publication date: Dec 23, 2011
Professor Bruce Hood is the Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre in
the Experimental Psychology Department at the
University of Bristol and is the author of
SuperSense, a popular science book on the origins of
supernatural beliefs.
He
continues to conduct
research in diverse fields of
human psychology
specialising in the
cognitive development of children.
Here are some highlights of the
lectures.
Your
memories: truth or fiction?
False
memory is a fascinating area.
Scientific research by Bruce and colleagues in his field
reveals that
memories are actively
reconstructed and can be
distorted by the
insertion of
related information, so that the
brain cannot tell what was the
original and what has been "learnt". Bruce explores what this means for
what we think are our
earliest memories, and discuss how this understanding of
our brains means
fictional accounts, like the hit film
Inception, aren't so far
from reality after all. (
Inception's plot is centred on the idea of
planting a
false memory. False memories work because your brain is
assembling details to
make a pattern or a
representation of an event and can be prompted.)
Are
you seeing what I'm seeing?
Have
you ever seen a
face in a piece of
burnt toast? Why are our
brains so obsessed
with
people-patterns? It's not just objects either, your
brain likes to give a
personality to anything that shows a hint of
character; whether it's your
teddy
bear, your pet fish or even your
car. Bruce Hood explains
paredolia –
the tendency to see
face-like properties in objects – and
anthropomorphism – the
tendency to attribute
human qualities to non-human things – using
visual
examples.
That's
magic!
We
all want to understand how
magic tricks work. In this feature,
Christmas
lecturer Bruce Hood explores how
magicians, illusionists and
conjurers use the
power of
misdirection to overcome our natural
thought patterns. He explains
what's going on
inside our heads when we watch a
trick and what
science can
teach us about the ways that
magicians can surprise and
bamboozle others.
The
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures will be broadcast on
BBC Four at 8pm on 27, 28 and 29 December, 2011.
Record them for future
viewing if you plan to be out!
