Secrets of the Psychics

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"Secrets of the Psychics"
NOVA episode
Secrets of the PsychicsVideo.jpg
Episode no.Season 21
Episode 3
Written by Carl Charlson
Presented by James Randi
Original air dateOctober 19, 1993 (1993-10-19)
Running time60 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Secrets of the Psychics" is a 1993 episode of the PBS series NOVA , presented by retired illusionist and paranormal investigator James Randi. [1] Also appearing in stock footage are Peter Popoff, Uri Geller, and many others. It contains historical footage of Randi's 25 years of testing claims of supernatural powers, as well as more current footage of his trip to Russia to investigate the people making paranormal claims there. Belief in the paranormal has thrived in Russia since the dissolution of the USSR. [2]

Contents

PBS' "NOVA Teachers" program produced a "Teachers Guide" to support the show. In the program, "Randi argues that successful psychics depend on the willingness of their audiences to believe that what they see is the result of psychic powers." [3]

Synopsis

At the beginning of the episode, Randi states that "Magical thinking...is a slippery slope. Sometimes it’s harmless enough, but at other times 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." The documentary then covers several of Randi’s previous investigations into claims of the paranormal, using stock footage of Uri Geller, Peter Popoff, and others, and also includes new footage covering a variety of other topics. The documentary is divided into segments covering the following topics:

Reception

Writing for the New York Times, Walter Goodman noted that Randi makes "people who claim to be able to bend spoons, cure cancer and perform other marvels by the power of mind alone look silly", noting in particular that the segments exposing Uri Geller were amusing. [4] However, he also described the episode as "patchy", and wrote that Randi was "tormenting purported scientists and healers" in the segment on Russia. [4]

The Los Angeles Times described it as "a worldwide investigation into psychic phenomena", and conducted an interview with Randi which focused particularly on the Russian segments. The Brain Institute in Moscow was singled out, still working on ideas that had been "bombed out of existence" 25 years before because the researchers would not acknowledge that they are subject to the same cognitive distortions as anybody else. So they did not use, and did not see the need for, basic techniques like blinding, placebos, and control tests. [5]

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel described Randi as "a superb magician, writer, lecturer ... who has devoted the past 25 years to investigating and debunking psychics, quacks and various supernatural frauds". They made the point that it's not just uneducated people who get fooled; people with sophisticated laboratories get fooled. "Scientists", Randi observed, "have an uncanny ability to find what they're looking for - whether it's there or not." [2]

The video has been covered in university courses on critical thinking. Southern Methodist University's Department of Physics analyzed it as part of their course KNW 2333 "The Scientific Method - Critical and Creative Thinking (Debunking Pseudoscience)", examining how Randi's methods compared to their own. [6] Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute showed and analyzed the video as part of their Critical Thinking course, although they put more emphasis on the mental factors that make people susceptible to such tricks. They take exception to what they perceive as the "believer vs skeptic" viewpoint in the video, and suggest that it would be best if we all acknowledge that we move along that scale all the time. [7]

Bill Dembski's forthcoming (as of March 2022) book The Faces of Miracles (co-authored with Alex Thomas) has a chapter about James Randi, which starts by describing his approach that strives to start with an open mind about the claims being tested: tests are designed to determine whether the claim is true or false. It then gives a summary of Randi's career as an illusionist, concluding that some people want to be fooled so badly that even when he explains that it was an illusion, they don't believe him. This is followed by an overview of Randi's debunking activities, culminating with the Russian tour for Secrets of the Psychics which showcased all of the elements he had built up over the years. Dembski concluded that when researchers look for a specific result, they tend to find it; this is known technically as "confirmation bias". [8]

VHS release

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Randi</span> Canadian-American magician and skeptic (1928–2020)

James Randi was a Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi 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. Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Committee for Skeptical Inquiry</span> Organization examining paranormal claims

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims." Paul Kurtz proposed the establishment of CSICOP in 1976 as an independent non-profit organization, to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSI's fellows have included notable scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists, educators, and authors. It is headquartered in Amherst, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uri Geller</span> Israeli-British illusionist and self-proclaimed psychic (born 1946)

Uri Geller is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other illusions. Geller uses conjuring tricks to simulate the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy. Geller's career as an entertainer has spanned more than four decades, with television shows and appearances in many countries. Magicians have called Geller a fraud because of his claims of possessing psychic powers.

