http://www.skepticalaboutskeptics.org/investigating-skeptics/whos-who-of-media-skeptics/media-skeptics-m-z/randi-james/
Wikipedia has been hijacked by 'guerrilla skeptics'!
http://www.astrologer.com/tests/wp.htm
>>55260870
A tiny gay man.
But really, he knows all the tricks of the magicians, the showmen etc. and can debunk them all.
In perfect testing conditions none of these people have ever passed his test proving the are the real deal and nobody has ever won the 1 million or so prize.
>>55260986
blablabla
LOL
>>55260870
The old faggot is literally reddit incarnate
>gay
>pedophile
>atheist
>skeptic
>liberal
>c uck
>>55260986
too bad there are some people/places/events/phenomena that he won't touch because he can't disprove it
his "perfect record" is oh-so important to him
sounds a lot like mayweather picking shit/old opponents now that i read that
A leading Fellow of CSICOP, Ray Hyman, has pointed out that this “prize” cannot be taken seriously from a scientific point of view: “Scientists don’t settle issues with a single test, so even if someone does win a big cash prize in a demonstration, this isn’t going to convince anyone. Proof in science happens through replication, not through single experiments.”
And yet not a single person has passed the test.
Seems like as an experiment it's working.
OP posted a new thread because everyone reacted with disdain to the old one.
>>55259753
He's trying to use /pol/ for his personal grudge against a celebrity, hit the report button.
>>55260870
With his "you can't prove a negative" line, he likely would have lost some points in Logic 101.
Modus tollens, homeboy.
>>55260870
Randi is based. Debunking homeopathy alone deserves top shelf status, let alone the dedaes of bullshit he's unraveled. He's skepticism done right - vigorous methodology is the process everyone should be following when consuming information.
>>55261205
Examples pls.
>>55261205
>too bad there are some people/places/events/phenomena that he won't touch because he can't disprove it
Examples? anyone is welcome to try.
What you are basically saying is you think real "magic" exists like spoon benders and telekinesis? Really?
Randi has an ambiguous attitude to scientific authority, deferring to it when it supports his beliefs and rejecting it when it does not. On his website he asserts: “Authority does not rest with scientists, when emotion, need and desperation are involved. Scientists are human beings, too, and can be deceived and self-deceived.”
Randi is not afraid to attack scientists who take an interest in subjects such as telepathy; for instance, Brian Josephson, a Professor of Physics at Cambridge University. In 2001, on a BBC Radio program about Josephson’s interest in possible connections between quantum physics and consciousness, Randi said, “I think it is the refuge of scoundrels in many aspects for them to turn to something like quantum physics.” Josephson has a Nobel Prize in quantum physics. Randi has no scientific credentials.
Of his current work, Randi writes, “We at the JREF are skilled in two directions: we know how people are fooled by others and we know how people fool themselves. We deal with hard, basic facts.” Yet in a review of his book The Supernatural A-Z: The Truth and the Lies his fellow skeptic Susan Blackmore commented that the book “has too many errors to be recommended.”
Randi has also been shown to invent “facts” and to make up evidence
>>55260986
A gay jew.
Randi can be eloquent and is quite the showman; he is also wildly intelligent—he got a MacArthur genius grant in 1986. But according to his detractors, Randi’s main qualities are his malice and hypocrisy. He’s hell-bent on tearing apart anyone he deems a kook, including distinguished scientists and Nobel Prize-winners. This is amusing, as Randi has no scientific credentials whatsoever (although he did once write an astrology column for a Canadian tabloid and host a paranormal-themed radio show).
In 1997, Randi threatened to fly to Sri Lanka to persuade Arthur C. Clarke to stop advocating cold fusion. (Clarke, a genuine scientific visionary, inventor of the communication satellite and award-winning author, received degrees, with honors, in physics and mathematics.) In 2001, on a BBC Radio program, Randi attacked Brian Josephson, Nobel Prize-winner and professor of physics at Cambridge University.
Why? Josephson was interested in the possible connections between quantum physics and consciousness. Randi also has a penchant for lawsuits—he once tried to sue a writer known for covering the UFO beat, simply because he printed some unflattering but verifiable information about the magician. Randi left the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) because of all the litigation against him.
JREF is a skeptical organization supposedly devoted to promoting critical thinking regarding claims of the paranormal. In reality it is an advocacy organization, known in politics as a pressure group. They lobby media and science organizations to dissuade them from taking parapsychology and psychics seriously. Like other pressure groups, they occasionally perform high profile publicity stunts to attract attention.
