More than your usual variety of academics have applied for a professorship in parapsychology being offered by Lund University, the first in Sweden and the subject of some dispute in the Nordic country's academic circles.

According to Jitka Lindén, head of the Department of Psychology at the university, just a third of the 30 or so applicants are scientifically qualified for the position.

“Some people had misunderstood what it means to be a professor. I had to answer all kinds of questions on the telephone before the applications were due,” Lindén told The Scientist. “For example, one person asked if it was enough to be a medium to apply for the position.”

The story of the post goes back some 40 years, to the will of a Danish margarine manufacturer who died in 1962. Funds to set up such a post were first offered to universities in Copenhagen and Stockholm, none of which accepted the donation.

Gudmund Smith, professor emeritus in psychology at Lund University, was involved at that time. “I knew the people who said no. They were afraid of hurting their reputation. The spontaneous reaction was that these subjects could not be worked on,” says Smith, who is a self-described skeptic.

But he's now been convinced that serious research could be done on the subject, although he thinks it may be fruitless. “I can't see at all that this could hurt us in Lund. But I was hesitant in the beginning, thinking it an odd bird to place at our institution.”

“It was my principal that made me change my mind,” he adds. “He said the money may come in handy.”