Freaky Fridays
. . . when McGill scientists bust myths and clarify science.
A series of public outreach lectures where McGill scientists examine the
myths and realities of everything from aliens to global warming.
Where: Auditorium, Redpath Museum, 859 Sherbrooke
Street West, Metro McGill/Peel (unless otherwise indicated).
Seating is limited. No reservations necessary.
When: 5 PM
Cost: Free, unless indicated otherwise.
The Freaky Friday series was made possible with funding from the Science
Outreach Program in the Faculty of Science.
December 11 at 5 PM
Can mushrooms save the world?
(title TBC)
Learn about the world of fungi and their integral relationship with the health of the planet. Followed by the documentary film Know your Mushrooms (2008).
COMING IN 2010
UFOs and Aliens
Four Freaky Friday presentations by Don C. Donderi (McGill Psychology) to
shine scientific light into the dark corners occupied by UFO debunkers: the
people, often scientists, who give less than due respect to a complicated and
compelling phenomenon.
UFOs—the Psychology of a Phenomenon
Explains how and why a psychology professor who studies human perception and memory came to study the UFO phenomenon in the first place. The lecture will review the chronology of the phenomenon since the first widely-publicized sighting in 1947, and will describe the reaction of the media, government, and science as it has evolved over more than half a century. Donderi will then review two cases he has personally investigated. Followed by the original 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Jan. 29
The Evidence in Detail
In the second lecture, Donderi reviews the UFO evidence in detail and outlines the relationship between the evidence and the psychology of perception, motivation and belief. He outlines the interactions between skeptics like Donald Menzel and Carl Sagan on the one hand, and other non-skeptical scientists and scholars like James E. McDonald and C. G. Jung on the other. Then, in keeping with the Freaky Fridays theme, he reviews the position of the UFO and close encounter phenomenon in popular culture. Followed by the film Communion which deals specifically with the experience of Whitley Streiber, who claimed in 1985 to have ben abducted by aliens. The film questions whether Streiber's experiences were real or imagined.
Feb. 12
Close Encounters
This lecture reviews the evidence about “Close Encounters,” the most controversial aspect of the UFO phenomenon, in which humans allegedly encounter and interact with extra-terrestrial beings. Donderi will review several well-documented close encounter cases and describe his own involvement in interviewing witnesses. He will illustrate a psychological science approach to these observations by describing two of his own research studies with groups of people who reported UFO close encounters. He will also review skeptics’ explanations for the close encounter reports, and discuss the outcome of a lively symposium where researchers and skeptics met at a psychological science convention in 2008.
Followed by the 1977 film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind where Cableman Roy Neary is one of several people who experience a close encounter of the first kind, witnessing UFOs flying through the night sky. He is subsequently haunted by a mountain like image in his head and becomes obsessed with discovering what it represents, putting severe strain on his marriage. Meanwhile, government agents around the world have a close encounter of the second kind, discovering physical evidence of otherworldly visitors in the form of military vehicles that went missing decades ago suddenly appearing in the middle of nowhere. Roy and the agents both follow the clues they have been given to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind: contact.
February 26
This lecture reviews the scientific philosophy of the UFO phenomenon. Donderi’s analysis is based on a widely known work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, written by Thomas Kuhn in 1962. Donderi will also discuss the quantitative aspect of the accumulated UFO evidence by describing the role of Bayes’ theorem in evaluating the probability of a scientific hypothesis. And finally, to explain the general scientific attitude towards the UFO evidence, Donderi describes the contribution of Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory to understanding the scientific reaction to the UFO phenomenon in general.
Followed by the film Contact based on the Carl Sagan novel of the same name, which explores a few questions relating to extra-terrestrial intelligence, including whether or not we are prepared to decipher messages from another world -- and whether in the case of the main character, played by Jodie Foster, the "experience" of meeting extra-terrestrials is real or not.
March 5
Razmatazz - Magic, hypnosis and the brain
By Dr. Amir Raz (Psychiatry, McGill)
"Clinical hypnosis, if used properly, can bring about physiological changes, but the right way to look at hypnosis is as a tool with an adjunctive role. It won't necessarily cure cancer, but for someone on chemotherapy, it could reduce some of the side effects."
Followed by the film Houdini (1953, with Tony Curtis) based on the life of the legendary escape artist and illusionist Harry Houdini.
PREVIOUS FREAKY FRIDAYS
2009-2010
Bats and Vampires: More Myth Than Fact
By Angelika Meschede
Learn how Vampire bats really feed and how they may one day help prevent heart attacks and strokes. Followed by the film Nosferatu (1979) by Werner Herzog (German with English subtitles).
What does it mean to be human?
By André Costopoulos (Anthropology)
There is a deeply ingrained assumption that humans are fundamentally different from other animals. To what degree, and in what way is this true? Through the classic film Planet of the Apes we will reflect on what makes us human
2008-2009
2007-2008
2006-2007
Next: Cutting Edge