In fact, they are a magnet for controversy and scandal. The president of JREF, D.J. Grothe, has recently been accused of “misogyny and disrespect for women coworkers,” and, “constant duplicity, dishonesty, and manipulation” by a female employee.[1] James Randi’s significant other, Deyvi Pena, was convicted of Identity Theft; a disgruntled million dollar challenge applicant put out a $100,000 reward to anyone who could prove that the challenge was legitimate, and there is a long list of complaints by people who have either applied for the challenge or taken it. The challenge itself is the subject of unending criticism:
“Psychic offered a million dollars to prove his abilities.” How many times have you seen that headline? James Randi, a magician, offers a million dollars to any person who can prove they possess psychic abilities. This is done through the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF for short), and is referred to as the million dollar challenge (MDC for short).
http://www.skepticalaboutskeptics.org/investigating-skeptics/whos-who-of-media-skeptics/media-skeptics-m-z/randi-james/james-randis-foundation/
>>55261628
>>55261797
>>55261873
Engage your critical thinking and reading skills.
“If a trick is well done, it doesn’t look like a trick. It looks real,” conjuror James Randi has been quoted as saying.
He is absolutely right, and he should know, since on more than one occasion he has himself mistaken trickery for reality.
It all began in 1981, when his ‘Project Alpha’ managed to sabotage a research programme by infiltrating a couple of young magicians, Mike Edwards and Steve Shaw, into the parapsychology laboratory funded by the late James McDonnell, a pioneer of the aerospace industry. There, they did their best for nearly two years to trick the researchers into proclaiming them genuine Geller-type spoon benders, which they never did in print.
However, Randi’s revelation of his attempted hoax at a news conference sponsored by Time Inc.’s science magazine Discover encouraged the public to believe that since parapsychologists could so easily be hoaxed, although in this case they weren’t, none of their claimed findings could be taken seriously. It was a successful smear campaign, and may have had something to do with the closing of the ‘Mac Lab’ in 1985.
http://www.skepticalaboutskeptics.org/investigating-skeptics/whos-who-of-media-skeptics/media-skeptics-m-z/randi-james/james-randi-is-taken-for-a-ride/
>>55261457
Yes, such magic does exist and it's no wonder that it doesn't work correctly when they attempt to display it to Randi.
The problem is that the negative, dark energy of Randi and the audience or whoever else is often enough to overpower the magic, positive energy required to utilize telekinetic powers.
>>55262795
That's some fucking useless magic, if it does not work in the presence of sane people.
Susan Gerbic, a friend of james Randi, working on wikipedia
http://www.skepticalaboutskeptics.org/investigating-skeptics/whos-who-of-media-skeptics/media-skeptics-a-l/gerbic-susan/
“…it’s a pity that this key source for learning and education is so compromised as far as serious parapsychology is concerned. There is of course plenty of information about parapsychology, but little that isn’t gummed up with sceptic disdain. Even aside from that, it looks rather flat and lame. What’s to stop editors giving quotes from credible people – scientists, psi-researchers, experients who are well-known in other fields – that give their own enthusiastic responses? Why are the dullards, ignoramuses and professional nay-sayers getting such a free run?
“We need to make it clear that our evidence counts as evidence. At the very least, if sceptics insert a long section at the end of an entry that promotes their views exclusively, under the heading of ‘Criticism’ or some such, then it seems to me to be perfectly legitimate to add a following section headed ‘Responses to criticism’, in which the key points would be rebutted, at leisure and without constant heckling.”4
Wikipedia is headed by Jimmy Wales, who has indicated support for the skeptical bias and has not, despite complaints, implemented changes to Wikipedia’s editorial policies in order to prevent the pseudoskeptical defacement of entries.
Skeptics and zeteticists are downright retards, and their social engineering is almost evil
"Everywhere on earth and since the beginning of time people have been practicing various forms of magic and paranormal, they've done so for tens of millenia, surely it must be hokum!"
Such blatant stupidity makes one wonder if those fucks have an agenda...
>>55263559
I dont even understand what you are trying to say
>>55260870
He's a gay pedophile and his "life partner" or whatever is a literal 24/7 scam artist.
The biggest douches in the universe all love the fucking shit out of him and they would literally eat his shit if he told them to.
He is beloved by people who are pissed off at magicians.
No, seriously. I'm 100% serious. The anti-magician crowd worship him as a god.
>>55261797
>Clarke, a genuine scientific visionary, inventor of the communication satellite and award-winning author
>Clarke, inventor of the communication satellite
And I'll bet you beleive Al Gore invented the World Wide Web.
