Barry Lane Beyerstein
Born	May 19, 1947 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Died	June 25, 2007 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Education	Ph.D., University of California at Berkley (1973)
Occupation	University professor
Spouse(s)	Susan Beyerstein
Children	Lindsay Beyerstein, Loren Beyerstein
Parents	Christine Beyerstein and Hilliard Beyerstein

Dr. Barry L Beyerstein, Ph.D. (May 19, 1947 - June 25, 2007) was professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. Beyerstein's research explored brain mechanisms of perception and consciousness, the effects of drugs on the brain and mind, sense of smell and its lesser-known contributions to human cognition and emotion.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Personal life

Beyerstein was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He died suddenly at age 60 in his office on Burnaby Mountain, of an apparent heart attack.^[1]

He is survived by his brother Dale, his wife Suzi, his daughter Lindsay, and his son Loren. He is predeceased by his father, Hilliard Beyerstein.

[edit] Career

Beyerstein received his B.A. from Simon Fraser University in 1968, and a Ph.D. in Experimental and Biological Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1973.^[2]

In the 1970s Beyerstein collaborated with his colleague Bruce Alexander on the famous Rat Park study of addiction.

Beyerstein was a co-founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He was chair of the BC Skeptics Society.

He co-authored a book about handwriting analysis and graphology,^[3] and has been a public critic of such methods, which he identifies as pseudoscience similar to phrenology.^[4]

He has been publicly critical of unsupported claims of techniques to improve brain function.^[5]

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.

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. ^[6]

Beyerstein was close friends with Ray Hyman and together they founded an annual workshop in 1992 in Eugene, Oregon called Skeptic's Toolbox^[7] which is still being held.^[8]

[edit] External links

• SFU Faculty of Psychology: Barry Beyerstein from Wayback archive
• BCSkeptics: Barry Beyerstein
• CSICOP: In Memory
• "Trio of students-turned-faculty celebrate four decades on the hill" at Simon Fraser University website

[edit] References

1. ^ Rolfson, C. (June 30, 2007), "Renowned SFU skeptic dies of heart attack", The Vancouver Sun, http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=081b5f7f-3581-4536-82e8-d501be00a74a, retrieved July 28, 2009 
2. ^ "CURRICULUM VITAE: Barry Lane Beyerstein". February 12, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070306022815/www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/beyerstein/CV.pdf. Retrieved July 28, 2009. 
3. ^ Beyerstein, Barry L. (1992). The Write Stuff: Evaluations of Graphology, the Study of Handwriting Analysis. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. pp. 515. ISBN 9780879756123. OCLC 23940030. 
4. ^ Ellin, Abby (July 18, 2004), "What Your Handwriting Says About Your Career", The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/18/jobs/what-your-handwriting-says-about-your-career.html, retrieved 2009-07-24 
5. ^ Beadle, Philip (13 June 2006), "Keep your pupils stretched and watered", The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/jun/13/schools.teaching, retrieved 2009-07-24 
6. ^ Beyerstein, Barry L. (September/October 1997), "Why Bogus Therapies Seem to Work", Skeptical Inquirer (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) 21 (5), ISSN 0194-6730, http://www.csicop.org/si/9709/beyer.html, retrieved July 27, 2009 
7. ^ Ray Hyman - Honorary Degree Recipient, Vancouver, BC, Canada: Simon Fraser University, October 4, 2007, http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/Stories/sfunews100407013.shtml, retrieved July 27, 2009 
8. ^ The Skeptic's Toolbox 2009 Registration, Eugene, Oregon: The Skeptics Toolbox, http://www.skepticstoolbox.org/registration, retrieved July 27, 2009