In 2009 the Ministry of Defence announced the closure of its UFO desk and the transfer of its surviving records on sightings and reports of unidentified flying objects to The National Archives. The five year open government project became largest release of records, younger than 30 years, in the history of the MoD. 

From 2008-2013 Dr David Clarke acted as consultant to The National Archives for the duration of this open government project. He is the author of nine books including How UFOs Conquered the World: the history of a Modern Myth (Aurum 2015). His latest book, UFO Drawings from The National Archives, was published by Four Corners Books in September 2017.This talk draws upon the contents of the MoD UFO files to examine how accounts of personal experiences and popular belief about UFOs and extra-terrestrial life provide a valuable lexicon of the 20^th century popular imagination.

Biography:

Dr David Clarke has a PhD in Folklore and is Reader in Journalism at the Department of Journalism and Communication, Sheffield Hallam University, specialising in Media Law and Freedom of Information legislation.  In 2018 he was one of the founding members of the Centre for Contemporary Legend, a new research group that forms part of the C3Ri research institute at Sheffield Hallam University.

Conspiracy theories are associated with almost every significant social and political event, including the theory that the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, that the U.K Government murdered Diana, Princess of Wales, or that the pharmaceutical industry deliberately concealed the fact that the MMR vaccine causes Autism. Belief in these types of conspiracy theories is blooming in the 21st century; millions of people subscribe to them. 

A basic understanding of logic, rationality, and probability tell us, however, that most of these conspiracy claims are probably false. So why then do so many people believe them? What makes them so attractive and compelling to people? And, anyway, what’s the problem, aren’t they just harmless fun?

In this talk, Dr Daniel Jolley will take you through the psychology of conspiracy theories. You will learn why people subscribe to conspiracy theories and discuss some of the misconceptions (including whether all conspiracy believers are paranoid!).  He will also uncover some of the potentially damaging consequences of conspiracy theories; maybe they are not just harmless after all, before discussing ongoing research into tools to combat the negative harm of conspiracy theories on individuals and wider society!   

Bio:

Dr Daniel Jolley is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University.  He is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society, where he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Social Psychology Section.  Daniel’s main area of research is the psychology of conspiracy theories. He is particularly interested in using experimental methods to examine the social consequences of exposure to conspiracy theories and test tools to alleviate the negative impact of conspiracy theories on the individual and wider society. Daniel has co-authored articles in outlets such as PLoSONE, the British Journal of Psychology and Political Psychology and has received funding from research bodies such as the British Academy. He blogs at conspiracypsychology.com and tweets @DrDanielJolley

Since being diagnosed with a chronic condition, Heather Pentler has been snooping into the dangerous advice given by various alternative medical practitioners. Her talk will take you through her experiences and how and why this advice is so harmful. From EFT, to GNM Heather asks WTF! 

Heather has been an active skeptic for the last 7 years and has previously spoken about her experiences exposing dodgy alternative medical practices. Heather has been a member of the committee for Edinburgh Skeptics for the last 3 years. Heather's day job is a support worker, working with autistic adults for a charity.