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That should be IF and that is a huge if. Unfortuneately people have been making these claims for centuries and in each and every case they have been shown to be false. These people always claim to have a demonstration in just one week with a convenient excuse. Then there will be another demonstration and excuse in another couple of weeks. Repeat, lather, rinse. Not to mention the conspiracy theories that these people have. Everyone with an alternative energy device seems to be persecuted by a conspiracy of hundreds of people.

They certainly put on a good show, usually with the intent of separating the spectators from their money.

Why is it that these people are always able to violate laws of thermodynamics when no one else can? Why don't they get some easy venture capital by applying for the US$1 million prize given by James Randi Educational Foundation for demonstration of such an alternative energy device.

They claim to operate their compound with another of these devices. I wonder if the power company agrees?

You forgot about all the websites that feature essays and term papers and whatnot :)

Seriously, there is a lot of good information on the net. The important thing is to be critical of the information you find.

Good sites for the critically minded include James Randi's website and Quackwatch.

BTW, Oregon Trail rox nadz!

Although im sure alot of professors have done this excercise, one of the most noteworthy is James Randi, as part of a PBS special on psychic phenomenon. Check out the James Randi Educational Foundation

• Well, I don't know. Many scientific theories cannot be directly falsified (evolution and global warming leap to mind) but are widely regarded as the best extant explanations for the data. (...)

I'm not the only one to say there needs to be a way to disprove a theory:

• There is a very important characteristic of a scientific theory or hypothesis which differentiates it from, for example, an act of faith: a theory must be ``falsifiable''.

• Direct falsification is only one particular method of testing theories. Not that this has much to do with UFOs, etc.

And proving something wrong is exactly what we're talking about. It can apply to dowsing of pictures of faeries, for example.

• Well, I don't know. Many scientific theories cannot be directly falsified (evolution and global warming leap to mind) but are widely regarded as the best extant explanations for the data. (...)

I'm not the only one to say there needs to be a way to disprove a theory:

• There is a very important characteristic of a scientific theory or hypothesis which differentiates it from, for example, an act of faith: a theory must be ``falsifiable''.

• Direct falsification is only one particular method of testing theories. Not that this has much to do with UFOs, etc.

And proving something wrong is exactly what we're talking about. It can apply to dowsing of pictures of faeries, for example.

Where is the Amazing Randi when I need him?

He's right here.

For those of you who don't know, James Randi is dedicated to exposing supernatural hoaxes of all kinds. He has an excellent method of exposing psychics. Anyone who claims to have powers can take simple psychic tests. If they pass they even get, IIRC, $1 million. He's never paid a dime.

He also does work with every other kind of proported supernatural occurence. His site can be a fun read (if only to see what some idiots try and get a way with :).

How could you mention feng shui, brag about your belief in a western mythology and yet get modded as insightful? Someone needs to read some Randi

Hey, my first flame, yay for me :)

You ever thought about demonstrating these powerful experiences to a larger audience/the scientific community? You could even claim a $1,000,000 prize!

http://www.randi.org/research/challenge.html

Most of these things, like ESP or alien abduction have not been conclusively disproven.

If I claim I have ESP, it's not your job to prove that I don't, it's my job to prove that I do. No one have ever been able to prove that they do. There's a million dollars waiting for the first person who can.

and as for the big bang- religious leaders aren't the only ones to reject this idea- many legit scientists don't believe it either!

However, at least there's hard evidence for it, which is more than we can say for ESP or alien abduction.

While they are rebuffed by scientists - does that make these things "fake" or non-science?

Phenomena themselves are never scientific or non-scientific. Likewise, all ideas are genuine -- there is no such thing as a "fake idea." But, to the best of my knowledge, every scientific experiment to evaluate the possibility of psychic powers has shown that the only phenomena at work are delusion, self-deception, and trickery. If anyone has managed to find scientific evidence of psychic powers, it is odd that they have not claimed James Randi's $1 million prize, as well as a host of lesser prizes for the first one who can show real scientific evidence of psychic powers.

