinated by phenomena which appear to lie outside the scope of science. Our history is peppered with accounts of psychics predicting the future, mediums conversing with the dead, and aliens in UFO's abducting earthlings. Today the likes of Deepak Chopra confuse people with their quantum psychobabble and there is widespread belief that the moon and planets influence our behavior, that "psychic surgeons" can remove tumors without making incisions and that Uri Geller bends spoons with the power of his mind. .Do these effects really lie outside the scope of modern day science? This lecture examines paranormal phenomena and describes how many of the effects can be explained by perfectly "natural" means. The presentation is highlighted by a number of "demonstrations" aimed at increasing the awareness of the need to evaluate "paranormal" phenomena by critical scientific methods.