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| February 2026 |
SSE's February Babies are in Good Company
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A Year of Learning, Connection, and Renewal… As we move into February, the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) enters 2026 with a clear intention: this will be a year defined by education, growth, and the revitalization of our core mission. For more than four decades, SSE has served as a meeting ground for scientists, scholars, and explorers who are willing to cross disciplinary boundaries in pursuit of a deeper understanding. This year, we are leaning fully into that heritage. Across the months ahead, members will see an expansion of both online and in‑person opportunities designed to spark learning and foster dialogue. Our Maverick Talks series continues to bring bold thinkers into conversation with our community, offering perspectives that challenge assumptions and open new lines of inquiry. Our quarterly webinars will broaden that reach, creating accessible spaces for members around the world to engage with emerging research, methodological debates, and the philosophical questions that animate frontier science. We are also strengthening our in‑person gatherings. The annual conference in June will be a centerpiece of this year’s educational arc—a place where interdisciplinary exchange happens not just in formal sessions, but in hallways, over meals, and in the spontaneous conversations that have always been the lifeblood of SSE. These moments of shared curiosity are where new collaborations begin and where the culture of exploration renews itself. At the same time, the Journal of Scientific Exploration continues to publish work that pushes beyond conventional boundaries. This year’s editorial vision emphasizes diversity of topic and method, reflecting the Society’s commitment to a broad, integrative approach to scientific inquiry. From anomalistics to consciousness studies, from frontier physics to the philosophy of science, the Journal remains a platform for rigorous, open‑minded scholarship. What ties all of these efforts together is a return to our roots: interdisciplinary dialogue. SSE was founded on the belief that progress often emerges at the edges—where fields overlap, where assumptions are questioned, and where researchers are willing to entertain possibilities that fall outside standard models. In a time when many scientific communities are becoming increasingly specialized, SSE offers something rare and necessary: a space where diverse perspectives can meet, challenge one another, and grow. This year, I invite every member to take part in that renewal. Attend a webinar. Join a discussion. Submit an article. Reach out to someone working in a field different from your own. The strength of SSE has always come from the collective curiosity of its members, and 2026 offers more avenues than ever to participate. Education is not simply the transmission of knowledge—it is the cultivation of a community that learns together. Growth is not merely expansion—it is the deepening of our shared commitment to inquiry. As we step into this year of learning and connection, I am confident that SSE will continue to be a home for those who explore the frontiers of science with rigor, imagination, and courage. Let’s make 2026 a year of discovery, dialogue, and renewed purpose. |
In Memoriam Our extraordinary colleague and friend, Steve Braude is gone, passing from this world on January 3, 2026. Our community of psi-interested people lost a wonderful example of the curiosity and rigorous thinking that defines us at our best. Steve was a professional philosopher, but his wide-ranging intelligence informed him deeply in many fields of intellectual relevance to the study of psi and anomalies. As a result, his books, papers, and essays became go-to classics for researchers in our field looking for theoretical and practical perspectives on the remarkable phenomena and data we explore.
