Table of Contents:
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE PLACE?
A Catherine Connelly has written to me about the "Association of Professional Clairvoyants" owned by its director Keith Ward, who claims to have a PhD in "Paranormal Studies." I fail to recognize that "science" or field as one issuing degrees. I wrote to Mr. Ward, and promptly received a notice that the Association was going after someone who had issued statements that displeased them. A reference to Ms. Connelly, perhaps?
In any case, I looked into Mr. Ward's claims, and they are based on the same tired old schemes that have made fortunes for the fakers. At www.psychicreadings.org.uk/freeonlinegames.htm you'll see a selection of "psychic games" that are designed to lure you in, preparatory to separating you from your money. These are the usual forced-choice tricks and deceptions, but it's rare to see them all on one site. Here's what you'll find:
Preceding the tired old "pick one of these five cards" Internet trick, which I'm sure more than 95% of Internet surfers have seen by now, appears this question: "Can our clairvoyants really predict which card you will select in this great game you can play online?" The trick works — unless you're smarter than a fence post — and you can then move on to the "ESP Test," in which the standard five Zener symbol cards (circle, plus mark, wavy lines, square, and 5-pointed star) are shown, and the victim is asked to choose "the one you feel you are drawn to." As any magician/mentalist knows, the favorite choice by far is the star, but just to provide an even better chance of psychic sensing, the page designer made the star symbol a bit bigger than any of the other four, as you can see in the illustration shown here, from the "psychic readings" web site. Add to that the placing of this symbol in position four, which makes it even more likely to be chosen because the average person will tend not choose either of the symbols placed at the ends of the row, nor the center one, and the wavy lines do not present an easily-identifiable shape.
In the "Three Predictions" game, the mystical forces state, "If we ask you to think of a country, an animal and a fruit and give you a few simple calculations, do you think we can predict the answers you will give us? We can claim a 98% accuracy! Want to test us? Here we go then..."
2. Multiply that number by 9 (If your answer is two digits, add them together to form a single number).
3. Subtract 5.
4. Now, think of a country that begins with the letter corresponding with the number below.
1. Think of a number between 1 and 10.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Note: Following the rules so far inescapably has to have put you at the digit "4," and thus the letter "D." There are only three possibilities here: Dominica, Dominican Republic, and Denmark. No, Dubai is not a country, but an emirate of Saudi Arabia. I'll bet you chose Denmark? Moving on....
5. Now think of an animal that begins with the last letter of the country's name.
And what animal did you get? Does it live in Australia?
6. Now think of a fruit that begins with the last letter of the animal's name.
Did I get "orange" just because I live in Florida? I don't think so....
7. Done all that? Now click below to see if we have correctly predicted the country, animal and fruit you are thinking of.
Yep, upon clicking I found that they'd "guessed" Denmark, kangaroo, and orange. Wow! But wait! There's more to this scam! They go on with another "psychic game":
1. Write down your chosen number.Pick ANY number and we'll read your mind! Think we can't read your mind? Well, to make this a little more difficult for us, you can think of ANY number you wish!
2. Please add 6 to your number.
3. Then please add 10.
4. Then please add 26.
5. Then please subtract 22.
6. Now please add 30.
Now, all that simple arithmetic simply means that you add 50 to your chosen number, then you subtract the chosen number! Not to my surprise, I got 50. Did you? What a farce! And the lawyers have also been busy, as we'd expect. In the smallest type size on the page appears: "This is for entertainment only. No mysticism nor magic is involved." In even tinier type appears: "Disclaimer: the contents of this web site are provided to our visitors for entertainment purposes only. This site and its owners are not liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages arising from your access to this site or any contents of this site. Accuracy is not guaranteed."
How about a disclaimer about no responsibility for accidents from people falling down laughing...? But let's not miss the point here: no matter how silly or juvenile the material shown on the www.psychicreadings.org.uk site, there will always be a certain number of desperate, naïve persons who will subscribe to it and will be thereby swindled.
As we "go to press," we note from his web page that "Dr." Keith Ward is no longer a PhD! Now, how did that happen....?
Reader Jim Mitchell argues:
I read with interest your commentary on Oct 22, 2004 as I do each week and, while disappointed, I was not completely surprised by [Arthur C.] Clark's support for cold fusion. After all, it's quite consistent with Clark's Law from his "Profiles of the Future" (Harper & Row, 1962) which states:
When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
How can a self-described "old-fashioned liberal and egalitarian" like Asimov articulate such an elitist view?
