Richard Wiseman
14/8/19
Richard Wiseman is a British psychologist who is currently Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He has many research papers to his name and he is a prolific author of popular science books such as: 59 Seconds, Paranormality and Quirkology. As a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Enquiry he is frequently involved with the investigation of paranormal phenomena. His work has featured at various conferences and on television programmes and he is a great friend of the Edinburgh Skeptics, speaking for us at a number of occasions. Last year he MC'd our recent event with the hosts of The Skeptics Guide to the Universe.
Richard has also studied the topic of luck - both good and bad - which he wrote up in his book The Luck Factor and he found that “lucky people” may get better results because they expend more efforts to attain particular results. This then reinforces their belief in that luck. They may be more observant, outgoing and confident, leading to more opportunities to progress in life.
In 2011 he led a project named LaughLab, featuring an international experiment to find the world’s funniest joke. It examined the psychology of humour, as well as the cultural differences that make different types of humour work in different locations. Come and see Richard speak for us tonight at Skeptics on the Fringe, 7:20pm, Banshee Labyrinth Chamber Room, Niddry Street. He’ll be talking about his new book “Shoot For The Moon” - what mindset did it take to get humans to the moon and how can you apply the same thinking to your own life.