So in his weekly newsletter James Randi announced that, from March 2010, the JREF will no longer be offering the $1 million dollar prize for a demonstration of supernatural abilities. The foundation will use the money to do something more useful instead.
I’m torn on this, I’ve long thought that the prize has become too tainted by Randi’s involvement. He’s far too polarising to be the figurehead behind it, and he’s offered it to for such diverse abilities or technologies that it’s all a bit watered down.
On the other I can already hear the cries of joy and shouts of victory from the psychics, the believers and everyone on that side of the fence. They can relax that the skeptics no longer have the “well prove it and win a million” comeback to beat them over the head with.
Perhaps we need a large prize but sponsored by someone else, completely separate from the previous one but with the same goals. Is there anyone that could fill that role? What happens if Uri Geller (or someone similar) tries to start a similar fund with the aim of it being won.
I really can’t decide if this is a good thing or not, my gut feeling is that it was inevitable but it’s a bit of a shame nonetheless.
Seems odd, so hot on the heels of the change in qualification procedures, but it’s not all that surprising really.
I don’t actually think the project has been that big of a success - despite having mostly good intentions - it is inherently too easy for the psychics to just make up new excuses (bias, fraud, etc).
It’s been about ten years, and no one has even pre-qualified for the test. It doesn’t matter if someone else runs the thing, because new excuses will pop up.
The prize does not seem to have diminished the number of people who believe in odd things, nor their determination to believe in them.
A better approach is to pick and choose specific magic-mongerers and challenge them on an individual basis with something more akin to a wager.
There is no chance the magician/psychic side will dole out a legitimate prize in a legitimate test. The good ones all know they are fake and they are not about to give money away to further the cause of their competitors.
Is this like a “farewell tour,” i.e. is he trying to get more attention for the foundation by announcing that there is a deadline?
Is JREF having financial difficulties? Is Randi having serious health problems? If either of these things are the case, I think that in fairness, they should be disclosed.
Does JREF have any legal obligations to people who donated money towards the million dollar prize fund?
That’s basically what he does at the moment, contact specific people (Geller, Sylvia Browne) and invite them to take the challenge.
I imagine what he’s going to do with the money is try and get more skeptical thinkers out there in order to try and help future generations avoid the problems he sees. Unless he’s going to start going after very specific things (creationism for example). It does feel to me that Randi is looking to his legacy now.
I can’t help but feel that it must be possible to operate a similar challenge in a way that’s above (most) criticism. Maybe administered by a University or something similar.
I think the money is already set aside and that this has been affirmed and notarized, etc. I guess they could still be in financial difficulty and wanting to pull it back, but I think it’s probably just that Randi is a tired old man now and wants an end to it.
I guess I thought it was set up as a prize that goes to a successful applicant, and not a wager where the putative supernaturalist also risks money. I thought Randi had specifically set aside money as proof that there exists an actual prize to be won…
Ah, my mistake. It’s a wager only in that it’s the foundations money vs the supernatuarlists reputation. I was only pointing out that he does go out of his way to invite people to take the challenge, rather than just having it there.
Sounds like they’re tired of wasting time and effort dealing with the crazies, while the big targets have sense enough to avoid humiliation and never apply for the prize.
I know that Randi has refused to have the process video taped and made public. Psychics have challenged him to bring the whole process out in the open so the public can see it. Randi refused. I don’t know of any psychic that has tried to get the money in years because they see it as not truthful. But it keeps the skeptics happy. He is now going to withdraw it, seems appropriate sense psychics don’t take it as a serious offer. Now, are there such a thing as psychics? Well most of the general public think so. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies think there are psychics and use them in solving crimes. As for “cold reading”, it has never been proven there is such a thing. No contests between real psychics and cold readers has ever been conducted that I know of. No research, no studies, just a lot of skeptical talk.
Noreen Renier is a psychic that solves crimes for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. She has been doing it for 40 years and has worked on over 300 cases. They keep asking her to help. Is she really psychic, yes, and so are many other folk. Skeptics can believe what they will, there is a spiritual realm, there is a God. I know personally, so do millions of other people.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross devoted her entire life to death and dying studies. A skeptic in the beginning she became a believer after investigating over 20,000 cases of NDEs and other death experiences.
We can still say “put up”, because now they don’t have the “I’m not allowed to use my gift for monetary gain(nevermind the outrageous fees I charge)” excuse any more.
I’m pretty sure there’s been at least two instances where the process has been filmed (or at least the premilinary test has been). One for dowsing a good few years back and the more recent Homeopathy one. I think there’s another one that’s yet to be shown.
I don’t want to get into yet another thread debating whether psychics exist or not. So I’ll restrict myself to a couple of questions.
Could anyone make a ‘serious offer’ along the lines of the JREF challenge, what would like to see to make an offer serious. What could someone do so that you’d expect psychics to take such a test?
Hmmm, I’m guessing that since you’re already convinced, and you believe the FBI are convinced then you don’t think there’s any need for psychics to take a test.
Instead of a test of a psychic perhaps we need a test to convince the skeptics that you’re right.
Are you convinced that everyone out there claiming psychic powers in 100% genuine? Do the genuine ones have equal abilities? If not, what about some sort of test to certify the good ones?