Furthermore,
And finally,
And rebellion against the "scientific establishment" is infinitely safer than rebellion against any real establishment. It seems, when choosing heresies to throw themselves behind, the likelihood of the heresy being true is not one of the top three considerations for most people.
As examples of heretics who initially were suppressed by the establishment, Asimov suggests the familiar examples of Galileo and Darwin but also, the less familiar cases of August Laurent (an organic chemist,) Julius Robert Meyer (an early champion of the law of conservation of energy) and Alfred Lothar Wegener (plate techtonics.) To the extent that these people have been heard of by the laity they are martyrs to establishment arrogance — especially among those who see any vindicated heresy as support for their own derided pet theory. But Asimov points out, as few others ever do, that none of these example were ever defended by the general public until after the "scientific establishment" came around and embraced them.
The inerrancy of the public in backing those who eventually are proven wrong and ignoring those who are eventually proven right, led Asimov to refine his corollary to:
Asimov was too intellectually honest to state this without looking for a counter-example, and he found one without great effort. The general public embraced Edward Jenner's small pox vaccine (ironic, considering current popular opinion) even while the establishment was still skeptical. It was one of those rare cases where the universe chose to behave the way everyone wanted it to. Rather like a clock that's right twice a day, the facts sometimes align with our desires.
Forgive this brief summary of such a well-thought-out and characteristically well-written Asimov article. You should read it if you can (I think it's out of print) but the bulk of it is an illumination of the ways that intelligent people come to believe ridiculous things and I think you, of all people, are not unfamiliar with the mechanisms.
No less august a skeptic than Isaac Asimov addressed Clark's Law in one of his collections of science articles called "Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright" (Mercury Press Inc., 1976, 1977). The last article is called "Asimov's Corollary." In it, Asimov generally supports Clark's Law but with an important qualification as his eponymous corollary:
When, however, the lay public rallies round an idea that is denounced by distinguished but elderly scientists and supports that idea with great fervor and emotion — the distinguished but elderly scientists are then, after all, probably right.
The answer is that human beings have the habit (a bad one, perhaps, but an unavoidable one) of being human; which is to say that they believe in that which comforts them.
...people generally love to believe the dramatic, and incredibility is no bar to the belief but is, rather, a positive help.
...people like to feel themselves to be rebels against some powerful repressive force — as long as they are sure it is quite safe.
If a scientific heresy is ignored or denounced by the general public, there is a chance it may be right. If a scientific heresy is emotionally supported by the general public, it is almost certainly wrong.
Why did Isaac have to leave us as tragically and as early, as he did? We still need him....
Soon, I'll tell you of a fascinating encounter I had in Germany with Dr. Rainer Wolf, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, biologist, electron microscopist, and researcher into perceptual illusions. It involves that fascinating "new" phenomenon that occurs when a magnetized ball-bearing is dropped down a piece of copper tubing. If that doesn't tell you what it's all about, you haven't yet seen this wonderful event. For now, I'll just tell you that an engineer at Magnet Sales & Manufacturing Corporation in Culver City, California, a company that deals exclusively in magnets and magnetic materials of every sort, has officially informed me that a ball-bearing cannot be magnetized. Funny. I have a few here that are strongly magnetized. How can that be?
You'll love the various interesting and unexpected aspects of this ball-bearing-in-a-tube phenomenon....!
To prepare, get yourself a heavily magnetized ball-bearing — even though that's impossible — and about three feet (a meter) of straight copper that will just admit the ball. Experiment dropping it down the tube, and I'll regale you with further wonders....
Anon.
MARTIN GARDNER IS HAPPILY NINETY
My dear friend Martin Gardner received that mass of birthday cards that came in to the JREF from all over the world, and he was appropriately surprised and pleased. Thank you, all. I also arranged to have a few very important and famous people call him on that day. Martin began acknowledging each of the cards individually, but I thought that it would be great a burden for him, so at my suggestion he wrote this blanket thank-you to all his well-wishers:
Your request to readers of your web site to send me cards on my October 21 ninetieth birthday produced such a flood of envelopes that it took me almost an hour to open them! Obviously I can't reply to all those who so kindly sent cards, but would be grateful if you would publish my profound note of thanks. I was deeply moved by the response to your request, not only from the U.S. but also from overseas.
