Awww, but my paranoia serves me so well the rest of the time. My original post ended with the line “Have you never read X-Men comics?” which I thought better of.
You know, I’ve been thinking about what RickJay said above. OK, I’ll concede that you have a point, maybe there wouldn’t be any persecution. I think I was hoping the deep down most people didn’t buy JE and co and hence no rabid mobs. On reflection that’s not true.
I think there might still be problems if there was a religious aspect to whatever power it might be. I’m hesitant to say something to the effect of “How would Jesus be treated if he returned today” but I guess I’ve just said it.
I think you’d get quite a lot of interest from scientists, there are a few parapsychology departments, there’s one here in Edinburgh, around with staff who’d want to study real supernatural powers. They would study the ones that are already famous but they’ve decided, mostly, that they’re frauds. PatriotX makes a fair point that the government have been interested in this stuff before, they may still be.
However your claimant might not want to be famous for many reasons, the people that are famous for “talking with dead” and so forth mostly want or need to be famous to keep the money rolling in.
So, OK, perhaps no rabid mobs, no public witch-burnings but there are still reasonably valid reasons why someone with supernatural powers might not step forward and take the challenge. I’m not saying that this is evidence that there’s secret psychics out there, just stating that point 2 that Musicat made above isn’t a complete no-brainer.
BUT there is no good reason I can see for someone in the public eye who already claims to be psychic (or whatever) not to take the Randi challenge. They should have to back up there statements and promises.
Oh, I think for sure certain legit people would be in for a world of trouble. If, for, example, the military believed they’d found someone who really could communicate with the dead, do you think they wouldn’t have all kinds of uses for that? Someone who could see the future? Someone who could read minds?
They’d be quite the hot commodity, and I’m not at all sure their own wishes would be taken into consideration.
The reason John Edwards isn’t in trouble may well be because he’s fake. The military has no interest in a guy who can perform cold readings: cold readings won’t help them extract information from dead enemy combatants.
I am psychic, but I refuse to take the test because if I do, I have foreseen that the world will end in a state of pink fluffy goo! Oh, crap, I hope I haven’t said too much…
I am also curious as to why this challenge is a fraud. Regardless of the “tough” conditions, if you’re psychically-abled or whatever, passing them should be a piece of cake.
Except that Professor Xavier I had back in college. He wasn’t in a wheelchair. But, he had lost his hair to a fever in his twenties. And if the whole class did well on a test, he would reward us by sitting down, furrowing his brow, putting his fingertips on his temples and saying “To me, my X-men!”
Randi expects people to perform their paranormal abilities on demand. IMHO, those who claim this ability are frauds and have no chance at passing the tests while those who cannot perform on demand have also have no chance at passing. The only one who can win is Randi himself.
Edward would have nothing to gain and a lot to lose. He doesn’t need the money and any failure would negatively affect his marketability. Similarly, I am considered wise and/or smart until I open my mouth or type a post and prove otherwise. Then what am I? I lose credibility and, like it or not, Edward seems to have credibility (I really want to put a rolleyes smiley here but this is GD).
Another question is: Why would anyone (Randi or other) think that $1 million would be enough to bring out the psychics? Continuing to use Edward type power but referring to someone in obscurity: If they could communicate with another realm. If the dead truly did speak with them. If they knew that death is not the end, wouldn’t that change all their priorities to the point that $1 million wouldn’t appeal to them? They would know what could and could not pass over to the other side and their values would reflect as much.
Maybe I am just talking out of my ass here and I don’t think that’s enough for that million bucks.
Randi expects people to perform their paranormal abilities on demand. IMHO, those who claim that they can perform on demand are frauds and have no chance at passing the tests while those who make no such claim also have no chance at passing. The only one who can win is Randi himself.
While Van Praagh, Edward, Browne etc are frauds a lot of people believe them to be real. It’s a big enough sample for any actual psychic to judge public reaction. Some religious groups will denounce you. Some people will want to burn you at the stake. Most people want to give you money and talk to their dead relatives.
Re The Government
This is a more valid objection. But, the US government seems to have treated the scientists working on the Manhattan Project pretty well. They all had mental abilities deemed vital to national security. If the government were to snatch up a psychic who won the challenge, their life wouldn’t be that bad. Certainly, they would undergo every medical test known to man. However, they would also receive full medical and dental coverage, all kinds of perks, and the same level of protection given the President.
Re Religious Objections
I don’t really see this one. If the psychic believes that their abilities are a divine gift, passing the test would be an opportunity to prove the existence of that deity and spread the message to a massive audience.
That argument has been made before. It has a major flaw. Even if the psychic has no desire for personal wealth, a million dollar donation would help a lot of charities.
Lute Skywatcher
Again, the psychic agrees to the conditions of the tests. Including a dry run before hand so that the psychic can be sure that their powers are working and are not interfered with by the environment.
Yes, I know. They still have to perform on demand and I just don’t think that’s possible. Bear in mind that I’ve experienced some psychic phenomena myself. If it were possible for me to have such phenomena on demand, I’d be getting rich off some lottery.