I'm baffled by the many gossip venues on the Internet, and I've never become involved in any of them -- there is far too much kid-stuff like the kind I see being promoted all across the Internet spectrum. I don't have time to play these games; I've serious matters to attend to -- and there's a comment that the kids out there will seize upon as a plaything, I'm sure...
I recently unwisely offered to discuss with someone who commented on the Huffington Post on the question of acupuncture, which he/she was convinced worked wonderfully, and offered to share with him/her a pertinent excerpt from my next book A Magician in the Laboratory. The reaction to that offer convinced me to send the following to him/her. Since I’d rather not register with the Huffington Post, I will post my response here:
I am not yet interested in sharing the acupuncture selection from my next book, A Magician in the Laboratory, with the whole world, which I now realize might happen if I were to send it to you; I find that persons who subscribe to the gossip venues tend to copy and re-transmit anything and everything to everyone they can reach. Thus, you will have to await the publication of my book.
The advocates of acupuncture have developed routines for convincing people of the efficacy of their notion by certain trick procedures, but acupuncture only appears to work. You will not believe this, but you may understand when you see my explanation, part of which involves quoting massive amounts of material obtained by experiments that were not double-blinded, and therefore useless, and things like "electro-acupuncture," which does work though it's not related to acupuncture in any way.
Over the years, hundreds of persons have "made it past the negotiation portion" of the JREF’s Million Dollar Challenge. I have no idea how you got the idea that they hadn't. There has never been any "unreasonable stipulation" that you assume exists. We have tested hundreds of claims over the years, and all have failed. This rebuttal is typical of how we have to correct false notions that people invent for us, particularly in regard to the Million Dollar Challenge, which is simply a prize available to anyone who can show that any paranormal, occult, or supernatural powers really work.
Our communication has now ceased, since I cannot spend more time arguing non-existent points about the challenge.
James Randi