Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, we all know that. But Dr. Christopher French, professor of Anomalistic Psychology at the University of London, might know it more than the rest of us - he’s spent his career in pursuit of tangible evidence for all kinds of paranormal beliefs. Extrasensory perception, telepathy, dowsing - and has come up with little proof that these phenomena occur - but has not lost the skeptical spark that leaves all possibilities on the table.

Along the way, he became interested in the question of cognition - how do people come to believe in magical phenomena? Did they feel the appeal of motivated reasoning, or did it take them by surprise? Proof and disproof don’t seem to have much of an effect in this world of metaphysical beliefs, since cognition doesn’t depend on facts - it’s much more about emotions, tribal associations, and the way that humans *want* the world to be, rather than how it *is.*

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Dr. French Twitter: https://twitter.com/chriscfrench

Dr. French Lab Site: https://www.gold.ac.uk/apru/

Dr. French Articles on Anomalistic Psychology: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/chris-french

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Episode 337: Biodiversity jobs, teaching kids about water