The "evidence" for psychic powers is based on completely unscientific methods, including subjective validation, uncontrolled experiments, shoehorning, post hoc reasoning, confirmation bias, and a host of other common logical fallacies.

Scientists don't take these things seriously, because these methods can be used to generate "evidence" for virtually any possible claim, including multiple contradictory claims.

There are things we don't know about the world and about the human brain, but there is no more compelling evidence to suggest that people can predict lottery numbers or commune with the dead than there is evidence that demons cause disease or that invisible pink unicorns roam the prairies.

I simply don't believe that the human mind is as plain as you would like to paint it.

I'm doing my phd in theoretical and computational neuroscience, so I know a lot about the human brain (rigorously discussing the relationship between brain and mind is a can of worms I don't want to open here). My point is that you "simply not believing" something is based on intuitive beliefs rather than scientific data. People before Einstein simply couldn't believe that gravity could bend light, or that time goes slower on a mountaintop than at sea level. The fundamental principles of organization and function of the human brain are well understood, whether or not you choose to believe it. It's just that they're SO DAMN COMPLICATED. The brain is a physical system, like an anthill or a microchip. It is extremely complex, but this does not give it mystical powers beyond what would be possible by the normal laws of physical reality. People can't bend spoons with their mind or magically read each other's minds. This is difficult to experimentally "prove," but no one has ever been able to prove that they could do anything supernatural (for a sensationalistic spin on it, check out James Randi's million dollar challenge). My point is that the functions of the brain are well understood enough that there is no big mysterious void in scientific knowledge where the substrates of psychic ability are likely to be hiding.

I won't go into the games we play to make this universe more interesting.

I will say that if think psychic phenomena are real, prove it. James Randi has a wonderful $1 million prize to the person who can PROVE the existence of paranormal phenomena.

No one has won it, and no one will. Why? Because psychic phenomena, et al., are bunk. It would be really neat to live in a world where you could read other people's thoughts and effect change in the world simply with your mind. But that's not the universe we have.

If you think otherwise, prove it. Don't post about how your uncle can dowse water, or how you saw your friend after he died, etc. Sit down and prove it; prove that there are phenomena that are attributable to paranormal forces.

I'm not trying to troll, it just pisses me off when normally rational people behave in subrational ways.

I won't go into the games we play to make this universe more interesting.

I will say that if think psychic phenomena are real, prove it. James Randi has a wonderful $1 million prize to the person who can PROVE the existence of paranormal phenomena.

No one has won it, and no one will. Why? Because psychic phenomena, et al., are bunk. It would be really neat to live in a world where you could read other people's thoughts and effect change in the world simply with your mind. But that's not the universe we have.

If you think otherwise, prove it. Don't post about how your uncle can dowse water, or how you saw your friend after he died, etc. Sit down and prove it; prove that there are phenomena that are attributable to paranormal forces.

I'm not trying to troll, it just pisses me off when normally rational people behave in subrational ways.

Another version, provided by the Sunday Times goes

Napoleon placed a magnet on the chess board before the second game because he had heard that the Turk relied on magnets for its operation. But Maelzel removed it, and the Turk won. Before the third match, Napoleon wrapped a shawl around the Turk's head and torso, thinking there might be an operator hidden inside. But the Turk won a third time, at which point Napoleon swept the chess pieces to the floor and walked out.

This page cites "Chess: Man Versus Machine, a book by Bradley Ewart" as providing the following version:

"The automaton responded by politely bowing his (mechanical) head, replacing the piece, and signalling Napoleon to continue. The game continued, but soon Napoleon made another illegal move. the Turk removed the troublesome piece and, without allowing Napoleon another chance, made a move of his own. Napoleon made a third incorrect move just to see what would happen next."

Perhaps the new book out on the subject provides an authoritative version of this story. Maybe there is no authoritative version. At any rate, it looks like Napoleon was presented with the same problem of playing out a Turing Test, whatever the real story is.

