Professor of Anthropology John Baker’s Multicultural Day lecture, entitled “Nature, Nurture and Supernature,” will explore the human perception of the world and why we sometimes see it as “supernatural.”

The lecture will be held in PS 115 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“People sometimes see flashes of light or feel like something is in the room with them,” Baker said. “Do we need a supernatural explanation for that? Do we have a tendency to see those things around us?”

Baker acknowledges this tendency, and explains that it is in our nature to see things as supernatural.

“Our brains are ‘wired’ to see spirits which our culture then tries to explain,” he said.

There is a distinction, however, between what is dictated by nature and nurture.

“Our biology shapes how we perceive the world and our culture tells us what those things mean,” he said.

He explained further that once people realize this quality in them, they might change their perception of the world.

Baker said, “We can nurture these qualities in us so that the universe is more majestic and more strange than our culture tells us.”