A Little bit About Me:
(the above photo was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
in Tennessee)
Luis A. Cordón, Ph.D.
Associate professor and psychology department chair
Office: Webb 125
Phone/voice mail: 465-5289
e-mail: cordonl@easternct.edu
My undergraduate work was done at LSU, in Baton Rouge,
LA.
My M.A. and Ph.D. are both from the University
of Notre Dame.
One of my unusual areas of interest: Exploring why so many people believe
in so many odd things (or why so many have trouble telling that the X-files
is fiction). One source on the net which is very helpful in this regard
is the Committee for the Scientific Investigation
of Claims of the Paranormal (aka CSICOP). Just click on their name
to check out their web site. They publish a journal, the Skeptical Inquirer,
that's a lot of fun, too.
One other great source of the truth about pseudoscience is James Randi,
a magician who's been fighting off nonsense for years. We were fortunate
enough to get him here for a lecture in the spring of 2002, and he also
came and spoke to the Research Methods class. Here he is:
His extremely cool web site, home of the James Randi Educational Foundation,
is here.
Ever heard of the giant alligators in our sewers? Or the $250 Mrs.
Field's/Neiman-Marcus/Waldorf/chocolate-chip-cookie/red velvet cake (multiple
variations on the same long-circulating stories)? Or the story about gang
initiates driving around with headlights off and killing you if you flash
yours at them? Or that "Mikey" from the old Life cereal commercials died
in a freak accident involving effervescent candy and a Coke (or a Pepsi,
depending on which version you've heard)? Or hypodermic needles in our
soda cans? How about the freezing of Walt Disney's head? Or that Frank
Zappa's father was Mr. Green Jeans on the old Captain Kangaroo show? These
all have two things in common: They are not true, and they are all widely
believed by otherwise reasonable people. These are all spread via such
phrases as "I heard somewhere" or "My friend knows someone who knows someone
else who was there!" or "It happened to my grandmother's gardener's wife,
man!" They are urban legends, and a truly fascinating collection of them
(and frequently, their more prosaic explanations) is here.
The Web has become a remarkable source of psychological information
over the last few years--here, by topic, are a few of my favorite surf
zones:
Biological Bases of Behavior--Try clicking here
for the Whole Brain Atlas--everything you ever wanted to know about the
brain plus a sizable helping of stuff you might prefer not to know.
Today in the History
of Psychology--needs no further explanation, really.
The Skeptic's Dictionary is another
excellent resource regarding all things questionable and pseudoscientific.
Aah, the danger of letting Amateurs use Photoshop!