It's really sad to see people (and media) presenting as demonstrably accurate history what is not at all certain.

Here's the second part.

Sorry, it's a two-part explanation. Here's the second part.

Here's a good explanation.

James Randi did a nice write up about this, with some great pictures and commentary about the machine on his site. You can find a direct link to the articles here and here. I especially enjoyed the artwork depicting how the person inside fit in the contraption and enabled it to play chess. This was a very, very clever little hoax!

James Randi did a nice write up about this, with some great pictures and commentary about the machine on his site. You can find a direct link to the articles here and here. I especially enjoyed the artwork depicting how the person inside fit in the contraption and enabled it to play chess. This was a very, very clever little hoax!

James Randi did a nice write up about this, with some great pictures and commentary about the machine on his site. You can find a direct link to the articles here and here. I especially enjoyed the artwork depicting how the person inside fit in the contraption and enabled it to play chess. This was a very, very clever little hoax!

*degreed* (as in: went to school for *seven* years for it) doctor of "alternative medicine,"

Do you realize how long most theologians study the Christian Bilbe, think that it's flawless and 100% literally true, but still don't realize that because the Bible claims that the earth is flat and has four corners -- it's no longer 100% literally true?

Studying bullshit for a great length of time and still not realizing that it's bullshit just makes me pity your wife, not respect her opinion.

In both cases: that need obviated by the application of certain alternative treatments. Needless to say, the "traditional medicine" doctors were rather... taken aback. Both swore that what they saw happen was unheard of in their experience.

Yes, this is why "anecdotal evidence" is considered to be "bad science" when it comes to proving theories. I'm pretty sure that successful homeopathy would be an acceptable means to win the JREF million dollar challenge.

Sounds like you and your wife have a cool million on the way. Congratulations!

What is the idea of homeopathic medicine?

"idea" gives it a bit too much credit. :)

James Randi had a good explanation of the idea behind homeopathy.

The short answer is: It's all cultish pseudo-scientific bullshit, and the Scientific community is still waiting for homeopathy's promoters to actually do some real Science to try to prove its validity. My guess is that we're as likely to see some real evidence from these guys as we are to have John Edward go for (and win) the JREF million dollar challenge.

What is the idea of homeopathic medicine?

"idea" gives it a bit too much credit. :)

James Randi had a good explanation of the idea behind homeopathy.

The short answer is: It's all cultish pseudo-scientific bullshit, and the Scientific community is still waiting for homeopathy's promoters to actually do some real Science to try to prove its validity. My guess is that we're as likely to see some real evidence from these guys as we are to have John Edward go for (and win) the JREF million dollar challenge.

For instance, they entirely reject the idea of homeopathic medicine. What they neglect to mention is the hundreds of studies proving the effectiveness of this treatment for everything from hangnails to brain tumors.

Because hundreds of kooks claiming shit in unscientific ways isn't the same as Scientific studies using rigorous methods to discover the nature of reality?

You can claim studies with proof as all you want, but until you really and truly embrace the Scientific method, and show results that a reproducible in double-blind studies that aren't equivalent to placebo control groups, you're going to continue to be laughed at. You remind me of the Christian Scientists who continue to claim to have scientific proof showing the flood and the Genesis creation story.

I encourage everyone to bookmark James Randi's web site as a great source of information for the scientifically mind skeptic.

But debunking is bloody dull!

"Look, it's something strange and dangerous."
"No, it is harmless and ordinary."
"Oh. Well, back to the office."

Somehow, I don't smell a smash hit here. Go see The Amazing Randi if you want debunking. The rest of us would like a smidgen of escapist drivel with our TV.

--grendel drago

Someone has been taking a page from the Amazing Randy's $1 M Paranormal Challenge?

Someone has been taking a page from the Amazing Randy's $1 M Paranormal Challenge?

However, journalists have a responsability to try to print the truth. There are many hucksters out there selling some form of snake oil. Check out James Randi and the work that he has done to counteract these flim-flam artists.

