Science of surviving a zombie mob by Sussex University researchers (From The Argus)

Science of surviving a zombie mob by Sussex University researchers

12:40pm Monday 4th February 2013 in News By Peter Truman

A zombie horde attacked a team of university researchers – all in the name of science.

Dr Daniel Bor and colleagues from the University of Sussex fought off an army of ‘undead’ while completing research into the idea of consciousness.

They took part in ZombieLab at the Science Museum in London, which is an event with more than 15 interactive experiences, including collective behaviour experiments, hands-on demonstrations and the live “trial” of a zombie.

The experience, which took place over the weekend, invited thousands of people to imagine the world in the “grip of a zombie outbreak”.

The museum added: “A desperate society would turn to scientists for answers. It could be your key to survival.”

Collective behaviour expert Edd Codling led the fight against a zombie horde by seeing if people can “hide” in the undead crowd.

Dr Keisuke Suzuki recreated the feeling of an out-of-body experience with an immersive demonstration.

A talk on whether zombies are considered conscious while exploring the science of consciousness was then given by Dr Bor.

'Gem of an idea'

The team members work at the university’s Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science.

University of Sussex and Sackler Centre neuroscientist Dr Bor, who is author of the consciousness science book The Ravenous Brain and helped to develop the event, said: “The Science Museum came up with a gem of an idea to use those popular iconic beings, zombies, to explore the science of consciousness, conscious experience and how it can help our understanding of how we perceive the world.

“This intimate yet profound research field is highly relevant to a range of medical issues and ethical questions and I was excited to be helping explain some of the science behind consciousness at ZombieLab.”

Other exhibits at the event included controlling a ball with your brainwaves, a smartphone app based on fleeing a zombie horde and trying to stay alive during the undead apocalypse in a virtual world.

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