science

Perrott-Warrick Fund

Perrott-Warrick Fund is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Perrott-Warrick Fund rather than just read about it. In short: The Perrott–Warrick Fund is administered by Trinity College, Cambridge, and awards grants for research in parapsychology. According to Susan Blackmore, it is the second largest source of grants for psychical research in the UK, after the University of Edinburgh's Koestler Parapsychology Unit.

Key takeaways

Perrott-Warrick Fund belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Perrott-Warrick Fund to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Perrott-Warrick Fund from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Perrott–Warrick Fund is administered by Trinity College, Cambridge, and awards grants for research in parapsychology. According to Susan Blackmore, it is the second largest source of grants for psychical research in the UK, after the University of Edinburgh's Koestler Parapsychology Unit. Caroline Watt of the University of Edinburgh has been Perrott–Warrick Senior Researcher since 2010. The position was previously held by Rupert Sheldrake, Richard Wiseman and Nicholas Humphrey.

Background The fund derives from a bequest to Trinity College by Frank Duerdin Perrott in 1937, made in memory of F. W. H. Myers (1843–1901), a fellow of Trinity and founder of the Society for Psychical Research. Another bequest was made to it in 1956 by Frederic Walmsley Warrick. C.D. Broad (1887–1971), Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy and a fellow of Trinity, was interested in parapsychology and until his death chaired the fund's committee of electors. The fund aims to study "mental or physical phenomena which seem prima facie to suggest (a) the existence of supernormal powers of cognition or action in human beings in their present life, or (b) the persistence of the human mind after bodily death." Grant recipients have included Whately Carington (1892–1947), S.G. Soal (1889–1975), Anita Gregory (1925–1984), Stephen I. Abrams (1938–2012), G. Spencer-Brown, Trevor Hall, George Zorab, Alan Gauld, James Webb, Carl Sargent, Richard Broughton, Christopher J. Stephenson, Adrian Parker, Susan Blackmore, Wendy E. Cousins, Chris Roe, Melvyn J. Willin, and Gregory Shushan.

Notes

Further reading Sheldrake, Rupert. Perrott-Warrick lecture, University of Cambridge, 9 February 2011.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Perrott-Warrick Fund

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Perrott-Warrick Fund claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Perrott-Warrick Fund before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Perrott-Warrick Fund ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Perrott-Warrick Fund

In research: Perrott-Warrick Fund appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Perrott-Warrick Fund in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Perrott-Warrick Fund is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Parapsychology, Trinity College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Perrott-Warrick Fund outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Perrott-Warrick Fund in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Perrott-Warrick Fund means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Perrott-Warrick Fund out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Perrott-Warrick Fund in simple terms?

Why does Perrott-Warrick Fund matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Perrott-Warrick Fund?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Perrott-Warrick Fund.