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James Randi Educational Foundation
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The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled scientific experimental conditions.
The organization offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars which it claims it will pay out to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria.
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Encyclopedia
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled scientific experimental conditions.
The organization offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars which it claims it will pay out to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. The JREF also maintains a legal defense fund to assist persons who are attacked as a result of their investigations and criticism of people who make paranormal claims.
The organization is funded through member contributions, grants, sales of books and videos, and conferences. Each Friday the JREF website publishes a written commentary titled Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF, which includes the latest JREF news and information.
History of the Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation officially came into existence on February 29, 1996 (a leap year day) when it was registered as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Delaware in the United States. On April 3, 1996 James Randi formally announced the creation of the JREF through his email hotline:
On November 7, 1997 The JREF officially registered with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations as a foreign nonprofit corporation and was granted a certificate of authority to operate within the state. As a legal entity, the Foundation is referred to as a nonprofit Delaware domestic corporation and in Florida where it has its principal office, it is called a nonprofit foreign corporation (the term describes either out-of-state or out-of-the-country corporations operating in Florida). While the JREF's Delaware corporate entity address is 980 air miles north of its principal office in Fort Lauderdale, the Foundation is still bound by Florida's corporate laws as if it were a domestic Florida corporation (Florida Statute 607.1505). However, being a foreign corporation in Florida means that the State of Florida cannot legally regulate the organization or internal affairs of the JREF and the Foundation is able to take advantage of Delaware's more protective corporate laws. The full legal name of the Foundation is "The James Randi Educational Foundation, Inc."
According to the year 2008 registration information for the JREF filed March 10, 2008 with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, the current officers of the JREF were listed as follows:
- Director, President, Assistant Secretary: James Randi.
- Director, Secretary, Assistant Secretary: Richard L. Adams Jr.
- Director, Secretary: Jose L. Alvarez.
On August 4, 2008, it was announced by the Foundation that astronomer Philip Plait was named the new president of the JREF and Randi would become the Chairman of the JREF Board of Directors.
On December 22, 2008, it was announced that A B Kovacs is the new Director of Operations.
The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
History of the challenge
In 1968, James Randi was working on a radio program with his friend and parapsychologist Stanley Crypter. During one of the programs, someone challenged him to "put his money where his mouth is", and Randi offered $100 of his own money (even though he wasn't sure if he had $100 at that time) to the first person who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. Eventually this grew to $1,000 and then $10,000. Later, Lexington Broadcasting wanted him to do a show called the "$100,000 Psychic Prize", so they added $90,000 to the original $10,000 raised by Randi. Finally, years later a rich investor told Randi that he "should have more teeth" to his challenge and offered him the current $1,000,000 prize. As the prize fund grew, the rules that surround claiming the prize became more official and legal.
To claim, one must agree to a protocol for testing, must show in a preliminary test before a foundation representative that they are likely to succeed, and finally make a demonstration in a formal test in front of independent witnesses. To date, over 1,000 applications have been filed but no one has passed a preliminary test, which is set up and agreed upon by both Randi and the applicant.
In the conditions and rules governing the one million U.S.-dollar challenge, Randi plainly states that both parties (himself and the party accepting the challenge) must agree in advance as to what conditions of the test constitute a "success" and what constitutes a "failure." He also refuses to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the test they intend to undergo.
Since April 1, 2007 only those with an already existing media profile and the backing of a reputable academic are allowed to apply for the challenge. The resources freed up by not having to test obscure and possibly mentally ill claimants will then be used to challenge high-profile alleged psychics and mediums such as Sylvia Browne and John Edward with a campaign in the media.
Dennis Rawlins claims the challenge is insincere, and that Randi will ensure he never has to pay out. In the October 1981 issue of Fate, Rawlins quoted him as saying "I always have an out". Others, noting this magazine article grew out of political infighting among the members of CSICOP, believe this quote is being misapplied, and that it refers to the fact that Randi employs safeguards against cheating. Randi has stated that Rawlins did not give the entire quotation. Randi actually said "Concerning the challenge, I always have an 'out': I'm right!", which carries a quite different meaning. Randi claims that the phrase "I always have an out" refers to the fact that he does not allow test subjects to cheat, and others have interpreted it to mean that Randi regards the chances of him having to pay out as zero due to his a priori assumption that so-called "paranormal phenomena" do not exist. However, on Larry King Live Randi stated he did think such phenomena were possible but had no real evidence and so "just did not know".
