Συνέδριο Παραψυχολογίας SPR 2009 (εντυπώσεις)

Το 33ο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Παραψυχολογίας της Βρετανικής Εταιρίας Ψυχικών Ερευνών έλαβε χώρα στις 4-6 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009, στο Jubilee Campus του Πανεπιστημίου του Nottingham (στη Μεγάλη Βρετανία). Το Ψ Blog σας μεταφέρει τις εντυπώσεις από το συνέδριο, αναδημοσιεύοντας το άρθρο επικαιρότητας του Tom Ruffles που παρουσιάστηκε αρχικά στην επίσημη ιστοσελίδα της BSPR.

Report on SPR Conference, September 2009
by Tom Ruffles, www.spr.ac.uk

Proceedings were opened by Bernard Carr, chair of the Programme Committee, with a request to delegates to raise a hand if this was their first SPR conference, and perhaps half did so. A large proportion of the audience, and a number of the speakers, came from outside the UK, justifying the ‘International’ in the conference’s full title. The overwhelming feeling was of a vigorous and vibrant research community, demonstrating the SPR’s continuing relevance to the subject.

The sheer number of papers on offer was impressive – over twenty, dealing with the theoretical, the historical and the experimental, and rounded off with a symposium focusing on qualitative research. The conference abstracts can be found elsewhere on the SPR website, but to highlight a few impressions, some things were particularly striking.

Given the number of timeslip reports coming from there, Liverpool must rank as one of the most paranormal cities in the country, and using a radio programme to elicit such a large number of accounts suggests that spontaneous case researchers are missing potentially useful evidence by not being proactive enough. Several talks demonstrated that the internet is a powerful conduit for communication with the public, and tool for research.

Alas we are still waiting for Mick O’Neill (who ably oversaw the technical side of the conference and must have lost a few pounds running up and down the steep stairs with the microphone during question time) to make us all rich from his annual experiment to try to win the National Lottery using psychic abilities. And one gets the impression that physicists investigating higher dimensions are inspired by Spinal Tap (“mine goes up to 11”). Overall the speakers generated a large number of questions, and general discussion, both after presentations and in any available non-sleeping time, was lively.
There was an opportunity in a formal session to discuss the SPR’s website, how it is structured, the interactions we have with members and the public, and future plans. In addition to the conference papers, Trevor Hamilton gave a superbly illustrated after-dinner talk on Frederic Myers, based on his new book, Immortal Longings. Judging by the appreciative comments afterwards, it inspired a renewed interest among some delegates in the early history of the Society.
But it wasn’t all work, oh no. The bar stayed open until 1am, demonstrating what a wild (and noisy when they get their hands on the table football) bunch off-duty parapsychologists can be. But a special word has to be reserved for Melvyn Willin who, bravely dressed in his troubadour outfit complete with a fetching pair of tights, finished off the banquet – in more ways than one – with a specially-composed song featuring SPR personnel. The writs are in the post.

Melvyn and SPR librarian Karen Patel also ran a successful book stall on Saturday. Thanks are due to them, to the Programme Committee which as Bookstall at SPR Conferenceever did a tremendous job in pulling together an excellent series of papers, and to the presenters themselves of course, but special thanks must go to the organiser Peter Johnson as well as to Eleanor O’Keeffe in the office, who made sure proceedings ran smoothly, and ensured a very successful, and thoroughly enjoyable, conference. For those who were not able to attend but would still like to hear presentations, recordings are available; please get in touch via the website.