Judith "Judy" Vermeland-Wendt, who with her late husband Prof. Hans Wendt, were long time SSE members, passed away peacefully at her home in Minneapolis on January 12, 2026. Many SSE members knew the gregarious Hans, but Judy usually sat quietly doing needlepoint while listening to presentations. She was very sociable at other times however, with a lively sense of humor, a ready wit, and keen intelligence. Call for Applications: Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Scientific Exploration The Society for Scientific Exploration invites visionary leaders in frontier science to apply for the role of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE). Since 1987, JSE has been the premier venue for bold, peer-reviewed research across disciplines from anomalous phenomena to philosophical reflections on science itself. This volunteer position offers the chance to shape the future of frontier science, guide emerging thinkers, and set editorial direction for Volume 41 and beyond. Candidates should hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent), have a strong publication record, and bring collaborative leadership and editorial experience. Deadline: March 20, 2026 Submit CV and letter of interest to: Mark Urban Lurain, Ph.D., Chair of the JSE Search Committee -- secretary@scientificexploration.org Remember! Apply for New Frontier Science Grants SSE is thrilled to announce a new round of Frontier Science Grants funded by SSE member Josh Mitteldorf. These grants support bold, tightly designed experiments that push into areas where mainstream science rarely looks, inviting researchers to test plant psychokineses, biological transmutation, and Lamarckian inheritance with modern rigor. The program welcomes proposals from independent investigators, academic researchers, or early-career scientists. Awards amounts are intentionally uncapped to encourage ambitious, high-leverage experiments capable of producing clear, publishable results that advance knowledge in these three topic areas. If you have a project that challenges assumptions, probes anomalies, or revisits neglected findings with contemporary methods, we invite you to apply. These grants are designed to empower courageous, disciplined inquiry and to strengthen SSE's mission of advancing scientific exploration at the edges of the known. Proposal guidelines and submission details are available on the SSE website. Upcoming MAVERICK Talks: Interactive Virtual Chats about Bold Ideas MAVERICK = Monthly Adventures Via Exploration, Revealing Inquiry, Curiosity, and Knowledge. Help us shape the future of scientific exploration - one bold idea at a time! SSE's monthly virtual forum, where members can share works-in-progress, spark fresh inquiry, and receive thoughtful feedback from fellow explorers. Whether you're refining a method, testing a hypothesis or navigating a controversial topic, this is your space to engage, reflect, and grow. When & Where: Second Sunday of each month (unless a quarterly webinar is scheduled) 1-hour Zoom sessions at 5PM ET | 4PM CT | 3PM MT| 2PM PT More Information and Upcoming talks:
SSE's 44th Annual Conference: Evidence & Encounters - Two Paths to Exploring the Unexplained Join us in person June 17-21, 2026 at the Denver Marriott Westminster Hotel in Westminster, Colorado. The Call for abstracts has been extended to Monday, February 23, 2026. Call for Abstracts and Submission Information Registration and hotel reservations are open now! 2026 Conference Registration and Hotel Reservations We are expanding the conversation! SSE is now live on Substack and YouTube creating spaces for deeper analysis, recorded talks, member spotlights, and conversations that don’t fit neatly into traditional academic formats. Subscribe, watch, comment, and share—your engagement helps grow a community committed to serious exploration and thoughtful debate. |
Originally from China, Simon moved to the United Kingdom in the 1980s, where he earned a PhD in materials science from the University of Cambridge. He previously served as Vice President of the Chinese Parapsychology Association. Please talk about your career journey and what led you to your current work? I came from China to the UK in 1980s as a student and completed my formal education with a PhD in material science from Cambridge university. For years after that, I lived my childhood dream as a scientist, researching new materials—metals, plastics, ceramics—to solve real-world challenges. It was fulfilling work, grounded in the physical world. But then, an unexpected encounter shifted my perspective. In the early 2000s, during a business trip in China, a painful wisdom tooth led me to an unconventional Chinese medicine man—some might call him a “witch doctor.” I was sceptical but intrigued, especially seeing photos of prominent figures, from Communist Party leaders to celebrities, lining his clinic’s walls. To my amazement, he removed my tooth effortlessly, without anaesthesia. Over lunch, I pressed him: What did you do? He casually claimed an ancient incantation that “loosens” teeth, enabling painless removal. True or not, that moment ignited my curiosity about the so-called psi phenomena. As a child, I devoured a popular science book called “10,000 Whys”, which explained the universe through science. Curiosity drove me to become a scientist, but this experience supercharged it. I dove into paranormal research, joining communities like the Society for Psychical Research in the UK and the International Parapsychology Association. I