Who is Richard Wiseman?
Richard Wiseman is a Psychology professor at the University of Hertfordshire. He has written many books about the way we think, including 59 Seconds and Shoot for the Moon. He also has a YouTube channel, Quirkology, where he showcases fun tricks and “bets” to try with your friends.
Early Life
Richard Wiseman was born in Luton on 17 September 1966. His mother a seamstress and his father was an engineer. When he was a teenager, he bacame interested in magic and began performing on the streets on Covent Garden when he wasn’t at school. At eighteen, he continued as a street performer, until he went to University College London, studying psychology. He says he mainly went there because it was “right around the corner”. After that, he realised he was extremely interested in the way the mind works and obtained a PhD in psychology from the University of Edinburgh.
Career
Soon after leaving university, he started teaching at the University of Hertfordshire. His first major appearance was when he partnered with Simon Singh in a BBC programme about lying. It was the first time they had met, yet they got on so well that they ended up making their own TV show together – Theatre of Science.
He has written many books while teaching as well; fifteen in total. They are mainly about “teaching people to be a bit more skeptical”, although he has written books about memory, sleep, luck and other things.
In 2001, Wiseman led LaughLab – a test to find world’s funniest joke. It involved lots of people submitting and rating jokes. Here is the winning joke:
Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says, “Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence; then a gun shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, “OK, now what?”
richardwiseman.com/…/laughlab
Currently, he still teaches in Hertfordshire, but also tours the country giving speeches and lectures.
Quirkology
In 2007, he started his YouTube channel, Quirkology. It demonstrated fun games and tricks to play on your friends. It is best known for its “Bets You Will Always Win” series, which has amassed over 60 million views combined since it began.
How Richard Wiseman has influenced me
Richard Wiseman inspired me to get into magic with his YouTube channel and his book, “101 Bets You Will Always Win” (based on the videos). They contain lots of fun tricks to do on your friends that are fun, inventive and easy. They are also cheap and doable, unlike many other videos/books showcasing similar tricks.
Wiseman’s books have also inspired me; two in particular. “Paranormality” is about the science of the abnormal and why our brains trick us into thinking things are there that are not. It’s also about being skeptical and how so-called “psychics” manage to trick people into believing in the paranormal. It has lots of interesting ideas and makes you think.
“The Luck Factor” was written to demonstrate the differences between luck and chance, and how you can improve your luck using science and psychology. It appeals to my love of science and has many original concepts and studies performed by Richard Wiseman himself.
In the future, I would like to create my own videos/website on science experiments and tricks, as I think it is a fun and engaging way to communicate with your friends while learning something at the same time.
Leo T 