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At Dragon*Con earlier this year, I took part in the “Raising Skeptical Geeks” panel, moderated by Desiree Schell (of the “Skeptically Speaking” podcast), and joined by Adam Savage, Laura Phillips, LaVerne Angela Knight-West, Daniel Loxton, and Barbara Drescher. [You can find the complete audio of the panel discussion here.]

One of the subjects we discussed was what to teach your children about fantasy figures like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. (Unfortunately, there were apparently some young children in the audience, on whose behalf a few parents subsequently expressed disappointment in the panel’s inadvertent “spoilers.” This was certainly unintentional and recently, when I attended a “Jill & Julia” show — my friends Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney — I made sure to find out in advance if there were any Santa spoilers, and this gave me the chance to walk my seven-year-old twin boys out for a bathroom trip at a critical juncture!)

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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.

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A correspondent — who shall remain anonymous for obvious reasons — provides us with an excellent example of well-developed delusionary obsession. He borrows from every crackpot source available, and I assure you that he is quite convinced of the reality of his notion.  I also notice that he has not applied for the JREF million-dollar prize…

He writes me:

I can prove telepathy is real.

However, be wary as it is in use by intelligence agencies who use it to maintain external agents with whom there is no physical manifestation of communications contact, so they are not easily detected and need not use dead drop boxes or encrypted cell phones, etc., which can be exposed by investigative observation, while telepaths can only generally be detected by other telepaths and only as to information communicated, which is easily masked by encoding telepathic transmissions.  BTW, the stories that same involves use of implanted microchips is a load of bulls--t.

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Whatever gets you through your life ,'salright, 'salright.

Do it wrong or do it right, 'salright, 'salright

Don't need a watch to waste your time, oh no, oh no.

— John Lennon

 

 

In “Hereafter,” Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial outing, three characters explore the impact of death — or near-death — on their lives. George Lonegan (Matt Damon) is a construction worker who, thanks to a brain trauma suffered early in his life. possesses mediumistic abilities — or at least, believes he does. Marie LeLay (Cécile de France) is a French television journalist who, accidentally caught up in a tsunami tidal wave, suffers a near-death experience. And a London schoolboy, Jason, is killed in an accident, leaving his surviving twin brother Marcus (the boys are played interchangeably by both George and Frankie McLaren), to try to survive on his own.

 

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Dear Friends of the JREF,

The last month has hustled by and much has happened in that time. Perhaps the most important event of note since my last letter to you was TAM London 2010, which I can say with all sincerity, warmed this seasoned curmudgeon's heart with the outpouring of warmth and support for our skeptics movement "across the pond." To be sure, The Amaz!ng Meeting has grown beyond my greatest expectations — the JREF holds Amaz!ng Meetings now in the United States, Britain and Australia — and I have to thank the talented cadre of JREF staffers as well as those who volunteer at and attend these meetings for the singular level of support we've enjoyed. These meetings are not just about "preaching to the choir," folks. They reach out to new people, as the number of new faces at each meeting shows — some of these are people for whom these Amaz!ng Meetings are their very first skeptics events, ever!

Now, next weekend, I'll be speaking at Skepticon III in Missouri, along with JREF President D. J. Grothe and a host of other notable skeptics, and the week after, I'll travel Down Under, for the first Amaz!ng Meeting in Australia! That'll be "across the other pond," of course. Briskly moving right along…

For those who are curious about the machinations of this old prestidigitator and our proud Foundation, I want to let you all know that I'm focusing more these days on writing my next book, and to that end we've decided to move our administrative offices to Falls Church, Virginia. D. J. Grothe has moved to Los Angeles, and will be hiring additional staff to work out of that location for the JREF in the coming months. Not to worry, however, because the venerable JREF Library — almost 4,000 volumes! — will remain intact in Fort Lauderdale for those who need it.

With TAM London 2010 such a success, it's clear that the JREF is on a solid footing for the future, but we need to do more! I, for one, am thrilled at the new initiatives brought forward by Grothe and our staff.

But we cannot continue to expand our skeptical public education programs without your help. You'll find out more about our Season of Reason fundraising campaign elsewhere in the letter, or online.

But I want to ask you, please, to support the JREF, if you can, and to the best extent that you can. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, your donations will now be doubled, but only if you donate during the campaign. Won't you please help the JREF today?

Sincerely,

James Randi

P.S. - if you donate to the JREF today, we would like to send you a unique gift featuring a likeness of yours truly, made especially for our Season of Reason.

(To read the rest of the November JREF News and Updates which began with this letter, click here.)

  1. Last Week at Science-Based Medicine
  2. ANOTHER FRIEND IS LOST TO ME
  3. PLEASE HELP WITH LIBEL REFORM
  4. A Celebration of Sagan