On Larry King Live March 6, 2001 Larry King asked Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Then Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live on September 3, 2001 and she again accepted the challenge. However, she has refused to be tested and Randi keeps recording the number of weeks that have passed since Sylvia accepted the challenge without following through. In an appearance on Larry King Live on January 26, 2007, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea to take the one million challenge. On Altea and Randi's June 5, 2001 meeting on the same show, Altea refused to take the challenge, calling it "a trick". Instead Altea, in part, replied "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many, people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere."
Randi has recently challenged David R. Hawkins to win the prize with Hawkins' "arm-pressing technique" (applied kinesiology), suggesting it would only take thirty minutes of easy work, but believing that Hawkins would not even attempt to apply for the challenge for "obvious" reasons.
As an April Fool's prank on April 1, 2008 at the MIT Media Lab Seth Raphael and James Randi performed a demonstration of Seth Raphael's psychic abilities which was awarded the prize.
Judging the results
The official Challenge rules stipulate that the participant must agree, in writing, to the conditions and criteria of their test. Claims that cannot be tested experimentally are not eligible for the Challenge. To ensure that the experimental conditions themselves do not negatively affect a claimant's ability to perform, non-blinded preliminary control tests are often performed. For example, the JREF has dowsers perform a control test, in which the dowser attempts to locate the target substance or object using their dowsing ability, even though the target's location has been revealed to the applicant. Failure to display a 100% success rate in the open test will cause their immediate disqualification. However, claimants are usually able to perform successfully during the open test, confirming that experimental conditions are adequate. According to the JREF, despite success in these open tests, no claimants have yet been able to successfully demonstrate evidence of their claims while blinded under otherwise identical conditions. Some participants have stated afterwards that the threat of disqualification is the main factor in their apparent success in the open test. Randi has said that few unsuccessful applicants ever seriously consider that their failure to perform might be due to the nonexistence of the power they believe they possess.
The discussions between the JREF and applicants were at one time posted on a public discussion board for all to see. Since the resignation of Randi's assistant, Mr. Kramer—and subsequent changes to challenge rules requiring applicants to have demonstrated considerable notability—new applications are no longer logged, but the JREF continues to maintain an archive of previous applicants.
Another objection made by critics of the challenge is that the rules prohibit independent judging, making the success or failure of the challenge dependent on whether Randi agrees that the test has been passed. While acknowledging the prohibition of independent judges, JREF staff and affiliates point out that the nature of the experimental design makes subjective judging of results unnecessary. Since claimants agree to readily observable success criteria prior to the test, results are unambiguous and clearly indicate whether or not the criteria have been met. Critics have also claimed that Randi's degree of control over the conditions of the challenge discourages serious applicants from applying, due to a perception of bias. Randi has said that he need not participate in any way with the actual execution of the test, and he has been willing to travel far from the test location to avoid the perception that his anti-paranormal bias could influence the test results. Additionally, claimants are able to influence all aspects of the testing procedure, including location and participants, during the initial negotiation phase of the challenge.
Additional criticisms of the test and its rules include:
- Randi rejected applicant Rico Kolodzey, stating in the rejection letter that the applicant was "a liar and a fraud." The applicant in question claimed to survive without food via Breatharianism.
- Randi's response to criticism of his handling of the Kolodzey application raised by the Alternative Science website was somewhat inconsistent. For example, Randi and the JREF explained their outright rejection of Kolodzey based on a policy to reject any applicants who put themselves in grave physical danger. However, this clause was not added to the official Challenge rules until years after the incident.
- However, on May 19, 2006, Randi made a special exception to that rule due to all of the "raucous fuss" and began private negotiations for testing with Kolodzey. After 100 days of negotiations a test procedure still could not be agreed upon by both parties. In response to the stalled negotiations, Randi publicly commented that Kolodzey was retreating from testing after strenuously objecting to the rejection of his initial application.
- As of January 2005, no offers to conduct a formal test have yet been extended by the JREF to an applicant.
- No offers to conduct a formal test have been extended because the rules require that a claimant must first pass a preliminary test, which no applicants have yet passed. According to JREF, over 1,000 applications have been submitted for the Challenge. Of the first 650 applications (through 1982), fifty-four preliminary tests were carried out . Most applications do not result in preliminary testing because they fail during the negotiation of experimental protocols.
- Critics have also referred to case of Yellow Bamboo, who claimed that he could knock down attackers by shouting. A volunteer was actually knocked to the ground during a test, but this was not accepted by the JREF as they had already severed all ties with the Yellow Bamboo group before the test was carried out. The JREF also pointed out that the test was not conducted according to the proposed protocol, with multiple flaws in the execution including being carried out at night. Upon viewing a set of still shots from the incident, several people experienced with stun-guns suggested that an electroshock weapon could have been used.
