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Summary: A recent study in India by the Defense Research and Development Organization observed a holy man who claims that he has lived for decades without food or water. A team of 30 medics are reported to have been in attendance during a 14 day observation of the man.

Can a person survive on just air? Perhaps, as a professor in the study says, "If he does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one."

There have been many claimants over the years for the Million Dollar Challenge who say that they have survived for years without ingesting any food or water. When put to the test, they fail.

Original Story:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100510/tod-starving-yogi-astounds-indian-scient-451ab4f.html

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“Europe is closed,” I told my eight year old daughter that Sunday morning, letting her know that I wouldn’t be flying there that night. When she asked why it was closed, I told her that volcano ash is dangerous to airplanes. In her best smart-alecky voice, she threw right back at me what I’ve been trying to teach her about skepticism: “Are you sure, Dad, or is it just a guess? Well? I mean, do we have e-vi-dence?” With those words I realized that the skeptic movement missed an opportunity to show people how valuable — literally valuable — a skeptical approach can be.

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The James Randi Educational Foundation is pleased to announce that it will be offering events in Louisville and Chicago in the upcoming months. The workshop Divination with Pendulums and Dowsing Rods is a comprehensive 3-hour, hands-on program covering the history, current application, and construction of divination devices, presented from a skeptical perspective, and featuring the research of James Randi on the topic. The workshop will emphasize how paranormal beliefs like dowsing are not trivial, and have real-world implications. Participants will make both pendulums and dowsing rods, and devise randomized, double-blinded trials to test their effectiveness. All tools, materials, and handouts are included in registration fee.


The workshops will be led by Dr. Christina L. Stephens, a science writer and biomechanics researcher who writes for the JREF and at  www.ziztur.com. She is chair of the Fringe Science Investigations Committee of the Skeptical Society of Saint Louis. Joining her will be Zi Teng Wang, a scientist and amateur magician, and long-time skeptic with special interest in evolutionary biology and the American educational system. 

Our event in Louisville is on June 12th, 2010 and is being hosted by the Louisville Area Skeptics. Our Chicago workshop is July 31st, 2010 and is being hosted by the Chicago Skeptics. Workshop registration is free for JREF members and $45 for non-members. You will find links to online registration below.

For more information about regional workshops or to find out how to bring a JREF event to your city, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Watch for new workshops coming soon, including Skepticism 101, Psychics and Skeptics, and Junior Skepticism, a 1/2-day skepticism camp for children and families, featuring resources from Junior Skeptic magazine, the illustrated kids’ critical thinking periodical bound into every issue of Skeptic magazine.

Register for Divination with Pendulums and Dowsing Rods, Louisville, Ky, June 12th

Register for Divination with Pendulums and Dowsing Rods, Chicago, IL, July 31

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Many factors drive turnout at a large event like "The Amazing Meeting 8" (TAM8) but this year one emerging driver in particular merits our rapt attention. That driver is social media. It not only has been changing how we interact, but it has been fueling a renaissance in conferencing among skeptics.

Social media can be used to promote events. The buzz surrounding Richard Dawkins and others in the speaker lineup has likely led many to register to attend. At the same time, many of us are attracted to TAM8 not so much to see the likes of Dawkins, but rather to meet and socialize with friends and acquaintances from our growing social media networks. In short, networking is gaining currency among skeptics in a big way and TAM is one of the beneficiaries.

Until only recently, one might expect that skepticism would be entering a "post-conference" era, one in which "virtual" events cannibalize and supplant those which are live and in-person. The time and cost of travel, the growing sophistication of social media tools, and the wide availability of streaming video would appear to justify the decline of conferences, including TAM.

But that's not happening. To the contrary, skepticism is experiencing the proliferation and growth of live, in-person events, not only our largest ones like TAM and Skeptrack at Dragon*Con, but regional events like NECSS and SkeptiCal, local events like Skeptics in the Pub and those that buck convention like Skepchicamp, one of the many SkeptiCamp open events.*

The tools of social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.) are playing a role in this resurgence in conferencing, but how exactly? As mentioned earlier, promotion is an obvious role—the buzz of excitement surrounding events can fuel participation. But social media is more than promotion. It is about interacting in small and large ways with others, including close friends as well as acquaintances you've never met. That daily interaction can drive a desire for human contact—a desire to have a beer with your tweeps, for example. However, that's where social media hits a wall. Having a beer at Virtual Drinking Skeptically can have value, but it is a different experience than sharing a beer in the Del Mar Lounge at TAM. The tools cannot convey a richness of human communication that is only possible through live, in-person social interaction.

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Summary: When James Randi was a young boy he learned a very valuable lesson from his grandfather. You could almost call it a "pay it forward" lesson. To this day Randi still uses that lesson in his every day life. Helping stranded motorists, helping turtles cross the road and donating to his favorite charities. Why? Well because "It's the way to go folks" as Randi says.

 

  1. A Little Short of Satan
  2. JREF Pleased To Announce Organizational Co-Sponsorships of The Amazing Meeting
  3. George Alan Rekers Debunks Himself, Kind Of
  4. Last Week at Science-Based Medicine