The James Randi $1 mil challenge

[desert-rat]

There have been some posts on this , so I will make this posts with some links . It is my belief the contest is rigged , there is no way to win , the Randi foundation wants to keep its money .  When the Pavlina forum was open we had simular discussions there , and have already posted links on this forum , but will post them again if asked .  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randi_challenge   If some one does want to try for it http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html     desert rat   

[Volgerle]

Honestly, I meanwhile wish we'd see the day here that the word "Randi" isn't mentioned anymore on any forum like this. Not because we need or should have any taboos or forbidden topics, but rather because it is not felt necessary.

Should we give negative energies and futile superstition in materialism really that much focus? We strengthen them when we do this.  Just my two cents about the very recent Randi-thread/post-explosion. Ignore him and his siblings! That's best!

PS ....

If you can't, well okay, I didn't do that either, at least some time ago ... 

.. then read blog entries by M. Prescott which are good ...

http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2006/12/the_challenge.html

http://www.skepticalinvestigations.org/Examskeptics/Prescott_Randi.html

.... or read THIS great book which any Randi disciple wouldn't even touch with gloves, as it could shatter their BELIEF system:

http://www.amazon.com/RANDIS-PRIZE-sceptics-paranormal-matters/dp/1848764944/

Another good page I had bookmarked long ago when it comes to de-construct the arguments of the pseudo-skeptics:

http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Introduction.htm#How

http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/index.php#Vinstonas

Last not least, parapsychologist Dean Radin has interesting things to say about that 'prize' offered by 'debunkers':

http://deanradin.blogspot.de/2010/07/compassion-for-skeptics.html

Nuff from me. 

ah no, one more:

http://deanradin.blogspot.de/2010/11/im-skeptic-video.html

'I'm a skeptic...' 

[desert-rat]

The reason that I made this post was to provide links to some of the forum members that were asking about the $ 1 mil challenge .That the challenge  was more to make fun of the occult and psychics .   On that list of people that have signed up for the challenge one guy said the Randi foundation treated him like s***  ,  so unless one enjoys that kind of treatment , it best to forget about the challenge . There are easer and better ways to prove the occult , o.b.e. , n.d.e. , ect . It is my guess that James Randi does believe in the occult , and knows a few tricks , or some one would have done some thing to him just to prove a point .  desert rat 

[Lionheart]

 I don't know why Randi's challenge would even mean anything to anyone that truly experiences the Wider Reality or has some kind of "special" gift. This only has to be REAL to YOU. If your goal is to prove it to others for monetary rewards or your ego, then the whole true purpose of this has skipped right by you.

[bluelily]

Challenges and monetary rewards aside, I think a lot of people need something more concrete to go on before they're able to really explore these topics. New Agers and the like don't have a very good reputation... And many people are just wired to want things verified - which I think is just natural. To me it seems like providing more evidence could ultimately change things for some people. Skepticism is healthy in itself, as long as it doesn't mean dismissing an idea without good enough reason... Some proof could put these things at least a few notches above fairystories for the scientific-minded. Proving something to other people isn't a goal for me personally, but I still consider it worthwhile.

[Xanth]

I don't know why Randi's challenge would even mean anything to anyone that truly experiences the Wider Reality or has some kind of "special" gift. This only has to be REAL to YOU. If your goal is to prove it to others for monetary rewards or your ego, then the whole true purpose of this has skipped right by you.

You tell'em Steve!!  ...err, I mean Lionheart!  ^_^ 

But yeah, that's pretty much it. 

[majour ka]

James randi is a cynic, not a skeptic. 

[Szaxx]

Hi,

James randi is a cynic, not a skeptic. 

That's the word!

[personalreality]

Last not least, parapsychologist Dean Radin has interesting things to say about that 'prize' offered by 'debunkers':

http://deanradin.blogspot.de/2010/07/compassion-for-skeptics.html

I got his book Entangled Minds and it sat on my bookshelf for years and then I finally read it like last year for no apparent reason.  I like the guy.  My academia experience is focused in parapsychology/transpersonal psychology and we don't get much slack.  I had a psychological statistics professor (who I was a really good teacher that I liked a lot) announce to the whole class that it was their job to convince me not to go into parapsychology as a career field (after she asked me what my psychological interest was).  She was kind of a grump about it honestly.  But she made a the valid point that it's harder to get work in parapsychology, though she wasn't being sympathetic about it, she agreed and told me that parapsychologists deserved to be blacklisted and that they gave "hard" scientists like herself a bad name.