This might be a case of a non-harmful hoax. However, this is the same type of person who claims to have a cure for AIDS, or can talk to your dead relative for $900/hr. People get suckered in by this stuff, and Reuters has a DUTY to check out the story with some experts.

A single witness does not a credible or reportable new story make.

Prove a paranormal ability and Randi will give you one million U.S. dollars, baby.

Seriously. A million bucks. No kidding.

Well, Mr Firstenberg?

We're waiting.

We're still waiting.

We're going to be waiting forever, as usual, aren't we?

Just to save Mr Firstenberg some time, I'll list a typical collection of objections to the validity of Randi's offer, as proffered by various alleged levitators and mind readers, on Mr Firstenberg's behalf:

"There is no money. There is too little money. There is too much money. I want to see the money in a pile. Proximity to cash compromises my spiritual enlightenment. Randi is a powerful anti-psi ray emitter. Randi is a cannibal and I am afraid of him. The FBI will forcibly change my gender if I win. I want it in Tongan Pa'angas, not US dollars. Money is an illusion. Property is theft. I'm a teapot! I'm a teapot!"

Prove a paranormal ability and Randi will give you one million U.S. dollars, baby.

Seriously. A million bucks. No kidding.

Well, Mr Firstenberg?

We're waiting.

We're still waiting.

We're going to be waiting forever, as usual, aren't we?

Just to save Mr Firstenberg some time, I'll list a typical collection of objections to the validity of Randi's offer, as proffered by various alleged levitators and mind readers, on Mr Firstenberg's behalf:

"There is no money. There is too little money. There is too much money. I want to see the money in a pile. Proximity to cash compromises my spiritual enlightenment. Randi is a powerful anti-psi ray emitter. Randi is a cannibal and I am afraid of him. The FBI will forcibly change my gender if I win. I want it in Tongan Pa'angas, not US dollars. Money is an illusion. Property is theft. I'm a teapot! I'm a teapot!"

SHAME on people for posting this kind of nonsense. Nostradamus has been discredited numerous times.

You need to read some books by James Randi, such as The Mask of Nostradamus.

Some other skeptic-related links:

http://www.randi.org/
http://www.csicop.org/
http://www.skeptic.com/

... as real possibilities in scientific procedures?

A very interesting commentary at Randi.org (http://www.randi.org/jr/01-13-2000.html) quoted below.

....
Now, it's a fact that scientists are often, to most of the public, pretty strange folks. We've pretty well gotten over the notion that they all wear white coats, carry smoking test-tubes, and are male, but even they sometimes admit that they may not see things quite the same way that the rest of us do. One thing has always made me wonder about their world-view -- they almost never consider the possibility that a fellow- scientist might be directly cheating, or might be merely exceedingly naive. And, even if they do suspect such a situation, they scrupulously avoid even hinting at it, particularly in writing.
....

Being myself from Russia, I know that there is a plenty of cheaters and swindlers. They claim to invent all kinds of stuff, starting from graviational shielding to torsion generators. All of this is so much bullshit that Russian Academy of Sceince had to form a special committee on "Fighting Pseudoscience" (don't recall the exact name). BTW, the total financing of science dropped ~5 times in last 10 years.

So, I don't think that this crap deserves to have a story on /. Not that I think that /. has high standards on stories, but still......

Danila

6 points for Canada! iamklerck writes: "Apparently the Scientology critic who was to go on trial for interfering with a religion has been granted "refugee" status in Canada. I wish him luck, as I'm sure we all do. Perhaps some day he'll be able to return to the U.S. without having his rights violated."

Given the amount of self-promotion Keith Henson indulges in, I suspect a hoax.

Just to establish my credentials as a non-Scientologist: L. Ron Hubbard was a Hack!

__

If Mr. Chiu needs the money why not win Mr. Randi's Million Dollar Challenge?

Flounder

Personally I think people should look into the true findings about the claims of magnetic healing which this guy mentions.

