BARRY MARKOVSKY

I'm a social psychologist. I've been lucky to have enjoyed a long career full of exciting research projects on such topics as networks, power, status, justice, and how people influence one another's perceptions and beliefs. 

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For the last few years I’ve backed off academic publishing and focused instead on writing for everyday people. The result has been, among other things, a series of much-read articles at TheConversation.com, and this new book, Everyday Extraordinary. It turns out that most of what I've learned about other sociological and psychological topics helps to explain why popular beliefs in astrology, ESP, ghosts, UFOs, and many other fringe claims are held so dearly by so many.

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In 2020 I retired from my job as a sociology professor and moved to Western North Carolina where I write (and hike and play music and cook and socialize and live) to my heart’s content.