Michael Gray wrote:
> http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/10/10-tips-for-dea.html
>
> By Rob Beschizza
> October 26, 2007
>
> "James Randi is a magician, skeptic and debunker who has made short
> work of countless frauds, fruitcakes and sincere claimants to
> paranormal power. The Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
> traditionally offers the titular award to those who can demonstrate
> proof of such skills under rigorous test conditions. Recently,
> however, Randi's foundation has moved beyond the strictly
> supernatural, targeting claims made by fans of ultra-expensive audio
> gear.
>
> In this latest funhouse, Michael Fremer, audiophile and Stereophile
> editor, accepted a challenge, with the backing of Pear Cables, to
> prove that the firm's $7,000 leads are better than standard-fare one
> can pick up at Best Buy. It's not gone well for the challengers, with
> Pear backing out and Fremer frustrated by the all-too-public
> negotiations between Randi and himself.
>
> Don't let it happen to you. Whether you're psychic or merely a
> subjectivist in matters of science, here are 10 tips for dealing with
> Randi and claiming your dough.
>
> . Don't claim the prize doesn't exist. This makes you look stupid. The
> million dollars, plus a dusty film of interest, is real and stashed in
> a Goldman Sachs escrow account.
>
> . Don't ridicule Randi. Randi has seen you coming. The old man never
> got a degree, but he knows more about the workings of science than
> half the Ph.D.s in America. Randi will make faster work of you than
> Chuck Norris if you underestimate him.
>
> . Don't claim the testing will be rigged. Anyone remotely familiar
> with how scientists guard against their own bias and expectation will
> know that these double-blind experiments are designed to be
> transparent and rigorous, using the same empirical principles as seen
> in any kind of research. Re****ters and observers would relish the
> chance to spot a methodological flaw or sleight of hand.
>
> . Don't lose your temper. Don't get into preliminary cockfighting.
> Randi is a master at delivering insults and responding to
> communications in such a way as to make you look foolish. Before test
> protocol negotiations have even begun, anything you say will already
> have been used against you. The Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge is
> as public a spectacle as there is, and the chances are that between
> you and him, only one of you has a half-century's experience as a
> professional showman.
>
> . Don't forget what you're getting yourself into: boring, exhaustive
> testing by people who think you're full of ****. If you go into it
> thinking it's going to be a cute studio one-shot in front of Johnny
> Carson, imagine what happened to Uri Geller happening to you twenty
> times. If you can't pull off your trick/power/feat with statistically
> significant results outside of Randi's lair, going inside of it is
> simply idiotic.
>
> . Don't bother trying to work the protocol in your favor, with plans
> to back out honorably if the testing scenario isn't to your taste.
> Before you even start, you'll get to determine what will constitute
> success, and both sides agree to the rules, details of which are open
> for negotiation. You'll even get to practice "unblinded" to warm up-a
> dowser, for example, will do a few rounds knowing exactly where the
> water is-meaning that there'll be no point where you can say you've
> been fiddled.
>
> . Don't start what you can't finish. The only thing that stinks worse
> than bull**** is chicken****. The test is rigged one way and one way
> only: if you get involved, backing out under any cir***stances
> whatsoever makes you look silly. You cannot subvert this principle,
> even if you think you're in the right: Randi has a script, you do not.
> No-one will believe you if your powers are found to be inoperable in
> the presence of clipboards. No-one likes a quitter.
>
> . Don't forget the failures of those that have gone before. Singularly
> inaccurate TV psychic Sylvia Browne accepted and subsequently fled
> from Randi's challenge, and it wasn't pretty. Compare the swagger and
> brio of Pear Cables' leap into the ring with the quiet brevity of its
> reversal: a masterclass in how to turn your own product into an
> international joke. Almost all candidates back out at the negotiation
> stage; only a few dozen have reached preliminary tests, and all those
> have failed to proceed to the final tests.
>
> . Don't come flying out of obscurity expecting to get a shot at the
> lucre. Go to the trouble of having some articles written about you, or
> of having someone with academic credentials say what you do is for
> real. After years taking on all-comers, the foundation's interest is
> now homed in on the many high-profile paranormalists it considers to
> be in need of debunking.
>
> . Do have paranormal powers. In fact, fulfilling this one suggestion
> lets you ignore all the others, and all but guarantees the cash will
> be yours. What are you waiting for?"
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