In human nature many people let their emotions get the best of them and this is what I perceive this guy is doing, feeding off the emotions of people who'd think they can live longer via some device.

Stepping back take a quick look at life in a realistic perspective if you will:

Things go round animals of all types come and go through evolution, nothing lasts forever.

Biblical look; You die and supposedly go to $INSERT_YOUR_HEAVEN/HELL/ETC here.

People have been making these claims for so long it would take you eons to sort through the bs people have concocted. So while this guy claims doctors have bought my product, etc, etc, I've yet to see documentation from any credible source on this guy's claims.

So called Psychic Sylvia Brown does the same thing too feeds off the emotions of people. She claims to have been hired by Law Enforcement Agencies worldwide, etc., but cannot back her claim as most of these people can't either.

Doesn't matter though a sucker is born every minute and as long as no one takes the time to analyze things in a realistic manner the Alex Chuis and Sylvia Browns will always be around to feed off of emotion.

Personally I think people should look into the true findings about the claims of magnetic healing which this guy mentions.

In human nature many people let their emotions get the best of them and this is what I perceive this guy is doing, feeding off the emotions of people who'd think they can live longer via some device.

Stepping back take a quick look at life in a realistic perspective if you will:

Things go round animals of all types come and go through evolution, nothing lasts forever.

Biblical look; You die and supposedly go to $INSERT_YOUR_HEAVEN/HELL/ETC here.

People have been making these claims for so long it would take you eons to sort through the bs people have concocted. So while this guy claims doctors have bought my product, etc, etc, I've yet to see documentation from any credible source on this guy's claims.

So called Psychic Sylvia Brown does the same thing too feeds off the emotions of people. She claims to have been hired by Law Enforcement Agencies worldwide, etc., but cannot back her claim as most of these people can't either.

Doesn't matter though a sucker is born every minute and as long as no one takes the time to analyze things in a realistic manner the Alex Chuis and Sylvia Browns will always be around to feed off of emotion.

Here's a list of some skeptical sites that I visit regularly or on occasion. They're, in my opinion, very useful in refining one's own baloney detection sense. (Re, "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection" by Carl Sagan.)

The Skeptic's Dictionary. An A to Z of mythical, supernatural, and other bizarre topics, but looking at them from the point of view of, "Is this shit for real?" (Hint: the site basically debunks every mystical supernatural piece of BS you ever heard of.)

The Committee for the Scientific Inquiry into Claims of the Paranormal. A great general site with articles, references, links, etc. CSICOP basically keeps a watch out for people making paranormal or supernatural claims, and then investigating them scientifically to see if they stand up. (Strangely, they never do... maybe this tells us something about paranormality in general?)

The James Randi Educational Foundation. Similar to CSICOP, but headed by James Randi, a long-time debunker of the supposedly mystical and magical.

Also, go and read everything Carl Sagan ever wrote; it's a pity we lost him a few years ago, for he was one of the best skeptics the world had.

The claims he's making seem to fall into the realm of the paranormal. Here's a question I'd like to see him answer.

If these devices work the way you claim, why don't you make a quick million dollars by taking and passing the James Randi challenge?

Check this old article at the Amazing Randi site. The hats are different colours but I think it is the same puzzle. He usually has a great riddle or puzzle every week.

Check this old article at the Amazing Randi site. The hats are different colours but I think it is the same puzzle. He usually has a great riddle or puzzle every week.

The James Randi Educational Foundation would definitely fall into the category of a "geek charity". Many people know of James "The Amazing" Randi's work in debunking pseudoscientific claims, and increasing the awareness and critical thinking skills of the general public but they can always use more money to further their work.

Anything that might help more people think for a change is a worthy cause IMHO.

The James Randi Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1996. Its aim is to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.

The Foundation's goals include:

• Creating a new generation of critical thinkers through lively classroom demonstrations and by reaching out to the next generation in the form of scholarships and awards.

  Demonstrating to the public and the media, through educational seminars, the consequences of accepting paranormal and supernatural claims without questioning.

