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Susan Blackmore

Susan Blackmore
Born Susan Jane Blackmore
29 July 1951 (1951-07-29) (age 56)
Education St. Hilda's College, Oxford,
University of Surrey
Occupation Freelance writer,
Lecturer,
Broadcaster
Partner Adam Hart-Davis
Website
Official Website

Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is an English freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster on psychology and the paranormal, perhaps best known for her book The Meme Machine. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The University of Surrey is a University located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer Lecturer is a term of Academic rank. In the United Kingdom lecturer is the name given to University Teachers in their first permanent A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event Dr Adam John Hart-Davis (born 4 July 1943 is an English scientist Author, Photographer, Historian and broadcaster, well-known in Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer Lecturer is a term of Academic rank. In the United Kingdom lecturer is the name given to University Teachers in their first permanent A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation The Meme Machine ( 1999) is a Popular science book by Psychologist Susan Blackmore on the subject of Memes Blackmore attempts

Contents

Career

In 1973, Susan Blackmore graduated from St. Hilda's College, Oxford, with a BA (Hons) in psychology and physiology. St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Physiology (from Greek grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the mechanical physical She went on to do a postgraduate degree in environmental psychology at the University of Surrey, achieving an MSc in 1974. Environmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings The University of Surrey is a University located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England In 1980, she got her Ph.D. in parapsychology from the same university, her thesis being entitled "Extrasensory Perception as a Cognitive Process". "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. Parapsychology is a discipline that seeks to demonstrate the existence and causes of Psychic abilities and life after death using the Scientific method After some period of time spent in research on parapsychology and the paranormal,[1] her attitude towards the field moved from belief to scepticism. Parapsychology is a discipline that seeks to demonstrate the existence and causes of Psychic abilities and life after death using the Scientific method Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation [2] She is a Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and in 1991 was awarded the CSICOP Distinguished Skeptic Award. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ( CSI) formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ( CSICOP) is a [3]

She has done research on memes (which she wrote about in her popular book The Meme Machine) and evolutionary theory. A meme (miːm consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Her book Consciousness: An Introduction (2004), is a textbook that broadly covers the field of consciousness studies. A textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the She was on the editorial board for the Journal of Memetics (an electronic journal) from 1997 to 2001, and has been a consulting editor of the Skeptical Inquirer since 1998. Electronic journals are Scholarly journals or Magazines that can be accessed via electronic transmission The Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly American Magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI with the subtitle

She has appeared on television a number of times, discussing such paranormal phenomena as ghosts, extra-sensory perception, intelligent design, the multiverse, and out-of-body experiences, in what she describes as the "unenviable role of 'rent-a-sceptic'", and she has also presented a show on alien abductions. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented Extrasensory perception (ESP is the apparent ability to acquire information by Paranormal means independent of any known physical Senses or deduction from previous Intelligent The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible Universes (including our universe that together comprise all of Reality. An out-of-body experience ( OBE or sometimes OOBE) is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and in some cases perceiving Alien Discussions Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference. Another programme which she has presented discusses the intelligence of non human apes. Intelligence (also called intellect) is an Umbrella term used to describe a property of the Mind that encompasses many related abilities such as the capacities

She acted as one of the psychologists who featured on the British version of the television show "Big Brother", speaking about the psychological state of the contestants. Mental health professional A psychologist is a practitioner of Psychology, the systematic investigation of the mind including Behavior, Cognition, Big Brother is a Reality television show where in each series a group of people live together in the Big Brother House isolated from the outside world but continuously She is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism.

Memetics

Susan Blackmore has made contributions to the field of memetics. This article is related to the study of self-replicating units of culture not to be confused with Mimetics Memetics is a neo-Darwinian approach Her clearly written works are aimed at a wide readership. The term meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene and although the term has been widely used it is often misunderstood. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Blackmore's book The Meme Machine is perhaps the most thorough introduction to memetics. In his foreword to this work, Dawkins said 'Any theory deserves to be given its best shot, and this is what Susan Blackmore has done for the theory of the meme. ' Other treatments of memes can be found in the works of Robert Aunger: The Electric Meme, and Jon Whitty: A Memetic Paradigm of Project Management. [4]

Blackmore's treatment of memetics insists that memes are true evolutionary replicators, a second replicator that like genetics is subject to the Darwinian Algorithm and undergoes evolutionary change. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is Her prediction on the central role played by imitation as the cultural replicator and the neural structures that must be unique to humans necessary to support them have recently been confirmed by research on mirror neurons and the differences in extent of these structures between humans and our closest ape relations. The nervous system is a Network of specialized cells that communicate information about an animal's surroundings and itself Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus A mirror neuron is a Neuron which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially Conspecific

In her work on memetics she has emphasized the role that Darwinian mechanisms play in cultural evolution and has helped develop the field of Universal Darwinism. Darwinism is a term used for various different movements or concepts related to a greater or lesser extent to Charles Darwin 's work on Evolution.

Personal life

In 1977, she married fellow academic Tom Troscianko, and they had two children: Emily Tamarisk Troscianko (born 1982) and Jolyon Tomasz Troscianko (born 1984). She now lives in Bristol with the television presenter and scientist Adam Hart-Davis. Dr Adam John Hart-Davis (born 4 July 1943 is an English scientist Author, Photographer, Historian and broadcaster, well-known in

Blackmore is an active practitioner of Zen, although she identifies herself as "not a Buddhist". Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices [5] Blackmore is an atheist who has criticised religion sharply, having said, for instance, that "all kinds of infectious memes thrive in religions, in spite of being false, such as the idea of a creator god, virgin births, the subservience of women, transubstantiation, and many more. Atheism A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence. In the major religions, they are backed up by admonitions to have faith not doubt, and by untestable but ferocious rewards and punishments. Faith is a Belief in the trustworthiness of an Idea. Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of Religion, as in "[6]

Quotes

Books

Further reading

Notes

  1. ^ Blackmore, 1986, p. 163
  2. ^ Blackmore, 1987, p. 249
  3. ^ A Who's Who of Media Skeptics: Skeptics or Dogmatists?. Accessed 2008-06-03.
  4. ^ A Memetic Paradigm of Project Management
  5. ^ Dr. Susan Blackmore
  6. ^ Dr. Susan Blackmore
  7. ^ Skeptic's Dictionary Newsletter 74
  8. ^ Guardian | Life lessons
  9. ^ The Elusive Open Mind: Ten Years of
  10. ^ Dr. Susan Blackmore

External links

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