Ray Hyman

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Ray Hyman (born June 23, 1928, Chelsea, Massachusetts) is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. While attending Boston University as a young man, he also worked as a magician and mentalist, impressing the head of his department (among others) with his palm reading. He obtained a doctorate in psychology from Johns Hopkins University in 1953, and then taught at Harvard for several years. He also became an expert in statistical methods. Along with other notable skeptics like Martin Gardner, he was a founding member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), which publishes the Skeptical Inquirer.

Aside from his scholarly publications and consultation with the US Department of Defense in scrutinizing psychic research, one of his most popular articles is thirteen points to help you "amaze your friends with your new found psychic powers!", a guide to cold reading. The guide exploits what fascinated him in his academic research in cognitive psychology, that much deception is self-deception.

Dr. Hyman's prestidigitational skills (which he calls "manipulating perception") have earned him the cover of The Linking Ring, the magazine of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Hyman was a co-recipient of the 2005 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, awarded by CSICOP.