Welcome
Why do some people lead happy successful lives whilst others face repeated failure and sadness?
Why are some people always in the right place at the right time, while others are always unlucky? For many years psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has worked with some of the world’s luckiest and unluckiest people to answer these fascinating questions. Discover the results of his work and find out how ‘The Luck Factor’ can change your life. Professor Richard Wiseman has been described by one Scientific American columnist as ‘….the most interesting and innovative experimental psychologist in the world today’. He has written several best-selling popular psychology books (including The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and 59 Seconds), and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His YouTube channel has received over 350 million views and is one of the most watched channels in the UK. Richard was listed in the Independent On Sunday’s top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live, and has acted as a consultant for Derren Brown, Brain Games, Your Bleeped Up Brain, and Mythbusters. Richard began his working life as a professional magician and is a Member of the Inner Magic Circle. He completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh and currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology (University of Hertfordshire). His research has been published in some of the world’s leading academic journals, and he has delivered keynote addresses to organisations across the world, including The Swiss Economic Forum, Google and Amazon.The Luck Factor by Prof. Richard Wiseman
5.30pm – 6.30pm The Luck Factor Professor Richard Wiseman, University of Hertfordshire
The Whitla Hall Queen’s University Belfast
Monday 22 February, 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm
Professor Richard Wiseman has been described by one Scientific American columnist as ‘the most interesting and innovative experimental psychologist in the world today’. He has written several best selling popular psychology books (including The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and 59 Seconds), and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.
His YouTube channel has received over 350 million views and is one of the most watched channels in the UK. Richard was listed in the Independent On Sunday’s top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live, and has acted as a consultant for Derren Brown, Brain Games, Your Bleeped Up Brain, and Mythbusters.
This event is generously supported by the British Psychological Society NI Branch and the School of Psychology in Queen’s University Belfast.
The School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast and The Northern Ireland Branch of the British Psychological Society (NIBPS) welcomes you to an afternoon of ‘Seriously Enjoyable Psychology’ followed by ‘The Luck Factor’ with Professor Richard Wiseman. These events have been designed to give you a flavour of the broad and fascinating discipline that is psychology. We hope they will help to inspire future generations of psychologists. Our speakers are experts from a range of areas within the discipline and we wish to express our gratitude to them for taking the time to present to our audience today. We are sure you will find the day stimulating, informative and enjoyable.
4.30pm-5pm ‘Laughter: a seriously enjoyable social signal’ Dr Gary McKeown, Queen’s University Belfast.
To learn more about our educational programmes, please visit: www.psych.qub.ac.uk
What Makes Us Happy?
Prof Robert Winston
Sunday 28 February, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
What led to French philosopher Michel de Montaigne thanking fortune for the pain he suffered? Or why did Mahler apparently stop composing after his meeting in Holland with Sigmund Freud? Why was Alfred J Prufrock in T S Eliot’s poem so chronically depressed and suffering so much lack of self-esteem? Shall we ever really understand what makes us happy?
To some extent, the ability to be happy is inherited, but social scientists have emphasized that various environmental influences – health, a stable society, economic advantages, play a major role. Professor Winston examines the role of brain imaging, hormone study, sexuality, child development, pharmacology and psychological research in understanding how science may help us be happier. Happy people tend to live longer, and recent research suggests we tend to get happier as we get older. Is this simply because we become more forgetful? Can we make ourselves happier and if so, will knowledge of brain function and how we might manipulate it give us more fulfilled lives?
Tomorrow’s Future Today
Ongoing Throughout the Festival (Closed Mondays), 11am – 5pm
Suitability: All Ages
Free. Drop In Event. Booking by school groups is essential and schools can book by email to [email protected]
Women in Tech
Friday 19 February, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Panel debate sponsored by MCS GroupIn the style of Question Time, Philpott Design hosts an engaging hour long event about diversity in traditionally male sectors. With a panel discussion including 4 influencers chaired by Zoe Philpott, engage in an intelligent and ultimately positive debate on how to develop team diversity at your business and in the wider industry.
Ruth Frizzell – Technical Recruiter EMEA at Proofpoint
Fergal Downey – Director of Engineering at BitNet
Kanthi Prasad – Director of Engineering, Data and Analytics at WhiteHat Security
Living on the Planet of the Machines
Friday 26 February, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Suitability: 16+
Free. Registration Required
We are increasingly adopting automatised technology that guides our finances, social interactions, movements and even international warfare. Should we be worried about robots taking over our decision making? What ethical guidelines should we follow when working with intelligent systems?
Join us with our panel of experts to debate future developments and challenges that we may face as we step further into a planet filled with machines.
Information source & Helpfull links :-
http://www.nisciencefestival.com/
http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/media/Media,585261,en.pdf
This event is sponsored by The British Science Association.
Alternatively, contact us at [email protected] if you would like a tour of our research labs within the School.
To book to attend any of these events visit www.bps.org.uk/ni/events and click on the title of your chosen event.
For any further information please contact Anne Kerr, Branch Advisor [email protected]