even served as vice president of the Chinese Parapsychology Association. Through fieldwork, I witnessed extraordinary abilities: telepathy, remote viewing, precognition, psychokinesis, and thoughtography—mental images appearing on films. These experiences were both thrilling and maddening. Thrilling, because they felt like real magic, opening my mind to the impossible. Maddening, because they defied the materialist worldview I’d built my career on. For years, I wrestled with this intellectual itch, trying to explain the unexplainable. Then I learned to let go. I set aside rigid materialist assumptions and listened to psi practitioners describe alternate states of consciousness that enable these phenomena. They spoke of transcendent realities—realms beyond the physical where a higher self operates, influencing our world in ways we can barely grasp. This realization led me to modeling the higher self and transcendent realities. What do you find most rewarding about your research in frontier science? Most mainstream theories of consciousness adopt a materialist paradigm, assuming that consciousness is solely a byproduct of brain activity and the content of consciousness is reducible to physical processes. However, mounting evidence from psi research challenges this view. For science to advance, a paradigm shift toward a postmaterialist framework is urgently needed—one that considers consciousness as fundamental and non-local. I find it most rewarding to develop and contribute a model of reality rooted in cosmic idealism that offers a solution to the inverse hard problem of consciousness: how matter arises out of consciousness. In Platonic computation model, metaconsciousness (the power to be self-aware, conceive and perceive) is the most fundamental and irreducible existence. Creation of all else is rendered by the platonic computer that is made by, of, with and from metaconsciousness. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how have you overcome them? Platonic computation models the cosmos as a multiverse of multiple nested parallel universes. Each layer of reality corresponds to a universe rendered at a distinct clock speed of the platonic computer. The physical universe is one of many parallel universes. Although transcendent realities beyond the physical reality can be experienced in altered states of consciousness, they are not readily accessible in normal state of consciousness or by material instruments. Hence the biggest challenge is to test the model’s prediction about the transcendent realities experimentally. Luckily, computer simulation has now become a type of experiment and is used extensively in many disciplines in mainstream science, such as astrophysics, quantum mechanics and engineering. By manipulating a material computer to render virtual reality, we can simulate Platonic computer renders the physical and transcendent realities. By manipulating a material computer to render virtual psi phenomena, we can simulate the Platonic computer renders real world psi phenomena. How has being a part of SSE benefited you both professionally and personally? It is always personally fulfilling to be with like-minded people. I have learnt a lot from fellow member’s sharing. As a theory developer, I am acutely aware that my model is far from being mature and complete. Its shortcomings include insufficient evidence to support the hypothesis, vague formulations, and a failure to make decisive, falsifiable predictions. SSE, with its large pool of accomplished scientist membership can be an incubator for post materialist science paradigm. Fellow model developers can support each other by identifying model’s weaknesses, strengthening arguments, and improving models. Indeed, I have received many constructive critiques from fellow members of SSE, to which I am extremely grateful. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in frontier science? We are privileged to live in the midst of a scientific revolution, witnessing modern science adapt and expand to answer humanity’s most pressing questions about life, the universe, and our place within it. The scope of scientific research has continually broadened, addressing increasingly complex and abstract phenomena such as information, intelligence, and consciousness—subjects that demand a new science paradigm to handle. Paradigm shift demands our collective effort and there are fantastic opportunities for each one of us to contribute in our own way. So, aim to be a science revolutionary! |
Dr. Simon Duan is a materials scientist turned consciousness researcher whose work spans psychical research, transpersonal psychology, artificial intelligence, and the emerging metaverse. He is the originator of Platonic Computation, a postmaterialist scientific framework that models consciousness as fundamental and offers theoretical accounts of psi-related phenomena, including extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, post-mortem survival, and UAP. Simon is an adjunct professor at Sofia University, where he teaches doctoral-level courses in Parapsychology, Transpersonal Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence. He is also the founder and CEO of Metacomputics Labs, a research and consulting organization focused on consciousness studies and psi-related inquiry.CRISPR is incredible - scientists can now edit genes with precision. Meanwhile, the rest of us still can't edit a text message without sending three follow-ups. |
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