Richard Wiseman on Debunking the Paranormal

The psychology professor explains why mediums, spoon bending and near-death and out-of-body experiences are all baloney. And how he’s tested people who claim they’re psychic to prove they aren’t

How and why did you turn your scientific eye to the paranormal?

The paranormal is one of my research topics. I’ve spent 20 years looking at ghosts and alleged psychics and so on. But in a sense it’s the scepticism that underlies all of my work that attracted me – whether it’s looking at people who claim to be very lucky, or at human behaviour which on the face of it looks one way, but if we use science and psychology then we find out what’s really going on.

I think it’s enormously important to be sceptical, particularly in psychology because we’re very good at leading ourselves astray. Anyone who’s seen optical illusions will realise we’re good at thinking the world is one way, but actually there is something else going on. Being fooled like that normally isn’t a good thing – it tells you a lot about your brains and your eyes and so on, but for the most part we want to accurately understand what’s happening in the world, and that’s why psychology is so important.

So by investigating these seemingly ridiculous claims, we can find very real scientific knowledge about our brains and how we perceive the world.

Absolutely. Paranormal experiences – whether it’s a psychic or an out-of-body experience or seeing a ghost – may not tell you anything about the world of the supernatural, because that world doesn’t exist, but those experiences still tell you about how your brain and mind operate.

How important is it to debunk this stuff? Why not humour the people who believe in ghosts and UFOs?

Well it’s up to people what they believe. My feeling is that they’re bombarded with pro-paranormal information, whether it’s from psychic hotlines or broadcasters putting out ghost shows, or in magazines and newspapers. The books we’re talking about and my book Paranormality really just say to people, “Here’s the other side of the equation – at least give it a try before you decide this stuff definitely exists.” I think that’s really important, because certainly when it comes to psychics and mediums people allow them to have a massive influence over their lives. They don’t understand the tricks of the trade. It’s very important to be an informed consumer.

Is there less belief in the paranormal in the era of modern science?

It would be nice if that were the case. If anything it looks the opposite way round. As science and technology grow, so too does belief in the paranormal. At the moment in the UK around 50% of people believe in some sort of paranormal phenomenon. In the US it’s about 80 or 90%. So it’s a massive industry. And unfortunately, science isn’t getting rid of it.

Does pop culture enter the equation? The X Files or films like Paranormal Activity.

If it’s fiction then that’s absolutely fine with me. I’m a big fan of The X Files. I love sci-fi. As soon as it purports to be fact, I think there is an onus on the broadcaster or the publisher to check their facts. And because they don’t want to do that – they know these things are not true – they have people running around a haunted house with a video camera, all screaming and saying this stuff is genuine. They know that’s “bums on seats”.

So you’re not going to get both sides of the story from that. You’re only going to get one side and it’s really tricky to find the opposite side. These books do not sell in massive numbers. It’s actually quite niche literature. When Paranormality came out, there was a lot of criticism from psychics and mediums that did not want the tricks of the trade out there.There is a kind of pressure not to reveal these tricks. There’s a bit of an overlap with magic, where magicians want to keep their secrets to themselves. But I think it’s completely unethical, because magicians are honest deceivers – they tell you that something is fake and fake it for entertainment – but with psychics and mediums they don’t tell you that at all. It’s a huge abuse of the kind of counselling contract.

Flim-Flam!

By James Randi

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Let’s move onto the first of your book selections, Flim Flam! I understand James Randi was originally a stage magician.

Yes, James started his working life as a magician. Then he became an escapologist, following in Houdini’s footsteps. And like Houdini, he was very sceptical about the paranormal. Since the 1970s he’s done a lot of very high-profile debunking.

And what does he debunk in this book?

Flim-Flam! had a huge impact on me when I first came across it, because it was the first time I’d seen a whole volume which wasn’t taking any nonsense, which wasn’t saying “maybe this stuff is true”. It’s a hardline approach that looks at a whole range of issues. Things like the Cottingley fairies, the Conan Doyle case, spoon benders, psychic surgeons – he says that’s all essentially tricky. What impressed me was that he got out into the field, he did the research, and it wasn’t a “maybe some of this stuff is true” approach. He was simply saying, “None of it is true and here’s what’s really going on.”

Tell us about his $1 million prize.

He has a long-standing financial reward if anyone can prove under test conditions that they’re psychic. There are various people who act as testers for him in various countries – I’m one of them in the UK. I’ve tested a few people. And it probably says something about the psychic world that in the 10 years that the prize has been up for grabs, no-one has come even close to claiming it.