I was born in Kampala, Uganda, "The Pearl of Africa." Before that, my tribe descended from India and, a thousand years before that, from Persia, the homeland of my Zoroastrian ancestors.
My family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1972 after Idi Amin’s forced exile of the country’s South Asians. That experience led to my first documentary film, “Uganda 1972: The South Asian Expulsion.”
I am grateful for the fine educators who widened my view and deepened my focus. Mr. Mckellar at Mountain Secondary (International Baccalaureate program); Dr. John Pinel at the University of British Columbia (BSc, Psychology); and Dr. Richard Brown at Dalhousie University (PhD, Psychology). Their guidance helped me find the place where natural curiosity collided with personal passion. Today, I am an educator and cognitive scientist at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. My research interests include virtual & augmented realities, evolutionary psychology, human factors, and the scholarship of teaching & learning.
My interests are eclectic: woodworking, vegetable growing, aviation, hiking, and science fiction. With my partner Harleen, we are immersed in raising a wonderful 8-year-old boy.
PRESENTATIONS
"Love and Death on Kilimanjaro"
TEDxKPU Event
Nov. 4, 2014. Richmond, Canada
“Mwendo” is a Swahili word that means “journey.” In 2006, deeply depressed after the death of his friend and ex-partner Tania Trepanier, Farhad took a mwendo up Mount Kilimanjaro. He shares that seven day trek in seven vignettes that explore the themes of love, loss, altered perceptions, and ultimately, self-healing.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
"Such Seething Brains, Such Shaping Fantasies: The Quest for Meaning in an Age of Anxiety, Conspiracies, and Superstitions"
KPU Science World Speaker Series
Feb. 10, 2016. Vancouver, Canada.
What do the beliefs that 911 was an inside job, the Apollo moon landings were faked, governments are hiding the truth about UFOs, the Bilderberg group is covertly planning a world government, JFK was killed by the CIA/Mafia/Fidel Castro/Lyndon Johnson, and Climate Change is a left-wing conspiracy all have in common? To discover the truth, come to this revealing lecture into the psychology of conspiracies, superstitions, personal illusions, and mass delusions.