Career
Beyerstein received his B.A. from Simon Fraser University in 1968, and a Ph.D. in Experimental and Biological Psychology from the UC Berkeley in 1973. In the 1970s Beyerstein collaborated with his colleague Bruce K. Alexander on the famous Rat Park study of addiction.
He has been publicly critical of unsupported claims of techniques to improve brain function. In the book Mind Myths Beyerstein sets out seven kinds of evidence refuting the ten percent myth including the fact that if even a tiny part of the brain is injured, there will be an effect on the subject. If the 10% statement were accurate then the brain could take more damage without effecting the quality of life.
At the Skeptic's Toolbox in 1993, Beyerstein laid out the unified theory by psychologists concerning brain function and the paranormal. "This theory holds that all mental phenomena are products of the physical brain and that when the brain is destroyed or severely damaged, consciousness ceases forever." The physical-brain viewpoint, "is supported by evolution, by the development of the individual human being, by pharmacological experiments, and by research on the effects of accidents affecting the brain."
While working as a Professor at Simon Fraiser, Beyerstein was asked to oversee an approval of a pro-parapsychology class. He assembled the writings of “some of the leading figures in the nascent skeptics alliance that Paul Kurtz was in the process of forging.” This is when Beyerstein became aware of CSICOP “and got hooked on it”. After writing for Skeptical Inquirer magazine (1985–88) Beyerstein was elected to the Executive Council.
Concerning Beyerstein's views of the skeptical community, “I have enjoyed my association with CSICOP so thoroughly as the opportunity it has afforded me to meet so many world scholars. I think the work that they do in the skeptical arena is often underappreciated in academic circles because many specialists fail to grasp the potential consequences of the strong antirational and antisciencific trends in modern society. They see no pressing need to oppose something publicly that they see as transparently ridiculous”.
He also made an appearance in the first season of the television show Penn and Teller: Bullshit! to discuss the scientific basis of near-death experiences. "Near death experiences are generated by brain function and they don't prove there is an afterlife... these are complex hallucinations that are taking place in the theater of one's own mind."
In an article for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, titled "Why Bogus Therapies Seem to Work", Beyerstein outlined ten errors and biases that can lead people to incorrectly perceive medical benefits from ineffective treatments.
Read more about this topic: Barry Beyerstein
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