Our great pleasure, Martin!
ASTROLOGY AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Reader Martin Cowen was disturbed that the IEE (Institution of Electrical Engineers in the UK) had apparently embraced astrology. He wrote to Ms. Sally Hellmann at the IEE:
I am amazed that an organization of professional engineers can effectively endorse such twaddle by including it in their diary, and as a result I shall be returning mine. I would like to have a replacement without any astrological references (which cheapen astronomy) for my money. "Astrology is neither harmless nor fun, and we should see it as an enemy of truth" — Richard Dawkins.
The diary used to have such data as the table of physical constants, SI [Système International d'Unités] symbols and units, etc. and to have this replaced by some mumbo-jumbo symbols is to effect a reduction in the usefulness of the diary by working engineers and shows the effects of careless cost-cutting by the IEE.I have been a member of the IEE since 1988 and was shocked to find that the Diary now contains such unscientific rubbish as signs of the Zodiac. The Tropical system was devised at the time of Ptolemy and the precession of the Earth means that we are now a few days out from even the supposedly more accurate Sidereal system, as well as being about a whole sign out from the Tropical system. The idea of constellations being anything more concrete than how stars line up when seen from a particular place in the universe, when they are in reality many times more distant from each other than appears, is a pre-scientific one based in ignorance.
Much to Mr. Cowan's satisfaction, he received a reply:
Once again, thank you for your feedback — it has been noted and will be used to help us with the production of the 2005 diary.
Sally Hellmann I am contacting you with regard to your comments on the 2004 diary and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. The Tropical System was chosen, as opposed to the Sidereal system, as this is the standard practice for the diary manufacturers.
We have asked Mr. Cowan to update us on the next IEE diary's contents...
Reader Lars Streiberger has more information regarding the recent "Minor Victory in Germany" item we ran here:
I had fun earlier this year attempting to talk my employer out of lining their pockets, as it looked to me to be a complete scam preying on the vulnerable. Eventually no chips were bought, but I got to hear a strange lecture from my boss (an Anthroposophist) about how he didn't trust "Birkonian Science."
If this German accused is the man responsible for the Gabriel Chip it would give me great pleasure to be able to inform my boss of his fate. If the Gabriel chip is unconnected with this man then I would very much like to bring Gabriel tech to the attention of this Public prosecutor
No doubt there are plenty more people out there running these kind of scams — but at least they may be persuaded to not set up in Germany...
Reading Michael Ortmann's email in this week's commentary reminds me about a similar German "chip" that is supposed to magic away all the bad radiation from all your electronic devices. How it does this while being glued to the outside of your phone/monitor etc. — with no power source — is a little bit confusing to me but involves some fairly impressive gobbledygook. www.gabriel-tech.de (unfortunately in German) is the page that will tell you all about the wonderful advantages of emptying your wallet in their direction.
Try as I may, I cannot find out what "Birkonian science" might be. It must be legitimate, if an Anthroposophist rejects it. Maybe not enough attention paid to wood spirits and elves...?
Reader Richard Rockley reminds me of a group I'd quite forgotten about, that giddy "PsiTech" bunch. They were making absurd claims for a while, and I figured that reality had caught up with them. Not so, Richard reports:
Remember PsiTech, the so-called remote viewers who so hilariously used their super powers to determine where to look for Elizabeth Smart's dead body? (Note: she was and still is very much alive.) They also "remote viewed" the crash of Flight 587, in New York in 2001, fingering terrorism as the cause. From the PsiTech site: www.remoteviewing.com/reports/111201.htm:
All of the data contained in this report was gathered using Technical Remote Viewing techniques by PSI TECH International, Inc.
Preliminary results suggest the following: The cause of the crash was a series of explosions caused by an intentionally damaged fuel injection pump. During take-off procedures, the engines of a jet aircraft are operated at full throttle. The fuel boost pump on Flight 587 was tampered with so that during take-off, the extreme vibration would create a rupture and a fuel spill that would cause the engine to explode. Massive fuel spilled into the engines while at full throttle. The left engine exploded breaking off from the wing and hitting the tail section shearing it off and causing the plane to spiral into the ground.