There is a HUGE difference between proposing an idea and actually building a working model, which did not happen for several decades after Clark first proposed the idea. Clark no more invented the communications satellite than did Jules Verne invent the Saturn V rocket that carried astronauts to the moon.
I continued to push at him. “The fact is that people who do not accept the laboratory and other evidence for psi that already exists are unlikely to change their minds or their beliefs simply because someone beats Randi’s challenge and wins Randi’s money. In the name of science, many keep raising the issue of parsimony, of Occam’s Razor where psi is concerned. In this case, wouldn’t the simpler explanation as far as the skeptics are concerned be that Randi was scammed out of the money? In the name of science, many raise the issue of repeatability. If someone beat Randi’s challenge once, how does this meet the criteria of repeatability? What does this prove?”
The Skeptic was silent, confusion and frustration (and a little anger) continuing on his face.
I finished with, “If you can honestly tell me – I mean look me in the eye and tell me honestly – that you would be open to psi’s existence if a psychic won Randi’s money, I’ll give you 20 dollars right here and now. It’s not a million, but to be honest, your opinion isn’t worth that much to me.”
He walked away. (Okay, he stormed off.)
>>55262934
One time I was eating at a restaurant and a magician walked in and started bending spoons out of people's hands.
Luckily I recognized him and was able to stop the debacle with doubt and negative energy because I am also magic.
>>55264159
He's basically saying that the authority of
>people...practicing various forms of magic and paranormal...for tens of millenia
trumps the authority of
>Skeptics
>>55260870
Randi has come out as a closeted cock-diddler
imagine all those years of kiddie magic on Howdy Doody
lusting after that little brown knothole.
>>55264721
What scams? I am curious because I watched the documentary and there was something unusual about him.
>>55266241
When one advances a position as being truthful, the skeptic questions the contention of truth and then goes into the philosophical bag of tools to test the conditions of the assertion.
Don't like criticism? Too fucking bad. Can't repeat success? Too fucking bad. What the fuck do you think every research facility in every university across the world has to contend with? You could have worked years on a project and finally published your work, only to have it literally torn to shreds by your peers. The STEM fields don't play around in the research areas. You can have your experiment be observable and repeatable and still get gutted because the groundwork wasn't done to correctly build the hypothesis and variable control. If an old guy can rustle jimmies with basic controls, imagine what thousands of PhDs in their respective fields will do when they see flaws.
Jumping off this hook now, the worm was too tasty to ignore.
>>55262795
>The problem is that the negative, dark energy of Randi and the audience or whoever else is often enough to overpower the magic, positive energy required to utilize telekinetic powers.
Oh, you're joking. Phew, I thought you serious for a minute.
I’ve since used this argument on a few others, whenever Randi’s challenge is raised like a weapon against the field of parapsychology, and against the existence (real or just potential) of psi.
To recap: If someone wins Randi’s million, he/she will be one million dollars richer. However, as far as science and the skeptics are concerned, the simpler answer to this conundrum is that Randi (or his chosen panel of judges) was fooled.
In other words, So What if someone wins the money. It won’t change the prevailing attitudes towards parapsychology, or the prevailing beliefs of most who waiver to the disbelieving side of the center where psi is concerned.
As this is the case (prove me wrong, somebody – please!), we waste our time even giving Randi’s challenge the time of day.
It’s not a benchmark for science, or even the skeptics. Why should we care?
So what!
>>55267891
>claim you can make stuff levitate with your hands
>can't do it in front of a public in controlled conditions
>OMG RANDI STOP OPPRESSING ME WITH YOUR NON MAGIC PRIVELEGE, YOU SHITLORD
I e-mailed Randi again, asking for clarification. I didn’t mean to be annoying, but they weren’t answering the question. Why would I apply if the bonds were worthless? The Challenge rules state that I am responsible for all costs incurred in the pursuit of the prize money… so it’s quite possible that I could jump through all the hoops, spend my own money, and only have a pile of worthless bonds to show for it.
Randi passed me off to Kramer. Kramer’s job is to handle all paranormal claims. Kramer introduced himself in an e-mail, “Randi has directed me to correspond with you directly regarding your inquiries into the JREF Challenge. […] I handle all Challenge-related activities, so write to me here if you have more questions.”
Ok, fair enough. So, I politely explained my situation to Kramer, and asked the same questions again. Kramer replied with, “So far, you’re just full of shit. That’s OUR perspective. Apply or go away. We don’t have to prove anything to you. If you really have a claim, you’ll apply.”