- Some claim the one million dollars does not exist, or is in the form of pledges or promissory notes.
- The JREF has stated that the million dollars is in the form of negotiable bonds within a "James Randi Educational Foundation Prize Account" and that validation of the account and the prize amount can be supplied on demand. The money is held in a Goldman, Sachs & Company account. A copy of the JREF investment statement is viewable at , and the foundation has repeatedly mailed this evidence to high-profile claimants.
Example of a test (dowsing)
In 1979 Randi tested four people in Italy for dowsing ability (Mr. Fontana, Dr. Borga, Mr. Stanziola, and Mr. Senatore). The prize at the time was $10,000 of Randi's personal money. The conditions were that a 10 meter by 10 meter test area would be used. There would be water supply and a reservoir just outside the test area. There would be three plastic pipes running underground from the source to the reservoir along different concealed paths. Each pipe would pass through the test area by entering at some point on an edge and exiting at some point on an edge. A pipe would not cross itself but it might cross others. The pipes were 3 centimeters in diameter and were buried 50 centimeters below ground. Valves would select which of the pipes water was running through, and only one would be selected at a time. At least 5 liters per second of water would flow through the selected pipe. The dowser must first check the area to see if there is any natural water or anything else that would interfere with the test, and that would be marked. Additionally, the dowser must demonstrate that the dowsing reaction works on an exposed pipe with the water running. Then one of the three pipes would be selected randomly for each trial. The dowser would place ten to one hundred pegs in the ground along the path he traces as the path of the active pipe. Two-thirds of the pegs placed by the dowser must be within 10 centimeters of the center of the pipe being traced for the trial to be a success. Three trials would be done for the test of each dowser and the dowser must pass two of the three trials to pass the test. A lawyer was present, in possession of Randi's $10,000 check. If a claimant were successful, the lawyer would give him the check. If none were successful, the check would be returned to Randi.
All of the dowsers agreed with the conditions of the test and stated that they felt able to perform the test that day and that the water flow was sufficient. Before the test they were asked how sure they were that they would succeed. All said either "99 percent" or "100 percent" certain. They were asked what they would conclude if the water flow was 90 degrees from what they thought it was and all said that it was impossible. After the test they were asked how confident they were that they had passed the test. Three answered "100 percent" and one had not completed the test.
When all of the tests were over and the location of the pipes was revealed, none of the dowsers had passed the test. Dr. Borga had placed his markers carefully, but the nearest was a full 8 feet from the water pipe. Borga said "We are lost"; but within two minutes he started blaming his failure on many things such as sunspots and geomagnetic variables. Two of the dowsers had "found" natural water before the test started, but disagreed with each other about where it was, as well as with the ones who found no natural water.
New qualification rules
In April 2007, the JREF made several changes to the testing procedure in an effort to streamline the process and refocus it to target high-profile and professional paranormalists. The foundation now requires a demonstrated media profile as well as the support from some member of the academic community before it will discuss the challenge with claimants. The foundation has also stated that these qualifications can be essentially met by anyone who can win any of the smaller and more regional skeptics prize challenges.
Randi and his associates have stated two primary reasons for the change:
- In the opinion of the JREF, the vast majority of the applicants for the existing challenge appeared to be either mentally ill or unable to demonstrate their powers even to their own satisfaction. Many were unable to successfully fill out the application forms or coherently and consistently describe their alleged abilities. The foundation has stated that treating these applications seriously has both required an immense amount of time as well as doing a disservice to the applicants.
- The true intent of the challenge has always been to aggressively pursue the most prominent paranormalists and force them to subject their claims to scientific scrutiny in a controlled setting. Randi said that this mission had been sidetracked by the complicated and costly application process, and the foundation wished to refocus its promotional and rhetorical approach to aggressively pursue top psychics in the media, making it difficult for them to be evasive or provide an adequate reason for not accepting the challenge.
Discontinuation
On January 4, 2008 it was announced that the prize would be discontinued on March 6, 2010 in order to free the money for other uses. In the meantime, claimants are welcome to vie for it. One of the reasons offered for its discontinuation is the unwillingness of higher profile claimants to apply.
Similar offers
- Association for Skeptical Enquiry is offering a £13,000 prize.
- Australian Skeptics offers AUD $100,000 for proof of psychic or paranormal powers.
- Abraham Kovoor's challenge, an award of Rs. 100,000 for proof of supernatural or miraclous powers.
- The Independent Investigations Group offers $50,000 to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.
