Ray Hyman
Ray Hyman (born June 23, 1928, Chelsea, Massachusetts) is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon,[1] and a noted critic of parapsychology.
Career
While attending Boston University as a young man,[2] he also worked as a magician and mentalist,[3] impressing the head of his department (among others) with his palmistry. Hyman at one point believed that 'reading' the lines on a person's palm could provide insights into their nature, but later discovered that the person's reaction to the reading had little to do with the actual lines on the palm. This led to his interest in psychology.[3] He obtained a doctorate in psychology from Johns Hopkins University in 1953,[4] and then taught at Harvard for five years.[2] He also became an expert in statistical methods. Along with other notable skeptics like Paul Kurtz, he was a founding member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP),[5] which publishes the Skeptical Inquirer.
Aside from his scholarly publications and consultation with the U.S. Department of Defense in scrutinizing psychic research,[2] 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.[6] The guide exploits what fascinated him in his academic research in cognitive psychology, that much deception is self-deception. He has investigated dowsing in the United States and wrote a book on the subject.[3] He is one of the foremost skeptical experts on the ganzfeld experiment.[7]
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 of which he has been a member for over 35 years.[8]
Dr. Hyman was close friends with Barry Beyerstein and together they founded an annual workshop in 1992 in Eugene, Oregon called Skeptic's Toolbox[9] which is still being held.[10]
Hyman retired in 1998 but continues to give talks and investigate paranormal claims. In July 2009 he appeared at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[11] He is working on two books: How Smart People Go Wrong: Cognition and Human Error and Parapsychology’s Achilles’ Heel: Consistent Inconsistency.[9]
On October 9, 2010 CSI announced Hyman (and others) as a part of their policy-making Executive Council, he will also serve on Skeptical Inquirer's magazine board.[12]
Awards
Books
- Bush, Robert R.; Abelson, Robert; Hyman, Ray (1956), Mathematics for Psychologists, New York: Social Science Research Council, OCLC 2301803
- Vogt, Evon Zartman; Hyman, Ray (1959), Water Witching USA, Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, OCLC 315006378
- Hyman, Ray (1964), The Nature of Psychological Inquiry, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, OCLC 191376
- Hyman, Ray (1989), The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research, Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-504-0, OCLC 19455101
- Andrus, Jerry; Hyman, Ray (2000), Andrus Card Control, Eugene, OR: Chazpro Magic, OCLC 65215589
References
- ^ Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon Faculty Information, Eugene, Oregon: University of Oregon, http://psychweb.uoregon.edu/faculty/facultyinfo.htm#Hyman, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ a b c Shermer, Michael (January 1998), The Truth is Out There & Ray Hyman Wants to Find It, Skeptic Magazine, archived from the original on August 28, 2005, http://web.archive.org/web/20050828185528/http://www.skeptic.com/archives03.html, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ a b c Ask The Scientists: Water, Water Everywhere -- Ray Hyman, PBS.ORG, http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3282_rhyman.html, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ Hyman, Ray (1953), Stimulus information as a determinant of reaction time, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University, pp. 30, OCLC 30554829
- ^ a b Alcock, James (March/April 2004), "In Praise of Ray Hyman", Skeptical Inquirer 28 (2), http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-03/ray-hyman.html, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ Hyman, Ray, Guide to "Cold Reading", Australian Skeptics, http://www.skeptics.com.au/articles/coldread.htm, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ Novella, Steven (May 17, 2006). "Episode #43". The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. http://www.theskepticsguide.org/archive/podcastinfo.aspx?mid=1&pid=43. Retrieved July 27, 2009. (This is his first podcast interview, it runs from 27:34 to 1:04:50)
- ^ 2008 Order of Merlin Inductees and Awardees, The International Brotherhood of Magicians, July 22, 2008, http://www.magician.org/portal/en/node/296, retrieved July 27, 2009 (Hyman is listed as a Shield Awardee - 35 continuous years)
- ^ a b c Ray Hyman - Honorary Degree Recipient, Vancouver, BC, Canada: Simon Fraser University, October 4, 2007, http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/Stories/sfunews100407013.shtml, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ The Skeptic's Toolbox 2009 Registration, Eugene, Oregon: The Skeptics Toolbox, http://www.skepticstoolbox.org/registration, retrieved July 27, 2009
- ^ "The Amaz!ng Meeting 7 Speakers". James Randi Educational Foundation. February 23, 2009. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/37-static/448-the-amazing-meeting-7-speakers.html. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ Frazier, Kendrick; Barry Karr (January/February 2011), "CSI(COP) Renews and Expands Executive Council, Plans for Future Activities", Skeptical Inquirer (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) 35 (1): 5.
- ^ http://www.ncas.org/2010/04/apr-24-ncas-philip-j-klass-award.html retrieved April 24, 2010
External links
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| Name |
Hyman, Ray |
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| Short description |
American professor of psychology |
| Date of birth |
1928-6-23 |
| Place of birth |
Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA |
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