01.30.07
Randi’s million dollar reward fraud
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
The Randi/Shermer gang have often done useful work exposing fraudulent psychics (Sylvia Browne is the latest) and other pretenders. But isn’t the radically fundamentalist scientism behind this also at fault, and also fraudulent?
Anyone who sees the harm done by hidden psychic operators who wouldn’t dare reveal themselves in public knows how unfair Randi’s grandstanding is. People need help, but could never get it from these science idiots who would lock them in a looney bin before trying to understand the dark reality of what’s the case.
Best to avoid science types here!
So no wonder Randi gets to keep the million.
A tremendous number of victims of occult operators are without recourse in a culture where the fraud of anti-occultism is dogma. The money ought to go to help such people.
Questions of the occult have haunted humanity for millennia, with much nonsense, little understanding, but at least with a vague sense that this is part of the human totality. Now the ‘hard scientists’ are trying to cure us of these illusions.
I fear it is still another confusion.
James Randi has what seems like an effective way of debunking occult issues with his million dollar challenge. Since there are no takers, could be no takers, the implication is that he has somehow discredited the subject. But this challenge is designed so that noone would in fact take him up on the offer. And real psychics wouldn’t even blink at the offer of money here.
I for one would have little interest in defending occult metaphysics, but I would not either deny the reality of this aspect of man.
Investigators have crystallized an artificial construct called ‘ESP’, done statistical tests, and when this fails it seems like science has spoken and that is an illusion.
What is ESP? It is an invented category. Real psychic phenomena are much more elusive. Nor would anyone knowledgeable ever care to deal with experimental scientists on the terms current.
Actually, In Search Of The Miraculous makes public (somewhat stupidly) an occult contact between Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. Since it must be taken as second hand information the exercise was pointless, and exploitative. But the experiences described are dime a dozen in New Age circles. Guru/disciple relations often generate strange contact. Beyond that is a completely invisible occult world, one that the public deserves to protect itself from.
Only in a culture dominated by scientism does a shark like Gurdjieff get to impress suckers with occult powers.
Any other sensible culture would pay little attention to such nonsense, either as demonstration or denial, and focus on real issues. They would suspect Gurdjieff of being a black magician.
In any case, Randi and Shermer are no more reliable here than people like Sylvia Browne.
The Foundation is committed to providing reliable information about paranormal claims. It both supports and conducts original research into such claims.
At JREF, we offer a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event. The JREF does not involve itself in the testing procedure, other than helping to design the protocol and approving the conditions under which a test will take place. All tests are designed with the participation and approval of the applicant. In most cases, the applicant will be asked to perform a relatively simple preliminary test of the claim, which if successful, will be followed by the formal test. Preliminary tests are usually conducted by associates of the JREF at the site where the applicant lives. Upon success in the preliminary testing process, the “applicant” becomes a “claimant.”