  Supporting and conducting research into paranormal claims through well-designed experiments utilizing "the scientific method" and by publishing the findings in the JREF official newsletter, Swift, and other periodicals. Also providing reliable information on paranormal and pseudoscientific claims by maintaining a comprehensive library of books, videos, journals, and archival resources open to the public.

  Assisting those who are being attacked as a result of their investigations and criticism of people who make paranormal claims, by maintaining a legal defense fund available to assist these individuals.

To raise public awareness of these issues, the Foundation offers a $1,000,000 prize to any person or persons who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability of any kind under mutually agreed upon scientific conditions.

The James Randi Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1996. Its aim is to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.

The Foundation's goals include:

• Creating a new generation of critical thinkers through lively classroom demonstrations and by reaching out to the next generation in the form of scholarships and awards.

  Demonstrating to the public and the media, through educational seminars, the consequences of accepting paranormal and supernatural claims without questioning.

  Supporting and conducting research into paranormal claims through well-designed experiments utilizing "the scientific method" and by publishing the findings in the JREF official newsletter, Swift, and other periodicals. Also providing reliable information on paranormal and pseudoscientific claims by maintaining a comprehensive library of books, videos, journals, and archival resources open to the public.

  Assisting those who are being attacked as a result of their investigations and criticism of people who make paranormal claims, by maintaining a legal defense fund available to assist these individuals.

To raise public awareness of these issues, the Foundation offers a $1,000,000 prize to any person or persons who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability of any kind under mutually agreed upon scientific conditions.

Sorry to be so skeptical, but that looks like your typical "perpetual motion" scam. Even the article admits that they didn't take basic magnetic shielding steps that would most likely eliminate the force they claimed to have measured.
Avoid those gee-whiz news items that promise things for free like cancelling gravity completely. They're right up there with those goofs that claim you can survive without eating.

Be skeptical about pseudoscientific claims. Join the James Randi Educational Foundation.

There are other less impressive things I can still do, such as predict with 90+% accuracy the outcome of coin tosses. If I think about it and try to figure out what will happen my accuracy goes to shit. But if I just let go and let the answer come to me I'll get it right almost always.

I think the claim that you still can predict coin tosses with 90% accuracy is more impressive than that you used to control rain or that you believe you once exorcised a demon. It would be easily demonstrable and scientifically testable. If you could do it under controlled conditions, you could even win the million dollar Randi Psychic Challenge.

However, it seems more likely that your statistics are biased. For example, by continuing runs as long as you're getting hits and ending them when you start missing, by not counting any runs when your accuracy is low, or by choosing when in a run to start and stop counting after the fact (selecting only the streaks).

Um, please tell me this statement is a joke... If it isn't, you need to do some reading. Perhaps start with James Randi. There is indeed lots of evidence that Geller isn't authentic (See Randi). But further more, it's not the job of others to disprove outragous claims. You haven't found any evidence that I'm not Jesus Christ, therefore you should just accept that fact until something comes along to show that I'm not. Right?

The Amazon reviews of James Randi's book are hysterical. Almost all of the negative reviews are written by "a reader from..." (AKA Anonymous Cowards.) The wording and phrases are remarkably similar from review to review. Could this be a mutation of the Slashdot Effect?

Paul Hostetler

...dowsing, which ironically anyone can do easily...

If you can find it consistently, contact the James Randi Educational Foundation and demonstrate your powers and they will give you a million dollars! Though you should probably read their page on dowsing first to learn why no one's been able to do this.

...dowsing, which ironically anyone can do easily...

If you can find it consistently, contact the James Randi Educational Foundation and demonstrate your powers and they will give you a million dollars! Though you should probably read their page on dowsing first to learn why no one's been able to do this.

...dowsing, which ironically anyone can do easily...

If you can find it consistently, contact the James Randi Educational Foundation and demonstrate your powers and they will give you a million dollars! Though you should probably read their page on dowsing first to learn why no one's been able to do this.