$1M Psychic Prize Amended
Paranormal skeptic, James Randi launched what is known as his Million Dollar Challenge in 1964, offering $1,000 to anyone who could read another’s mind or bend a spoon under controlled conditions. Few took him up on his challenge, even when he increased the prize to $10,000. That changed in 1996, when an anonymous donor contributed a million dollars to his cause.
Since then, people from across the globe started applying in droves. Swedish medium Carina Landin was one of the scant few who came close to passing Randi’s rigorous exam. She succeeded in identifying the genders of 16 out of 20 authors of diaries by touching their covers. The vast majority of the applicants failed for one reason or another, most of them showing signs of a serious mental illness.
This dilemma has forced Randi to revamp his application process, effective April 1st, which requires applicants to submit press clippings and/or television footage along with an academic endorsement of their supernatural abilities. While this will weed out most of the would-be applicants, Randi’s real targets are high-profile psychics such as John Edward and Sylvia Browne, who have yet to accept his much-publicized challenge. He believes these psychics, among others, have defrauded millions of people into believing that they connected with the spirits of their departed loved ones.
Randi plans to relaunch his challenge, using high-profile media resources such as The New York Times. Will he succeed in exposing these Edward and his colleagues as frauds, or will his meticulous investigations into their backgrounds and methods prove to be as much of a time-waster as his Million Dollar Challenge?
I think Randi is the biggest fraud of all! LOL
I know there are a lot of fakes out there, but I truly believe John Edward and Sylvia Browne have a God-given ability.
Hope this finds you well!
By Marti on January 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I’ve never listened to Sylvia Browne, but tried to read one of her books and found them too flowery for my liking. A former co-worker of mine swore by her. I enjoyed reading John Edward’s “One More Time” about five years ago, which gave me a new perspective on how to deal with my brother’s death. Of the two, I lean more towards him.
As for Randi, I think his purpose has some sound reasonings behind it because of all the fakes out there. However, I think he’s going to waste a lot of time and money–again.
By Deborah on January 20th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Randi is the epitomy of sour grapes. Did He want to be an authentic psychic, but couldn’t get past his conditioning from his childhood??? or maybe he simply doesn’t like the gifts that he has??? To be a full fledged psychic requires conditioning from before birth, in the womb; and continued till age 5. There are as many fake skeptics as there are fake psychics, fake shrinks, fake doctors, fake lawyers, lots of people are just fakin’ it. As far as ’serious mental illness’, what about severe diabetics that don’t take care of themselves, people that smoke, even the socailly acceptable destruction of the only environment that we have access to!!!! It seems some people are just too close minded. After all, the mind is like a parachute, it only works when is it open” (somebody’s line)
By Bob on January 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
You are incorrect about Ms. Landin. She only correctly identified 12 out of the 20 diaries. Not 16. 16 would have meant she passed the test and won the $1million.
By Kat Cohen on May 14th, 2007 at 11:33 pm