Susan Blackmore

Dr.Susan Jane Blackmore (http://www.integralworld.net/diem-lane9.html (Integra lworld))

When I was young, I always wondered what went on in other people's minds, and what they were thinking of. Then when I was older, I discovered paranormal and supernatural activities. I never knew if they were real or not. Now, as a high school student, I am always on the lookout for new information about the human mind and its effect on behavior. That is when I discovered Susan Blackmore, a psychologist and writer of several books about telekinesis and paranormal activity. I am fascinated by her research and theories about our brain's mysterious capabilities. She seems so unique and passionate that it makes me want to find out more about her and possibly become a Psychologist myself one day. That is how I became aware of my Personal Career Hero, Susan Blackmore.

There are many different types of Psychologists. Child, Clinical, Consumer, Community, Developmental, Educational, Engineering, and Forensic Psychologists are all different types that people can pursue. Also, many jobs can require some kind of knowledge of psychology, such as a teacher or pediatric doctor. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook website, the bare minimum of education is a bachelor's degree in psychology, but most programs require a doctoral degree or a doctorate (PhD) in psychology as well. As of 2015 the pay is $69,280 but since they can be independent in their job, they can make up to $90,000 a year. The range of pay for a Psychologist is therefore wide. The job outlook of 12% for 2012-2020 is average. But industrialized-organizational psychologists have the biggest chance to get hired. Psychology is a very interesting career to go into because there are always new discoveries being made about the human mind and how it works. You get to make theories and if you go into a residency, you can help others every day. Being a psychologist means you can help fix problems and learn fascinating information every day. You can make a difference in people's life.

Dr.Susan Jane Blackmore (http://superscholar.org/features/influential-athei (Super Scholar))

On her official website, susanblackmore.co.uk, Dr. Blackmore states she was a very curious girl when she was young. In high school, she was smart and later went to Oxford University in England. She graduated from St. Hilda's College, Oxford, with a BA (Hons) degree in psychology and physiology. After getting her PhD in Psychology, she wrote a book called The Meme Machine which was published in April, 2000 by her supporting college that she later became a professor at, Oxford University Press. The fascinating book was scholarly work. Her Wikipedia page also states she was a Parapsychologist, skeptic, freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster. Susan Blackmore even had her own TED talk in 2008! In this talk, she discussed her theory of memes and temes to over hundreds of people. According to google, a meme is "an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by no genetic means, especially imitation." Also, according to her Wikipedia page, in the 1980s, Blackmore did an experiment that later became known in her field. She conducted a psychokinesis experiments to see if her baby daughter, Emily could influence a random number generator. Now a day, she is still making contributions to many different books and blogging on her own website about her experiences and her life.

Dr. Susan Blackmore has made many contributions to books about Psychology and memes because she is so passionate about the topic. She also has had many talks and interviews to help others get a better understanding of her work. A coworker of hers named Uri Geller, from the Jerusalem Post, gave their opinion about Susan and her book The Meme Machine, "The central theme, that we are all meme machines which evolved as propagators for ideas, is wonderfully controversial. Humans have no intrinsic value, she implies - we are only as good as the ideas we spread. We were invented to help ideas travel, just like fax machines and books and the Internet. We are human telephones, born to breed thoughts. If Dr. Blackmore is simply a machine; I have to concede that she is firing on all eight cylinders." Others support her book and enjoy the theme. One of her most famous quotes are "Consciousness is an illusion constructed by the memes." This quote has helped other people better understand her theory.

Dr. Susan Blackmore has inspired me to become a creative and successful psychologist like herself. Beginning now in high school, I will be taking both Introductory and Advanced Placement Psychology. There is also a psychology club at the school that I can participate in. The college I am working to get to is Stanford University, for their psychology and writing programs. I also want to go to medical school and major in psychology to understand how the mind really works and how I can better understand how to help others with their mental thoughts and struggles. I would rather become a clinical psychologist than just do research, like Blackmore; in other words, I would rather verbally and physically connect with my patients in person, not a book or a big crowd. But a hobby of mine could be trying to discover how the mind can so powerfully control the body. Dr. Susan Blackmore has truly inspired me to be unique in the way I see things and how I see things. I can discover, explore, and create theories that, at first, sound completely crazy. Then, like Blackmore, I can prove those theories and make the whole world believe it!