By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 1-17-07
Dr. Michael Shermer.
GREENSBORO, NC – Dr. Michael Shermer, author of the bestseller “Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time,” will deliver the keynote address of the 2007 Harriet Elliott Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, in Elliott University Center Auditorium.
Shermer is an outspoken advocate of skepticism, the belief that science and reason should be vigorously applied to any and all ideas. He is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, the director of the Skeptics Society, a columnist for Scientific American, and co-host and producer of the Fox Family television series “Exploring the Unknown.”
After his speech, he will sign copies of his books, including his latest, “Why Darwin Matters: The Case against Intelligent Design,” and “Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Reason.”
The 2007 Elliott lectures explore “Why We Believe What Isn’t So: The Psychology of ‘Weird Beliefs.’” Three other renowned psychologists will speak Friday, Feb. 2, in EUC Auditorium. The lectures are all free and open to the public.
The Friday sessions are:
• 9 a.m. – Scott Lilienfeld, Emory University, “Why Some Clinical Psychologists Believe Weird Things”
• 10 a.m. – Dr. Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University, “The Role of Motivated Reasoning in Erroneous Beliefs”
• 11:20 a.m. – Dr. Susan Clancy, Harvard University, “Spirited Away: Why Do So Many People Believe They Were Abducted by Aliens?”
• 12:20 p.m. – Roundtable Discussion.
The 2007 lectures are coordinated by the Department of Psychology, (336) 334-5014. Parking is available in the Walker Avenue Parking Deck for $1 per hour. Campus maps are available online.
“It isn’t only ‘weird’ people who hold ‘weird’ beliefs,” said program co-coordinator Dr. Michael Kane, associate professor in UNCG’s Department of Psychology. “We all believe in some things that science and reason indicate ‘just aren’t so.’
“By examining why people adopt questionable, erroneous, or just plain ‘weird’ beliefs, we gain a greater understanding of how all of our beliefs come to be formed, for good and for ill. This is important because, as Josh Billings noted, ‘It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble. It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.’”
The Elliott Lectures are held annually in honor of Harriet W. Elliott (1884-1947), a pioneer in the women’s rights and suffrage movements who served from 1913-47 at the institution that is now UNCG. The namesake of Elliott University Center, she was a professor of political science and served as dean of women from 1935 until her death in 1947.
Dr. Scott Lilienfeld is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Emory University. He is co-author of the popular book “What’s Wrong with the Rorschach? Science Confronts the Controversial Inkblot Test and co-editor of Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology.” He is also founder and editor of The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to evaluating both scientific and potentially pseudoscientific claims in clinical psychology and related disciplines.
He has written popular psychological articles for Scientific American, Skeptical Inquirer (for which he is a consulting editor), Skeptic and other magazines for the general public. He is a past president of the American Psychological Association’s Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology. He has appeared on ABC News’ 20/20, CNN Headline News, PBS, and both National and Canadian Public Radio.
Dr. Tom Gilovich is a professor of psychology and chair of the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. His research interests include everyday judgment and decision making; critical thinking and belief; egocentrism; optimism, pessimism, satisfaction, and regret; and behavioral economics.
He has published numerous research articles and three books: “How We Know What Isn’t So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life,” “Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment” (coauthored with Dale Griffin and Daniel Kahneman), and “Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes – and How to Correct Them: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics” (coauthored by Gary Belsky).
Dr. Susan Clancy is a psychology associate at Harvard University and the author of numerous research articles and the book “Abducted: Why People Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens.” She is a professor and founding director of the Center for Behavioral Sciences Applied to Social Policy at INCAE, in Central America. Her research primarily focuses on the cognitive impact of traumatic experiences.
She has been interviewed about her research by Peter Jennings, Anderson Cooper and Larry King. Her research has been covered by The New York Times, Discovery Magazine, Science, National Geographic, the Wall Street Journal, and other major media outlets. She is currently at work on her second book, “The Trauma Myth.”