- Indian Skeptic 100,000 Paranormal Challenge Indian Rupees 100,000 ($2,500). Sponsored by Basava Premanand.
- Prabir Ghosh of India is offering $50,000.
- Tampa Bay Skeptics $1,000 Challenge US $1,000.
- North Texas Skeptics Paranormal Challenge US $12,000.
- The late Philip J. Klass offered US $10,000 for proof of an extraterrestrial visit to the Earth.
- After investigating psychic phenomena in 1922, Scientific American made two US $2,500 offers: (1) for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2) for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation." .
- The Swedish Humanist Association is offering a prize of SEK 100,000 that will be awarded to anyone who can demonstrate beyond doubt that they possess a paranormal or supernatural talent that cannot be explained by conventional science.
Exploring psychic powers television show
Exploring Psychic Powers Live! was a television show aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. The show offered $100,000 (Randi's then $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, Lexington Broadcasting
) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers. The show is a good illustration of how claimants and Randi agree to test protocols and how no "judging" is required.
- An astrologer claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. The people could not tell the astrologer their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After the astrologer talked to the people, he had them sit in front of a sign that the astrologer thought was theirs. By agreement, the astrologer needed to get ten of them correct to win. He got none correct.
- The next psychic claimed to be able to read auras around people. The psychic claimed that auras were visible at least five inches from the people. The psychic chose ten people who had a clearly visible aura. The people were to stand behind screens and the psychic agreed that the aura would be visible above the screens. The screens were numbered 1 through 10, and people were selected whether or not to stand behind their screen at random. The psychic was to tell whether or not a person was standing behind each screen, by seeing the aura above. Since random guessing would be expected to get about five correct, the psychic needed to get eight of the ten right. The psychic stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
- A dowser claimed that he could locate water, even in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and the dowser was to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He indicated that eight of the boxes contained water, but only five did.
- A psychometric psychic claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object from the object. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with a watch and a key from twelve different people. The psychic was to match keys and watches belonging to the same person. According to the prior agreement, the psychic had to match nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two of the cases.
- During the program, another psychic was doing a run of 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should result in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that the psychic had to be right on eighty-two cards. Her actual score was fifty correct guesses .
The Amaz!ng Meeting
Since 2003, the JREF has annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM), a gathering of scientists, skeptics, atheists.
Perennial speakers include Christopher Hitchens, Penn & Teller, Phil Plait, Michael Shermer and Julia Sweeney.
Richard Dawkins and Joe Nickell appeared at the 2005 TAM 3.
TAM 4 in 2006 saw ACLU president Nadine Strossen, planetary scientist with the Voyager program Carolyn Porco, Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, The Skeptic's Dictionary author Robert Todd Carroll and Nobel laureate Murray Gell-Mann.
TAM 5, held January 18, 2007 – January 21, 2007, included regulars Michael Shermer, Penn & Teller, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Wiseman, MythBuster Adam Savage, and Phil Plait. Also presenting were Eugenie Scott, Peter Sagal, Neil Gershenfeld, Nick Gillespie, John Rennie, Lori Lipman Brown and Margaret Downey. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone also made an appearance.
The 2008 meeting was held at The Flamingo in Las Vegas from June 19 to 22. Speakers included Neil DeGrasse Tyson as the keynote speaker and PZ Myers, both of whom debuted at this TAM, and regulars such as Phil Plait, Penn & Teller and the cast of the The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast.
On February 2, 2009, JREF President Phil Plait announced that TAM 7 would take place from July 9 to 12 of that year. He also announced TAM London, the first ever TAM abroad, which will take place on October 3-4 of 2009.
Podcast
The JREF also is affiliated with The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, where James Randi sometimes speaks in a format reminiscent of a column, recounting adventures from his career as a debunker of psychics.
Scholarships
In 2007 the JREF announced that it would resume awarding critical thinking scholarships to college students after a brief hiatus due to the lack of funding.
See also
Books
External links
James Randi Educational Foundation
- — Official website
- — information on past and upcoming Amaz!ng Meetings and Amaz!ng Adventures.
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- — Review of 2003's "Amazing Meeting" by Marc Berard
- - Episode from an Australian TV show shot in the 1980s showing Randi conducting a test of water dowsers for his earlier $10,000 challenge
- — The officially approved MySpace tribute page.
- Phil Plait named as President of JREF
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
- — Official website
- for the prize, discussed in a public chat forum as their applications come in.
- — Describes the type of testing performed for the One million dollar challenge
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- to criticism of Randi's Challenge by Richard Milton of 'Alternative Science'
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- , and .
- — Skeptical Investigations
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