"Lady Azure" <laddie@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
's.org> wrote
> "¥ UltraMan ¥" wrote:
>>
>> 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?"
>
> You can't prove to someone something "They Refuse to Accept".
> One can not pursue their usual Special Powers, under pressure.
> Most "Real" people have it occur out of the blue.
> Outside forces and the pressures of expectations interfere with it.
> So does the expectations of failure, to one who needs the belief in
> success.
> Plates of Glass between me and the flame make a difference in the flames
> fear of me.
> How do I prove the lightbulb blew because I touched the switch when I
> was Mad.
> How do I prove I saw a vision in a cup of coffee.
> Not that I can see it at any time I pick up a cup, but that I can and
> have seen the reflections in the water.
> ?????????
I have visions ...
I see pig-ignorant superstitious imbeciles ... they're everywhere ...
they just don't know that they're pig-ignorant superstitious imbeciles...
|
