Professor of History and Theory of Psychology at the University of Edinburgh.
Author of books and articles on curious topics such as magic, psychic phenomena, belief, wonder and critical thinking.
In the last century, he worked as a magician.
A while back, I wrote some books …
‘Lamont has finally managed to unravel the bizarre truth behind the world’s tallest tale ... the book is also quirky and expertly written’
- DERREN BROWN
‘Lamont disentangles the gargantuan knot of lies and sets the record straight with a joyful vengeance ... that’s just they way I like my historians’
- TELLER (of Penn and Teller), New York Times.
‘Peter Lamont is perfectly placed to write the first balanced biography of one of the most notorious of Victorian gentleman. The First Psychic is enchanting’
- SIMON SINGH, Sunday Times
‘Peter Lamont’s shrewd and often very funny book distils the perplexities of an age … a serious and thought-provoking book about how we witness and interpret the world’
- HILARY MANTEL, New Statesman
My research is (mostly) on the history of curious psychological things …
Magic
Spiritualism
Belief
Wonder
Critical Thinking
My work has been discussed, at various times, by Financial Times, The Sunday Times, The Times, and The Times Literary Supplement, and in various other places from The Guardian and New Statesman to The Telegraph and The Spectator, from the Calcutta Telegraph to the Chicago Tribune, New York Times and Time Out, and once on the front page of The Independent (it was a quiet day).
… and I’ve done some other things
According to Charles Darwin, this gesture is used ‘when a man wishes to show that he cannot do something’. Darwin called it ‘impotence’. But what did Darwin know? I think it shows humility …
I’m a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a former Arts and Humanities Research Council Fellow in the Creative and Performing Arts, and a past Secretary of the British Psychological Society (History and Philosophy of Psychology Section). I’ve also been a consultant to the BBC, appeared on various programmes, such as The One Show (BBC1) and Midweek (BBC Radio 4), spoken at book festivals, science festivals, art galleries and theatres, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, The Magic Circle (London) and the Magic Castle (Los Angeles), co-founded (with Richard Wiseman) the Edinburgh Secret Society - I can’t talk about that - and once appeared as a clue on the American quiz show, Jeopardy - I can’t explain that.