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Ακολουθεί το πρόγραμμα του συνεδρίου, με τους τίτλους των ομιλιών από τους ερευνητές-παραψυχολόγους που συμμετείχαν:

FRIDAY 4th September
14:30– 14:40
Welcoming Remarks

14:40 – 15:10
Archie Roy & Tricia Robertson
FOLLOWING IN SCHRÖDINGER'S FOOTSTEPS

15:10 – 15:40
Ann Winsper
THE TIMESLIP PHENOMENON

15:40 – 16:00
Mick O’Neill
A CONFERENCE EXPERIMENT TO WIN THE NATIONAL LOTTERY JACKPOT PSYCHICALLY

16:00 – 16:30
TEA/COFFEE

16:30 – 17:00
Tricia Robertson
THE DEATH AND RETURN OF JACK THE LAD

17:00 – 17:30
Angela Packwood
THE SILENT VOICE: GEORGIE HYDE LEES AND YEATS'S VISION

17:30 – 18:00
Wendy Cousins
HYPHENATED CULTURE, HAUNTED PEOPLE

18:30
PRESIDENT’S DRINKS RECEPTION

19:15
DINNER

21:00 – 22:00
Zofia Weaver, Tom Ruffles &
Julie Rousseau
ADVENTURES IN CYBERSPACE: RAISING OUR PROFILE IN THE DIGITAL AGE


SATURDAY 5th September
09:15 – 09:45
Mary Rose Barrington
WHAT IT THE POINT OF PSYCHICAL RESEARCH?

09:45 – 10:15
David Luke & Shelley Morin
LUCK BELIEFS, PMIR, PSI AND THE SHEEP-GOAT EFFECT

10:15 – 10:45
Paul Rogers, John Fisk & Dawn
Wiltshire
MORE ON PARANORMAL BELIEF AND THE CONJUCTION FALLACY

10:45 – 11:15
TEA/COFFEE

11:15 – 12:00
Adrian Ryan
DREAMS AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY

12:00 – 12:30
Eugene Subbotsky & Adrian Ryan
MOTIVATION, BELIEF AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY IN A REMOTE VIEWING TASK

12:30 – 13:00
Paul Stevens
FRACTALS, DOWSING AND SACRED SITES: EMERGENT INFORMATION IN THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH

14:30 – 15:00
Caroline Watt & Richard Wiseman
THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE: AN INTERNET SURVEY OF HAUNTING EXPERIENCES

15:00 – 15:30
Richard Wiseman
GHOST PHOTOGRAPHY

15:30 – 16:00
Christine Simmonds-Moore
AN EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATION INTO EMPATHY AND THE PRECOGNITON OF EMOTIONAL FACES

16:00 – 16:30
TEA/COFFEE

16:30 – 17:00
David Rousseau
IRREDUCIBLE MIND: EVIDENCE IS NOT ENOUGH

17:00 – 17:30
Bernard Carr
MATTER, MIND AND HIGHER DIMENSIONS

17:30 – 18:00
Michael Potts & Amy Devano
CAN TERTULLIAN'S THEORY OF THE SOUL OFFER ANYTHING FOR PARAPSYCHOLOGY?

19:00
DINNER
AFTER-DINNER TALK: TREVOR HAMILTON “My Heavenly Fluffy”: Private and public passions in the life of Frederic W H Myers


SUNDAY 6th September
09:15 – 09:45
Miao Xingzhuong
THE PSYCHIC HEALING OF CANCER THROUGH QIGONG

09:45 – 10:15
Carl Williams & Diane Dutton
COMMUNICATING THE INTANGIBLE: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF ENERGY HEALING

10:15 – 10:45
Diane Dutton & Carl Williams
THE ANIMAL CONNECTION: EVALUATING ACCOUNTS OF ANIMAL PSI

10:45 – 11:15
TEA/COFFEE
Symposium: Anomalous experiences and qualitative research

11:15 – 11:25 Craig Murray (convener)
INTRODUCTION

11:25 – 11:45 Fiona Campbell & Craig Murray
THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF ANOMALOUS EXPERIENCE

11:45 – 12:05
Carrie Childs & Craig Murray
“WE ALL HAD AN EXPERIENCE IN THERE TOGETHER”: A DISCURSIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLLABORATIVE PARANORMAL ACCOUNTS

12:05 – 12:25
David Wilde & Craig Murray
INTERPRETING THE ANOMALOUS: FINDING MEANING IN OBES AND NDES

12:25 – 12:45
Discussion

12:45 – 13:00
Closing Remarks

13:00
LUNCH