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The Truth About Uri Geller

 

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The Truth About Uri Geller



 
 
The Truth About Uri Geller, formerly known as The Magic of Uri Geller, is a 1982 book
Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side....
 by magician and skeptic James Randi
James Randi

James Randi is a Magician and Scientific skepticism best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge,...
 about alleged psychic
Psychic

The word psychic refers to a proposed ability to perception information hidden from the senses through what is described as extrasensory perception, or to those people said to have such abilities....
 Uri Geller
Uri Geller

'Uri Geller Freud', commonly 'Uri Geller' , born on 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-United Kingdom performing arts and self-proclaimed psychic who claims "to be able to spoon bending with the power of his mind" and to have psychic powers, although he currently prefers the designation of "mystifier" rather than "psychic."...
. In this comprehensive biography
Biography

A biography is a description of someone's life, usually published in the form of a book or essay, or in some other form, such as a film. An autobiography is a biography by the same person it is about....
 Randi challenges Uri Geller's assertion that he performs paranormal
Paranormal

Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation, or phenomena alleged to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure....
 feats. Randi explores Geller's background as a stage magician, and explains how Geller's spoon bending
Spoon bending

Spoon bending is the apparent deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, either without physical force, or with less force than normally necessary....
 can be easily reproduced by any magician using sleight of hand
Sleight of hand

Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or l?ger de main , is the set of techniques used by a magic ian to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly....
.

In 1991 Geller filed a USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
$15 million lawsuit against Randi and Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry , formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is a United States nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to "encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminat...
 (CSICOP) over slander concerning Randi when he said Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with tricks that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes when I was a kid".






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Encyclopedia


The Truth About Uri Geller, formerly known as The Magic of Uri Geller, is a 1982 book
Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side....
 by magician and skeptic James Randi
James Randi

James Randi is a Magician and Scientific skepticism best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge,...
 about alleged psychic
Psychic

The word psychic refers to a proposed ability to perception information hidden from the senses through what is described as extrasensory perception, or to those people said to have such abilities....
 Uri Geller
Uri Geller

'Uri Geller Freud', commonly 'Uri Geller' , born on 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-United Kingdom performing arts and self-proclaimed psychic who claims "to be able to spoon bending with the power of his mind" and to have psychic powers, although he currently prefers the designation of "mystifier" rather than "psychic."...
. In this comprehensive biography
Biography

A biography is a description of someone's life, usually published in the form of a book or essay, or in some other form, such as a film. An autobiography is a biography by the same person it is about....
 Randi challenges Uri Geller's assertion that he performs paranormal
Paranormal

Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation, or phenomena alleged to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure....
 feats. Randi explores Geller's background as a stage magician, and explains how Geller's spoon bending
Spoon bending

Spoon bending is the apparent deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, either without physical force, or with less force than normally necessary....
 can be easily reproduced by any magician using sleight of hand
Sleight of hand

Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or l?ger de main , is the set of techniques used by a magic ian to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly....
.

In 1991 Geller filed a USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
$15 million lawsuit against Randi and Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry , formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is a United States nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to "encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminat...
 (CSICOP) over slander concerning Randi when he said Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with tricks that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes when I was a kid". The court found against Geller, who eventually settled the case at a cost of $120,000. In April 1992 Geller sued the Prometheus Books
Prometheus Books

Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz, who also founded the Council for Secular Humanism and co- founded Committee for Skeptical Inquiry....
 in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
 for $4 million alleging libel made in two other books. This was thrown out in 1994 and the judge ordered Geller to pay $20,272.89 in legal fees.

In February 1992 Geller sued Randi, Prometheus and local book distributors in London, England for libel concerning The Magic of Uri Geller. The suit was over the line: "He began his career as a stage magician in Israel where he was once arrested for claiming his feats were performed with psychic power." Randi commented in 1993, "My position is that I made an unintended factual error in misinterpreting the words 'brought to court' and 'guilty' as 'arrested,' and that this was done without malice or reckless disregard for the truth." Geller lost this case as well and had to pay Randi's legal fees. After Geller's three lawsuits, Randi "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me, and certainly not to Geller".

See also

  • Exposure (magic)
    Exposure (magic)

    Exposure in magic refers to the practice of making magical methods available to those who are not magicians. It is generally frowned upon as a type of Spoiler that ruins the experience of magical performances for audiences....
  • James Randi Educational Foundation
    James Randi Educational Foundation

    The James Randi Educational Foundation is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magic and Scientific skepticism James Randi....


External links

  • from Prometheus Books
    Prometheus Books

    Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz, who also founded the Council for Secular Humanism and co- founded Committee for Skeptical Inquiry....
  • hosted by James Randi Educational Foundation
    James Randi Educational Foundation

    The James Randi Educational Foundation is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magic and Scientific skepticism James Randi....