Her claim to fame is research on how smoking is bad for you.  I asked her if she really felt that it was better to spend our tax dollars and tuition money on proving that cigarettes are bad for you, when we've known for 40+ years how bad they are for you, or if we ought to consider focusing on finding the answers to the REAL questions people have about the human condition and the mind.  She dismissed the question and made fun of me for "believing in ghosts" (which I don't). 

[Justin_my_mind]

I don't know why Randi's challenge would even mean anything to anyone that truly experiences the Wider Reality or has some kind of "special" gift. This only has to be REAL to YOU. If your goal is to prove it to others for monetary rewards or your ego, then the whole true purpose of this has skipped right by you.

Well said. The system will not forget about Randi and others like him. They will continue to get nudged along as appropriate toward seeing that reality is much, much bigger. Hopefully, at some point, they will take the bait.

We can only change ourselves - and those positive changes trickle out to the rest and have a much greater impact than trying to prove anything or convince anybody of anything.

[Frequent Flier]

I'm glad I read some people were fed up with the subject, I was almost going to start a new thread :Has anyone tried the Randi 1,000,000 challenge. 

He's the not the most credible skeptic ever -massive understatement - but in case someone had tried it...

[desert-rat]

On people trying for the $1,000,000 prize , there are lists of them and how they were treated .  We discussed it over on Pavlina also .  http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/psychic-paranormal/70057-james-randi-1-million-dollars-challenge.html http://www.stevepavlina.com/
forums/psychic-paranormal/69020-why-do-psychics-agree-take-1m-challenge-if-s-impossible-win.html  
p.s. http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/psychic-paranormal/65529-james-randi-s-million-dollar-challenge.html 

[Frequent Flier]

Thanks! Not very well I gather?   

[Xanth]

Eventually, as you practice projection and grow spiritually... you realize one thing:  You're not in a race with anyone but yourself.  You only have to prove this stuff to yourself.

It's a complete waste of time to attempt to prove this to anyone else.

[desert-rat]

I have this image of James Randy as a ghost saying there are no ghosts . There is a you tube video where he explanes a o.b.e. he remembers that what he sees is different , missing cat, walls are the wrong color , ect.  so he says it was just a dream .

[Justin_my_mind]

That is pretty amazing to watch him in that youtube video deny his own experience because of a cat and the color of the bedspread. He is a true believer.

Randi should just hand over the $ to Dean Radin and call it a day.

[desert-rat]

 I think this is that you tube post .  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NwKkbd2e-c    It is my guess that James Randy does have some occult knowledge to protect him self , or some one would have done some thing to him just to prove a point .

[Wi11iam]

Eventually, as you practice projection and grow spiritually... you realize one thing:  You're not in a race with anyone but yourself.  You only have to prove this stuff to yourself.

It's a complete waste of time to attempt to prove this to anyone else.

It may be that most folk are wired to understand usefulness and the usefulness of 'being able to project' is not defined in relation to the physical as being useful and 'growing spiritually' is not the absolute result of being able to project...is not even apparently that necessary.

Belief serves as a mechanism in which to 'prove stuff to yourself' but what is 'yourself' and why does it need proof, and to what purpose is it in relation to the physical world you predominately exist in?

These questions reflect the 'race with yourself' but the self appears to be layered and not that easily definable and the physical aspect of self as ego is subjective in nature and is likely why evidence is not forthcoming - the physical seems to have an edge here as it is able to provide objective evidence to which that ego can choose to support or deny as its self sees fit.

I conclude that there is indeed an objective field which occupies the non physical reality which is invisible to that which is not seeking it anyway - being otherwise distracted by the subjective self absorbed experience and that this objective field awaits individual discovery but remains hidden to the self absorbed - not by its own volition, but because it cannot be seen because of the self created distractions.