April 1st at the JREF… Major changes
1) The New $1,000,000 Challenge
2) New JREF Scholarship
3) New Membership Plan
4) Pigasus Awards
It's April 1st again, and today represents the start of the twelfth year of the JREF's mission. A lot has happened in the past eleven years, and a lot more is about to happen. Here's the rundown on what's changed recently …
1) The New $1,000,000 Challenge
The much-anticipated challenge transition is complete. The JREF will no longer be accepting unsolicited challenges. The reason is simple... the vast majority of challenges we receive are from people who are deluded, have been deceived, or are deranged. Many of the applications are nonsensical, presented in foreign languages, scribbled with crayon, etc. These take a lot of time to process, and as we're a small non-profit organization, we feel that time and money is better spent going after those who are deceiving the public for profit. The "big names" have carefully avoided the challenge, citing a silly litany of excuses, none of which are truthful.
No more. The JREF will now be actively pursuing those who make claims about the paranormal and supernatural directly. In the coming days, we'll be posting direct challenges to a select group of celebrity “psychics." The million dollars is real. The test is simple. Anyone with psychic powers would easily pass the protocol. If they don't need the money, we'll happily arrange for it to go to the charity of their choice. In fact, we think it would be unethical for anyone to pass up an opportunity to spend an hour and earn $1,000,000 for charity. Wouldn't you do it if you could?
The new challenge rules are available at http://www.randi.org/research. There will be a new Frequently Asked Questions section added as soon as we've compiled them (questions can be sent to challenge@randi.org).
One question that's likely to come up is, "What about those people who aren't famous and really have 'the gift'?" We invite them to contact us, and we'll put them in touch with some of the other organizations offering cash prizes with similar challenge protocols. If they pass the challenge of those organizations, they'll instantly be eligible for ours. Folks, it's really quite simple. Any real psychic (or astrologer, dowser, remote viewer, etc…) could easily win the money if their powers are real. The fact that, to date, no one has passed even the preliminary challenge speaks volumes.
2) The NEW JREF Scholarship Program
When the JREF was started in 1996, one of its goals was to promote critical thinking in education by sponsoring promising students. That project slowed down and nearly died due to a lack of qualified applicants. We simply weren't getting enough applications to justify the awards.
With this in mind, the JREF is now launching a new scholarship initiative. We'll be awarding up to $10,000 in four grants- one of $5000, one of $2500, one of $1500, and one of $1000. Applicants will be asked to compose a short essay on how they will incorporate critical thinking into their chosen field of study. These will be reviewed by our scholarship committee, which includes long-time JREF associate and retired Air Force Academy Professor, Hal Bidlack; Editor of Scientific American, John Rennie; and Skeptical Magazine columnist, Harriet Hall. This money comes straight from the JREF's general fund, and we hope to establish an endowment over time to help grow the awards. We're just getting underway, but for more information, please visit http://www.randi.org/scholarship.
3) A New Membership Plan
The JREF membership plan has been revamped with new awards and perks. Membership in the JREF is very important- it's our lifeblood. We simply cannot survive without your participation.
One of the key changes will be the addition of a quarterly newsletter, available only to members, with inside information, exclusive content, and opportunities to interact with the JREF on projects.
If you're not already a member, please consider joining. Help us maintain the struggle against the forces of inanity. For more information, visit http:/www.randi.org/jref/join.html.
4) 11th Annual Pigasus Awards
It's time to announce the next Pigasus Awards! Every year, we choose individuals or organizations that have done the most to promote uncritical thinking, quackery, or other tomfoolery. This year's selections are available at http://www.randi.org/pigasus.
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