The most disturbing aspects of the data suggests [sic] "mechanical infiltration." The aircraft was tampered with by someone with sufficient mechanical knowledge knowing the specific stress caused by the vibration during take-off would result in rupturing the fuel pump system causing a fuel spill and resulting explosion.The Crash of American Airlines Flight 587 — Preliminary Report. Date: November 12, 2001 6:00 PM PST
Wow, just after 9/11 and they guessed terrorism, though it's only "suggested," as you may have noted. Who would have thought? Anyway, an official report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at: www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/26/ntsb.flight587.ap/index.html has concluded:
Investigator Robert Benzon of the National Transportation Safety Board staff said the copilot's response to turbulence, just seconds after the Airbus A300-600 plane took off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, was "unnecessary and aggressive."The co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 587 caused the November 2001 crash in Queens, New York, that claimed the lives of 265 people, the staff of the nation's airline safety agency reported Tuesday.
Another blunder by PsiTech. They continue to pretend they can do "remote viewing" despite these failures. As I recall, they claim they obtained the RV "technology" from the US government following its years of research. Didn't you debunk this years ago?
Well, as we've often said, we don't "debunk." We just ask the claimants to prove their claims. PsiTech has consistently refused to submit their claims to a test, so we just ignore them. It appears, from what we see here, that they've decisively debunked themselves....
FAKE FLU VACCINE IS BEING SOLD
Reader Charles Blue tells us of a very dangerous, false, quack, ad that has been appearing in his area of the USA. Mind you, government agencies are well aware of this, and they surely recognize that it could kill citizens who fall for it, but they will do nothing about it, particularly close to an election, because votes might be lost. They just don't give a damn. Charles tells us:
I wanted to pass along an ad for "Influenzium" that has been running repeatedly in the Washington Post Express, the free Metro-rider digest of the venerable paper on the Potomac. As in other parts of the country, there is a dearth of flu vaccine in this area. Montgomery County even initiated a lottery for the 800 doses it has. So with high demand and high fear, the following ad ran:
Missed Out on the Flu Shot? Influenzium is Your Solution! Made from the actual flu vaccine. Used to prevent and treat flu symptoms. FDA Registered [Whatever that's supposed to mean. CB]. Safe — No side effects [At least that much is true. — CB]. Shipped to your door in 1-3 days. Call to order.
This is care of Washington Homeopathic Products, at www.homeopathyworks.com. In looking at the website, it gives absolutely no information on the product, only that it is sold in either "200C" or "30X" doses. In reading this, I can certainly imagine people coming away with the idea that it is some sort of actual flu vaccine.
Well, as you well know, Charles, it's not. This flu "vaccine" is a fake, a fraud, a swindle, a racket, a hoax, a lie, a con game. There. That's actionable language, and Joe Lillard and Linda Sprankle-Lillard, the listed proprietors of the Washington Homeopathic Pharmacy, at 33 Fairfax Street, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, 25411, as well as their suppliers, are welcome to sue me for libel if they wish. They know where to reach me.
Now, I believe that Joe and Linda might well honestly believe that the magic water they're selling is actually an effective remedy against the flu. Most probably, they're just self-deluded. It's the "experts" who prepare and distribute these fake remedies who are the real culprits here. I'm taking this action because the government of the United States will do nothing to stop such scams from bilking the naïve and vulnerable, not on a state nor on a federal level. No one in government cares; citizens can be cheated and die, but the scammers get away with it because they know they're safe from prosecution due to the inertia of the system. The producers of the worthless water will profit hugely from this fakery, and by the time any of our agencies have awakened to reality, the flu scare will be over, the money will be in the bank, and we'll await the next health scam that will inevitably be underway.
ACTION AGAINST SUCH A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO PUBLIC SAFETY IS PERFECTLY POSSIBLE UNDER THE EXISTING LAWS. IT'S POLITICIANS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WHO SIMPLY DON'T CARE, WHO ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE, AND I'M TRYING TO BUILD A FIRE UNDER THEM. WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE AGENT OF THIS MOVE? SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY NEED TO BE EMBARRASSED — IF THAT'S AT ALL POSSIBLE! — INTO DOING WHAT THEY WERE ELECTED OR APPOINTED TO DO!
I'm waiting....
A SATISFACTORY RESULT IN CANADA
At www.randi.org/jr/100104court.html#3 you'll find the item referred to by this next reader.
