Professor Richard Wiseman latest distinguished supporter

February 9, 2015

Professor Richard Wiseman announced as latest Distinguished Supporter of Humanist Society Scotland

Prof. Wiseman earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh and is now Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where he has gained an international reputation for research into the psychology of luck, self-help, persuasion, and illusion. As well as his significant achievements as an experimental psychologist, Prof. Wiseman is also an accomplished magician and advocate for skepticism.

Prof. Wiseman’s research has been featured on over 150 television programmes, including Horizon, Equinox and World in Action, and he has received various awards for his work, including the CSICOP Public Education In Science Award, the Joseph Lister Award For Social Science, and the Perrott Warrick Scholarship from Trinity College Cambridge. He was recently listed in the Independent On Sunday’s top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live.

Speaking after the news of Prof. Wiseman’s appointment as a Distinguished Supporter of HSS, the society’s acting chief executive, Ian Scott, said:

“We’re honoured to have Prof. Wiseman as a Distinguished Supporter of the Society; his contribution to the public understanding of a rational, evidence-based approach to life is hugely valued by humanists.

“Prof. Wiseman will be well known to the vast majority of humanists in Scotland, and beyond. His work to develop natural explanations for seemingly supernatural phenomena demonstrates how susceptible we can be to wishful thinking, and shows the importance of understanding the evidence for certain claims.”

Wiseman said:

“It’s a great privilege to be appointed a Distinguished Supporter of Humanist Society Scotland.

“It is vital that those who don’t believe in god or other mystical beings are given a voice in society, and I am delighted to help Humanist Society Scotland fulfil this vital role”