True Grit

"Magical thinking is a slippery slope. Sometimes it's harmless enough, but sometimes it's quite dangerous. Personally, I'm opposed to that kind of fakery so I have no reservations at all about exposing these people and their illusions for what they really are"

- James Randi

Most people may be wondering who is James Randi?. James Randi is in reality, a hero for the simpled minded. He, unsatisfied with just being a talented magician, has spent the better part of his life debunking those who claim to have some sort of supernatural power. All of these mind readers, spoon benders, aura readers, god talkers, psychics and "power havers" all have the same thing in common, and that is when James Randi examined them they all turned out to be exactly what he expected them to be, a big hoax.



One of the most famous cases of Randi's debunking came with a "faith healer" named Peter Popoff. Peter Popoff amazed believers by being able to pick out their name, illness and address from out of nowhere. Popoff credited it to god talking directly to him. James Randi took a radio scanner to a few of his speeches and picked up something peculiar. It wasn't god talking to Popoff, but rather his wife over a radio signal, which Popoff received through a receiver in his ear. Not only was Popoff taking money from these innocent people, but he was also making fun of them with his wife behind their back. And the worst part? People believed they were actually being healed.






If that isn't enough to convince you of James Randi's importance here he is debunking a Spoon Bender:



An Aura Reader:



A crystal reader and applied kinesiology:



Perhaps the most interesting thing about James Randi is his commitment to his beliefs. The James Randi Educational Foundation offers a $1,000,000 prize for any psychic, spoon bender or pencil mover, who can under controlled circumstances can prove that they have some sort of paranormal power. So far, only one person has agreed to take it and she has yet to schedule a time:



It has been 299 weeks since she accepted.


James Randi's importance goes beyond debunking those who think they have some sort of power. His work has helped to expose those who take advantage of the goodness and trust of other people. With James Randi in the world, perhaps millions of people have saved money and false hope and have simply learned to turn the channel when these criminals appear on television and for that, we should be thankful.



"Why people are so drawn to the irrational is something that has always puzzled me. I want to be if I can, as sure of the real world around me as is possible. Now, you can only attain that to a certain degree but I want the greatest degree of control. I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind, I don't smoke, I don't drink because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up alot of fantasy's that might be comforting in some ways but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, or as close as I can get to it."

-James Randi