I'm at the 46th conference for the Society of Psychical Research

My first experience of an SPR conference and it's nice. Very chill. People are friendly. So far I've got lucky and had meals sitting next to Adrian Parker and Ed May. And I've already met several others who I was keen to speak to. 

So far the best talk has been Adrian Parker's, about potential NDEs in people who "died" under freezing conditions and were in that state for hours before being resuscitated. The research hasn't begun yet but it sounds interesting.

Thanks for being there, hope it goes well.

I was wondering, did Adrian Parker mention the difficulty of amnesia in such cold conditions. I'm aware of one instance where a woman was dead for a very long time in very cold conditions on a mountaintop. Afterwards, she could not recall the period prior to the event, where she had hiked up the mountain with a partner. That is, we can't tell whether or not there was an interesting NDE which was not recalled, but it is known that there was a real-world journey to the location which was not recalled. A whole section of memory was 'blanked-out'.

He didn't talk about that. This is all brand new, and it's only just got ethical clearance to proceed. In fact, a couple of questions after his presentation seemed to give him ideas about what he should be looking for.

My first experience of an SPR conference and it's nice. Very chill. People are friendly. So far I've got lucky and had meals sitting next to Adrian Parker and Ed May. And I've already met several others who I was keen to speak to. 

So far the best talk has been Adrian Parker's, about potential NDEs in people who "died" under freezing conditions and were in that state for hours before being resuscitated. The research hasn't begun yet but it sounds interesting.

I went to the 2013 SPR annual conference (at Swansea or Cardiff - I don't remember which), and also enjoyed it. I found many of the regulars tended to sit together at meals, so it felt a little cliquey at meals time, but I got to talk to other delegates/presenters, and in the main, those presentations were very interesting... lot's of unexpected perspectives, and clever theories, on many subjects I had not seriously investigated. I came away quite invigorated, and would love to go to one again.

Looking forward to some reports, and scanned handouts... if you get any!

I went to the 2013 SPR annual conference (at Swansea or Cardiff - I don't remember which), and also enjoyed it. I found many of the regulars tended to sit together at meals, so it felt a little cliquey at meals time, but I got to talk to other delegates/presenters, and in the main, those presentations were very interesting... 

Yes, there's a bit of that - if you're not in the right place at the right time, it's easy to be frozen out of conversations, but that's true of most large gatherings. Chris Roe is constantly surrounded by people, probably the closest he'll get to feeling like a rock star!

By and large, though, it's easy to start a conversation since everyone seems so friendly and they've all got something interesting to say.

It's the last day and I'll be heading off early but I'm looking forward to a talk about timeslips later this morning.

No handouts, though. I blame covid (and there is an annoying flu going around at the moment).

Oh, and I've met a few people who've read my book, which is very good for the ego.

Oh, and I've met a few people who've read my book, which is very good for the ego.

Kudos

Btw, there are about 50 attending, but at least 20 of those are presenting papers. And a further 20+ people watching online.

I looked at the SPR website and have not been able to find out if the proceedings are being recorded and made available online. In fact the conference seems to be listed as an "upcoming" event. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place. When I lived in the UK I was able to go to a few Scientific and Medical Network events but never attended an SPR conference. Now that I live in New Zealand, I have to rely on such events being recorded and made available online.

I looked at the SPR website and have not been able to find out if the proceedings are being recorded and made available online. 

Everything was broadcast via Zoom and I often saw "recording in progress" on the big screen used for presentations so it should be released online. I worry about the sound quality though, as a lot of speaker wondered around while they spoke.