Peter George Popoff is a German-born American televangelist, charlatan, debunked clairvoyant, and faith healer. He was exposed in 1986 by James Randi for using a concealed earpiece to receive radio messages from his wife, who gave him the names, addresses, and ailments of audience members during Popoff-led religious services. Popoff falsely claimed God revealed this information to him so that Popoff could cure them through faith healing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Hyman</span> American professor of psychology (born 1928)

Ray Hyman is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. Hyman, along with James Randi, Martin Gardner and Paul Kurtz, is one of the founders of the modern skeptical movement. He is the founder and leader of the Skeptic's Toolbox. Hyman serves on the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spoon bending</span> Apparent deformation of objects using magic tricks

Spoon bending is the deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, purportedly by paranormal means. It is a common theme for magic tricks, which use a variety of methods to produce the effect. Performers commonly use misdirection to draw their audience's attention away while the spoon is manually bent. Another method uses a metal spoon that has been prepared by repeatedly bending the spoon back and forth, weakening the material. Applying light pressure will then cause it to bend or break.

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Thoughtography, also called projected thermography,psychic photography,nengraphy, and nensha(Japanese: 念写), is the claimed ability to "burn" images from one's mind onto surfaces such as photographic film by parapsychic means. While the term "thoughtography" has been in the English lexicon since 1913, the more recent term "projected thermography" is a neologism popularized in the 2002 American film The Ring, a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring.

<i>The Faith Healers</i> 1987 book by James Randi

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<i>The Truth About Uri Geller</i> 1982 book by James Randi

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<i>Flim-Flam!</i> 1980 book by James Randi

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<i>An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural</i> 1995 book by James Randi

An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural is a 1995 book by the conjuror and paranormal investigator James Randi, with a foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. It serves as a reference for a variety of topics within pseudoscience, the paranormal, and hoaxes. The Encyclopedia received generally positive reviews. In 2006, Randi made the work available free online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banachek</span> English mentalist, magician, and thought reader (born 1960)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telekinesis</span> Influencing of objects without physical interaction

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Gordon (magician)</span> Canadian author, journalist, magician and skeptic

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<i>An Honest Liar</i> 2014 American film

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Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California carried out research on various phenomena characterized by the term parapsychology from 1972 until 1991. Early studies indicating that phenomena such as remote viewing and psychokinesis could be scientifically studied were published in such mainstream journals as Proceedings of the IEEE and Nature. This attracted the sponsorship of such groups as NASA and The Central Intelligence Agency.

References

  1. "James Randi on Secrets of the Psychics". Center for Inquiry. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007.
  2. 1 2 Williams, Scott (October 19, 1993). "Plantation's Randi Debunks Russians". Sun-Sentinel . Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  3. "Secrets of the Psychics: Program Overview". PBS - NOVA Teachers. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
  4. 1 2 Goodman, Walter (19 October 1993). "Review/Television; A Look at the Paranormal: It Turns Out to Be Normal". The New York Times. p. 20, Section C. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  5. Koehler, Robert (17 October 1993). "James Randi: Opening Parapsychology's Box". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. Cotton, John L.; Fisher, Justin; Scalise, Randall J.; Norris, Scott; Sekula, Stephen. "Video: "Secrets of the Psychics" - by James Randi". www.physics.smu.edu. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  7. van Heuveln, Bram. "Secrets of the Psychics: An Analysis" (PDF). hass.rpi.edu. Department of Cognitive Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  8. Dembski, Bill (January 22, 2020). "The Faces of Miracles Chapter 6: James Randi: the face of expert skeptics" . Retrieved 22 March 2022.