The Science of Hypnosis

When?

Where?
Who?
What's the talk about?

An exploration of the facts and an explosion of the myths around the
topic of hypnosis. Topics covered may include: the history of hypnosis
and mesmerism; hypnotherapy; stage hypnosis; the nature of the
conscious mind, the unconscious and the so-called "trance" state;
hypnosis and memory recall; past life regression; whether hypnosis can
really make people believe things they would not otherwise believe or
do things they may not otherwise do, or anything that takes his fancy.

Zoltán Dienes is Professor of Experimental Psychology at The
University of Sussex. His primary interests are the distinction
between conscious and unconscious mental states, both states of
knowing and intending. For example, much of the knowledge we acquire
for dealing with the world appears to be unconscious. We can learn to
use certain linguistic structures, to appreciate certain styles of
music, to obey cultural rules, or to gain perceptual motor mastery of
a domain without consciously knowing the underlying regularities. How
is such knowledge acquired? By what methods can know whether knowledge
is conscious or unconscious? What type of structures can be learnt
unconsciously? How can such learning be computationally modelled? He
is also interested in hypnosis, a way of acting which he argues is
intentional but the person is strategically unaware of those
intentions.

Entry £2.

Advance tickets available from the venue's website, and include a voucher giving £2 off any main meal in the pub on the day of the event. Here's the menu.