Thank you very much for helping expose the religious quackery and crank science espoused by a colleague on our College's website. The College has now removed the link to his so-called research. Thanks to probably a number of e-mails from readers to the College Webmaster, positive results were quickly attained.
The note is signed by Marten Lettinga, Chemistry/Physics, University College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, Williams Lake Campus, British Columbia, Canada.
Marten, happy to have been of assistance. I know that a number of our readers did send in notes via e-mail, and we may be rather sure that those were of some assistance to getting the nonsense removed.
A letter that appeared in "The Australian" newspaper, following the running of an obituary on Dr. Jacques Benveniste:
It would have been more informative if the obituary had referred to the man who introduced me and others to his outstanding research, the Nobel laureate Brian Josephson.It is typical of the prejudice that beset the career of Jacques Benveniste (Time & Tide, 27/10) that you drag in the name of a magician James Randi. You then credit Randi with "unmasking the cutlery-bending tricks of Uri Geller." Quite apart from the fact that my ability with metal is a partially understood phenomenon of physics and not a trick, both Randi and I are irrelevant to Benveniste's life story.
That letter is signed by Uri Geller. He's calling on Josephson to establish his credentials? Josephson is the man who publicly challenged the American Physical Society to conduct tests of Benveniste's claims, then backed out silently when they — and the JREF — accepted enthusiastically! And just what's "partially understood" about Mr. Geller's ability? That's like saying that the rabbit-from-the-hat trick is partially understood....!
Reader Larry Barowski has looked into the Kevin Trudeau matter discussed here the past couple of weeks. He observes:
The order specifically allows him (and the other defendants) to promote or sell a book that:It seems that by selling a book related to "natural cures" that doesn't promote any particular product, Kevin Trudeau may be obeying the letter of the law regarding the injunction against him, but certainly not the intent. I'm not a lawyer though, and I could be interpreting the final order incorrectly. It is available at www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0323064/040907stip0323064.pdf
2) is not, directly or indirectly, an advertisement for any product, program or service; and
3) is not sold, promoted or marketed, directly or indirectly, in conjunction with any product, program or service that is related to the content of the book, newsletter, informational publication or infomercial.1) does not reference, directly or indirectly, any branded or trademarked product, program or service that Defendants are promoting;
Just thinking about Trudeau is making my cells turn acidic.The word "indirect" is fairly vague. Just how much indirection is acceptable? Is a book suggesting that alkalinity cures disease an indirect advertisement for "coral calcium"?
Reader Rakelle Østenstad scolds me:
I just did a search on the second largest newspaper in the country on the TV show in question, and got a dozen or so articles about how nothing in the show has ever helped solve a crime, that most police precincts have turned down their aid when offered, a mention of how psychics aren't banned from casinos, and a theory that people who think they have psychic abilities might have a brain damage. The latest article is a long story about psychics not solving crimes, written yesterday as a backlash to this poor woman who became a suspect after the show. Norway's best known psychic mispredicted her own death year after year after year. She requested a brain autopsy, certain that something would be found that was out of the ordinary. Her brain was normal.
I wish your readers who are so eager to point your attentions towards one or two asinine TV shows would be more balanced in what they send you. They're only giving those shows more attention than they deserve.My fiancé reads your website, and lets me know when Norway is mentioned in your commentary. These mentions almost invariably imply that Norwegians as a group are gullible fools, like the letter in your latest commentary where it is reported that 80% of those who bothered replying in a newspaper poll thought psychics should aid the police. It is nice that you have ardent followers in Norway, but I wish they would be a bit less ardent about making us look like backward hicks.
I answered Rakelle:
I agree. Why don't other Norwegians let me know about the stories you cited....? They're equally important to me....
An even more important clarification is offered to us by reader Harald Hanche-Olsen:
Much sadder is the result from the (totally unscientific of course) poll run by the same online news service: they ask "Should psychics be allowed to help in criminal investigations?" Of 1,920 votes cast, 66% say yes, 29% say no, 5% don't care.
