Psychic Investigator

In a previous post I shared videos that I had found with James Randi debunking various people and their various supernatural abilities on some kind of television programme that he was hosting.

Though I did not know what the name of the television programme was.

Luckily I have now discovered that this programme was actually called "Psychic Investigator". And thanks to YouTube I have found a long list of videos of this television programme which all show Randi showing the trickery and misunderstanding behind and concerning these paranormal or supernatural powers.

The other videos follow as links.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1CJbOAvfMf8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EoMbIg4phnQ

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7DLKQyXIT7c

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-g6SNzAc8rk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WGWwFYZwlSg

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_FZo0mGBT9Y

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SUQ4j5Vq03s

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_GNgiv9YgcI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rvoD1E1biMs

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tS6U8m2l5QY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=V9EBGI29e2o

http://youtube.com/watch?v=w6p0HgzFHvo

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N6Ix22TB6Ak

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Eji8E4UbAsU

JREF on ebay

The following is an interesting article taken from the James Randi Educational Foundation blog. It talks of an auction being held on ebay by Penn Juilette of Penn and Teller. This is an interesting example of one of the ways that JREF manages to make it's money as all of the winning bid will go towards the organisation so that they can continue to debunk!

Lunch with Penn Jillette - EBAY Auction!

Written by Rich Montalvo

Tuesday, 15 April 2008

PENN JILLETTE, the Emmy-winning, book writing, movie starring, Bullshit-pouncing, Vegas headlining, larger, louder half of comedy-magic team Penn & Teller, invites you to attend a very special day at his fabulous Las Vegas home, "THE SLAMMER." PENN WILL GUIDE YOU ON A TOUR of his awesome two-story desert paradise, where you'll see great things such as: - A framed tattoo on real human skin! - A koi pond shaped like a Goldfish cracker! - Stunning artwork by Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick! - See a unique sculpture by avant garde artist Jose Alvarez! - A real fire pole! - Secret rooms in his home which Penn will reveal to you! - Liza Minnelli's panties! - And more! You'll marvel at each and every room as Penn tells you about his beloved Vegas home. THEN - After the tour, JOIN PENN FOR LUNCH at The Slammer! Gather in Penn's modern dining room for a catered lunch! You'll be entertained as Penn tells you stories of life in show business over a huge feast. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! You'll be telling your friends for years to come how you were once a guest at Penn Jillette's Las Vegas home, "The Slammer." WHEN: June 21, 2008; 12:30pm WHERE: Penn's home - The Slammer, Las Vegas (You must have your own transportation to Las Vegas on the specified date.) WHAT NEXT?: Go to the Ebay listing Here

Randi's speaker skepticism

Now here's an article concerning James Randi that definitely does have some relevance towards my practice as a sound artist and designer!

"Our rant about those $7,250 Pear Anjou speaker cables found its way to the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), and Randi offered $1 million to anyone who can prove those cables are any better than ordinary (and also overpriced) Monster Cables. Pointing out the absurd review by audiophile Dave Clark, who called the cables "danceable," Randi called it "hilarious and preposterous." He added that if the cables could do what their makers claimed, "they would be paranormal."

We see that the Pear Cable company is advertising a pair of 12-foot "Anjou" audio cables for $7,250; that's $302 a foot! And, as expected, "experts" were approached for their opinions on the performance of these wonders ... Well, we at the JREF are willing to be shown that these "no-compromise" cables perform better than, say, the equivalent Monster cables. While Pear rattles on about "capacitance," "inductance," "skin effect," "mechanical integrity" and "radio frequency interface," - all real qualities and concerns, and adored by the hi-fi nut-cases - we naively believe that a product should be judged by its actual performance, not by qualities that can only be perceived by attentive dogs or by hi-tech instrumentation. That said, we offer the JREF million-dollar prize to - for example - Dave Clark, Editor of the audio review publication Positive Feedback Online.

This is not Randi's first clash with audiophile reviewers who claim to hear differences between various pieces of exotic equipment. He promises a million dollars (which he has waiting in an account for them) if any can prove in double-blind scientific testing that their extraordinary claims are true. None have stepped up so far."

- taken from http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/calling-bullshit/james-randi-offers-1-million-if-audiophiles-can-prove-7250-speaker-cables-are-better-305549.php