I am of the opinion that there are no such things as genuine psychic powers. I also do not believe in telekinesis or communicating with the dead or anything of the sort. There are some folks who believe in these things who amaze me because they seem so smart and rational about matters of reality but they toss their sense of logic away when someone claims to have a message of peace from their dead grandfather or something. There are also those who make a vat full of money by preying on the gullible and/or grieving.
So I very much admire and respect the work that James Randi has done over the years, "debunking" (a term he doesn't like) the Uri Gellers and Peter Popoffs of the world. He can't put them out of business. There are too many people out there who, even when shown the lame magic tricks that are employed, want to believe. But The Amazing Randi (as he was called when he was a full-time magician and a good one) has helped many to see the light.
Last September, Randi appeared at the Magic Castle not to do tricks but to be interviewed about his work by Max Maven. Max does a "mentalist" act that is admitted trickery…though if he claimed his feats were done via powers from God, he could probably make a fortune from folks who'd cough up their life savings (literally) for readings. Maven interviewed Randi for more than a hundred minutes before a roomful of magic scholars and practitioners, making for a fascinating evening. I was in that audience and when Maven got his subject to commit to come back for Part Two, I made a mental note to come back for that. That's where I was last evening.
It was another riveting conversation. Among many other topics, Randi spoke about the Million Dollar Challenge offered by his base of operations, the James Randi Educational Foundation. Put simply, they have a million smackers for anyone who can demonstrate some actual paranormal ability (E.S.P., talking with the departed, etc.) under scientific test conditions. The challenge was first offered in 1964 for $10,000. Even since it was upped to a cool million, no one has ever won it or shown any powers that came close.
None of the prominent psychics or psychic healers have ever applied though a few said they would and didn't. The usual excuse they give is to say something like, "I checked and the offer is bogus. Randi doesn't have the million dollars." That reason doesn't even make sense. Even if Randi didn't have the prize money, the publicity from winning his challenge would be worth several million to anyone who did it, plus it would neuter a man who's caused a lot of woe and financial obstacle to folks in their profession. They could also sue him for breach of contract or something of the sort. But as it happens, Randi does have the million and has posted sufficient info on his website that would enable anyone to contact his bank and verify this. According to him this past evening, no one has ever even called the bank to inquire. What does that tell you about claimed psychics?
Anyway, I greatly enjoyed hearing the second interview and I'll be going back for the third whenever they schedule it. I also enjoyed talking with Randi after the event, hoping that a little of his energy (at age 83) would transfer to me.
If you're sorry you couldn't be there for either conversation…well, I can help a little. Embedded below is the entirety of the first chat from last September. It runs an hour and 48 minutes and if you start watching it, don't blame me if you get hooked and watch the whole thing. Enjoy…