Equally sad is the fact that this TV program is being watched at all, and is in fact quite popular. But by and large, the police in Norway, like police elsewhere as far as I understand, are less than enthusiastic.Concerning the item from Norway about the woman brought in for questioning following information from a psychic on a television program on unsolved murders, I think we should give the police some credit for not being totally moronic about it. In an interview, the police officer in charge of the cases categorically denied that the woman is, or ever has been, suspected of any wrongdoing in the case. He also denied that the woman was brought in for questioning. "When we learned that the program had named a person, we obtained the name and address and contacted her. We never questioned her. We had a conversation with the woman yesterday." The way I read the (very brief) interview with this police officer, they had this conversation in order to head off any rumors that might take shape after the TV program. He had the impression that the woman appreciated being contacted by the police. This is definitely better than hearing about it from the neighbors, in my opinion.
Yes, as we find when we get to actually hear directly from law enforcement agencies, that's what we usually hear, though some few spokesmen and heads of those agencies are proud to state that they're dedicated to consulting horoscopes, psychics, and fortune tellers. The media ignore any sensible attitudes, and concentrate on the silly aspects — as apparently happened in this case. But the damage is done: the fakers mentioned here will benefit from the publicity, no matter how damning it actually is....
In Scotland there has been a step forward — though rather late, in this case, as with the Vatican's recent decision to accept Galileo's naughty idea that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Who knew?
Accused witches and their cats executed centuries ago were pardoned on Halloween in the Scottish township of Prestopans. The baronial court granted the pardons for 81 local people executed in the 16th and 17th centuries for being witches, under ancient feudal powers which are now happily due to be abolished on November 28th. More than 3,500 Scots — mainly woman and children and their cats — were convicted, and "absolute pardons to all those convicted, as well as to the cats concerned" have now been granted.
Local historian Roy Pugh said, "It's a sort of symbolic recognition that these people were put to death for hysterical ignorance and paranoia." But hold on. Countless adults have been tucked away in prison here in the modern USA for claimed criminal assaults on children. Their trials were colored by descriptions of the performance Satanic ritual murders of hordes of children! How about pardons for those folks, too? The "evidence" produced for the Satanic shenanigans came from children — and we know that children don't lie, don't we, friends? Not one body of an executed child has been found, and only the children's carefully-coached stories have been offered as evidence, but that doesn't seem to matter much. Hysteria and a rush-to-judgment have done the job.
This is a matter that the JREF just can't get involved in, but you can. Refer to www.fmsfonline.org for the current status of this horrendous situation. And while you're at it, send the False Memory Syndrome Foundation — a 501(c)3 charity — a donation, at:
False Memory Syndrome Foundation,
1955 Locust Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766 USA
I just mailed mine off....
Reader Roger Labbe — along with some 60-odd other readers! — pointed out that James Van Praagh — and I — were seemingly rather ignorant of the facts about Chandra Levy. He wrote:
I bet you are just as dumbfounded as I am to find that Van Praagh somehow wasn't able to detect this. I know where Chandra's remains are, too! Or, at least I know where they were. They were found in May, 2002, after all, in a park in DC. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/05/22/levy.body/
Well, I thought readers would see through my mention of this, and that everyone would be very much aware of the fact that Chandra's body was found long ago and finally buried in Modesto, California. I was being facetious; sorry it didn't get across that way. Apologies.
Though the crime is still unsolved, despite the massive efforts of all those powerful psychics out there, I have an idea that people like Van Praagh won't be of any help at all. And that Howard Stern show might well have been a repeat; I suspect that it was.
I had to share this one with you: the latest really silly applicant for the JREF million-dollar prize has just sent in a properly-prepared and notarized application from Belgium, seriously claiming that he can survive in an atmosphere of Zyklon B — the lethal gas used to execute prisoners in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz — for "at least 15 minutes." Needless to say, we're simply telling him that no claim that obviously puts the applicant at serious risk, can be pursued by the JREF. However, I'm really tempted to direct him to the closing statement on the application where I write:
I strongly advise you to conduct proper double-blind tests of any ability you believe you can demonstrate, before attempting to undergo a testing for this prize.
Folks, we'll have over 300 signed-up registrants for TAM3 by the time you read this, so if you're not one of that number I urge you to get your paperwork in soon to Linda (see www.randi.org/tam3/index.html) so you won't miss out. So far, we have people coming from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Scotland, Sweden, the UK, and of course the USA.
Next week, Don Riefler reviews "Ghost Hunters" for us, George W. Maschke of AntiPolygraph.org challenges that instrument, Mario Tamboer, in Oostkapelle, Netherlands, tells us the latest about "Jomanda," the currently-popular Dutch "psychic" who pretty well has the entire field to herself in that country, and other good stuff....
