James Randi
James Randi
James Randiis a Canadian-American retired stage magician and scientific skeptic who has extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Randi is the co-founder of Committee for Skeptical Inquiryand the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation. He began his career as a magician under the stage name, The Amazing Randi, and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic aged 60, and from the...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionMagician
Date of Birth7 August 1928
CityToronto, Canada
CountryCanada
I would put my million dollars up as well.
The second class of people that I examined in those 104 people, were people who still had the diseases of which they said they'd been healed.
I have been through similar situations where believers will insist on believing despite the evidence no matter how strong that is.
I was not surprised by the results of the Horizon experiments, but I remain willing to observe and consider any and all other tests that are done under similarly precise conditions.
If Uri Geller bends spoons with divine powers, then he's doing it the hard way.
I don't doubt the sincerity of dowsers, but even after we've demonstrated that they can't produce results that are any better than chance they'll still go away believing in their abilities, ... It is like the mother whose son is caught shoplifting on tape. She wonders why someone would want to frame her child by producing a fake video.
The only difference is that religion is much better organised and has been around much longer, but it's the same story with different characters and different costumes.
Blind belief can be comforting, but it can easily cripple reason and productivity, and stop intellectual progress.
There is a distinct difference between having an open mind and having a hole in your head from which your brain leaks out.
No amount of belief makes something a fact.
To make sure that my blasphemy is thoroughly expressed, I hereby state my opinion that the notion of a god is a basic superstition, that there is no evidence for the existence of any god(s), that devils, demons, angels and saints are myths, that there is no life after death, heaven nor hell, that the Pope is a dangerous, bigoted, medieval dinosaur, and that the Holy Ghost is a comic-book character worthy of laughter and derision.
Death is the ultimate disappointment
I do not expect that homeopathy will ever be established as a legitimate form of treatment, but I do expect that it will continue to be popular.
The market for nonsense is infinite.