Paranormal Powers :: Re: Richard Wiseman on the Psychology of Magic (reply)

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Rayzorblades wrote at 04 Oct 2010 08:37 PM GMT: I just watched the second video, and it was interesting, some good advice. I can admit that, despite my seething hatred for James Randi and the JREF, and their army of people claiming to be scientists or skeptics.

What bugs me is this pseudo-critical thinking they engage in. Many famous "skeptics" and "debunkers" do it too. "Uri Gellar bends spoons using slight of hand, therefore ALL telekinetic activity is bullshit", THAT is logical fallacy, and paraphrased from some work of Randi's I've long since forgotten the title of. It's a favorite stance of Derren Brown as well, the famous British mentalist and "skeptic".

Almost all of their work IS a logical fallacy. They choose to "debunk" some of the most obscurely or ridiculously made claims (astrology, and mediumship), made by some of the most questionable retards out there, and then use that as the basis for their whole argument. Do I think Sylvia Browne is a money grubbing fraud and outright nut? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean that all "Psychics" are.

Randi and his fanboys like to use the standby "The burden of proof is on the claimant", however that has a caveat that no one seems to recognize. If YOU claim that THERE IS NO GOD, or that SO AND SO IS A FRAUD. Then the BURDEN OF PROOF FOR THAT CLAIM IS ON YOU!

Then it comes down to the fact that nobody looks at the POSSIBLE MECHANISMS for a lot of paranormal phenomena and how they are well established scientific principles, used in uncommon ways. I've written about them at length on this very board.

Of course if we can prove a scientific mechanism, then Randi wouldn't have to pay up either, so he and his JREF cronies get to hide behind their massive shield codenamed "Catch 22".

I've said this again and again as well: The REAL magic is in figuring out "How could this work?" not "Why this can't work".

As an aside, it's pretty fitting that this was my 1000 post.
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