Why do we say “Jinx!” when two people say the same thing at the same time? Are coincidences as unlikely as we think? And why do some coincidences feel so spooky
On Wednesday 17th July PubSci is delighted to welcome back Chris French of the Anomalistic Psychology Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, for a talk that is now fully booked out.
We’ve all had that uncanny feeling when things happen that seem too unlikely, too meaningful, too important to be attributed simply to random chance. Numerous well documented coincidences seem so unlikely that something more than blind probability appears to be at work. Paranormal explanations are often invoked for apparently precognitive dreams. So what’s really going on?
Conspiracy theorists and charlatans can play on our ignorance of causality, probability, and even what randomness really looks like, in order to make us think certain events have meaningful, perhaps sinister, connections. Some people make a career out of it. Even innocent coincidences can feel special to us. But why is this? And is it reasonable for sceptics to explain away such things as nothing more than “mere coincidences”?
Chris French is an expert in all things weird and freaky – how we experience them, why we believe in them and what’s really going on when we experience the uncanny. He’s already delighted PubSci with two talks in previous years, and this month he turns his attention to coincidences. At July’s PubSci, the author of The Science of Weird Shit explores the science and psychology of those freaky moments when things seem too unlikely to be “Just a coincidence”.
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I hope you reserved your place early, because the event is fully booked and there’s a long waiting list. For those lucky enough to be attending, Chris will have copies of his new book for sale: The Science of Weird Shit – Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal.
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Learn more about Chris in “About the Speaker” below.
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Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head, near London Bridge tube. Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Talks run for ~45 minutes and are followed by a Q&A session. The Old King’s Head has a happy hour before 7pm, and the kitchen serves excellent pub grub.
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About the speaker
Chris French is Emeritus Professor and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths,University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of UK Humanists.
He has published well over 150 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences.
Chris frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims as well as writing for the Guardian and the Skeptic magazine.
His academic reference book Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal Belief and Experience was published with Anna Stone, and his latest book The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal was published by MIT press earlier this year.
PubSci is delighted to welcome Chris to the latest in our series of monthly talks.
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We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, although it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the function room of a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access.
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We used to meet on the first Wednesday of the month but PubSci is now on the third Wednesday. Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit) every month apart from December for a regular dose of Sipping, Supping & Science.
Address:
The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA
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