Wow.
Enter JREF Forums.
I’m not dumb… before e-mailing them, I had suspicion that things would get ugly. That’s why I painfully tried to stay as polite, logical, and consistent from the start. Before emailing them, I noticed that Kramer would post e-mail conversations in the forums on their website, and comment about how the person e-mailing them is a moron. Now that I was the moron e-mailing them, I searched the forums for Kramer’s new thread on the idiot asking about the bonds.
And I found it.
I expected to find a bunch of pseudo-skeptics making fun of me. And I did. What I didn’t expect to find is that Kramer EDITED the e-mails before posting. All of the sudden, his “full of shit” comment was translated to “full of baloney.” And Randi’s “Apply, or disappear” was translated to “Apply, or don’t apply.” Similar minor translations were made to convert rude text, into stern but polite text.
Now, is that a big deal? Not really. Obviously it was a big deal to Kramer though, or he wouldn’t have taken the time to edit it.
Luckily, my message was still getting across on the public log in the forum. Perhaps he edited the logs to make Randi and himself look better, but my questions were still there. To my surprise, some of the forum members sided with me. They thought my questions were legitimate.
>>55268484
So just film yourself levitating and put it on youtube, faggot.
Nevertheless I asked the Smart family if they would be willing to have Jaytee tested by Randi. But they wanted nothing to do with him. Jaytee had already taken part in some tests organized by a skeptic, Richard Wiseman, as discussed below, and the Smart family were disgusted by the way he had misrepresented these tests in the media.
In 2008, Alex Tsakiris, who runs a U.S.-based “Open Source Science Project” and a podcast called Skeptiko, started replicating experiments with dogs that knew when their owners were coming home, posting videos of tests on the internet. Tsakiris asked Dr. Clive Wynne, an expert on dog behaviour at the University of Florida, to participate in this research, and Wynne agreed. Randi challenged Tsakiris to apply for the Million Dollar Challenge, Tsakiris took him up on it, and asked Randi by email if Dr. Wynne’s involvement was acceptable to him. Randi eventually replied, “You appear to think that your needs are uppermost on my schedule. What would give you that impression? Looking into a silly dog claim is among my lowest priority projects. When I’m prepared to give you some time, I’ll let you know. There are some forty plus persons ahead of you.”
For me, the most surprising feature of the Randi phenomenon is that so many journalists and fellow skeptics take him seriously.
After white people are gone what will the minorites do or think? Will they just emigrate to Asia and repeat what they did to us?
Cozy village pic not related
>>55269454
Why does this one Amerikek keep pushing the 'after we're gone' meme? Are you a Kike trying to stir up a feeling of hopelessness?
I would have served alongside you, Chaim, to save our world from the shitskin hordes. But instead you seem to wish to make an enemy of the Anglo. I know not why, but I do know that you will lose.
>>55269551
>to save our world from the shitskin hordes
>>55268965
Film yourself doing something magical you faggot.
>>55269551
Yes, he is a kike. He admitted it in another thread the other day.
>>55268965
Do something magic. I want to see it.
and James Randy is a pedophile
I emailed James Randi to ask for details of this JREF research. He did not reply. He ignored a second request for information. I then asked members of the JREF Scientific Advisory Board to help me find out more about this claim. They advised Randi to reply.
In an email on February 6, 2000 Randi told me that the tests with dogs he referred to were not done at the JREF, but took place “years ago” and were “informal”. He said they involved two dogs belonging to a friend of his that he observed over a two-week period. All records had been lost. He wrote: “I overstated my case for doubting the reality of dog ESP based on the small amount of data I obtained.”
I also asked him for details of tape he claimed to have watched, so I could compare his observations of Jaytee’s behaviour with my own. He was unable to give a single detail, and under pressure from the JREF Advisory Board, he had to admit that he had never seen the tape. His claim was a lie.
Nowadays it's mostly about Penn Jilette. James Randi is in his 80s so he isn't very active or makes many public appearances anymore.
They're not tricks, they're ILLUSIONS, /pol/!
>>55260870
I believe in homeopathy.
Not that it's a "medicine" or any of that BS, but that it triggers the body's placebo system and helps it regenerate faster because it is a scientific fact that your mood and willingness to overcome a minor illness can actually help you overcome it faster than if you are apathetic.
>>55271815
homeopathy is expensive, just drink some water, since its chemically identical to the homeopathic shit
James Randi cheats Jacques Benveniste in water memory affair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MOtaadY6n4
Memory water is back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2xInJFD23k
