Status-Q

A very good way to pass an enjoyable few minutes on YouTube is to search for James Randi. Randi, for those who don’t know, is a magician, but he’s better known as a debunker of the paranormal and pseudoscientific. He’s also an amusing speaker… here’s a little clip where he explains homeopathy:

And there are lots of other nice examples out there – a TV appearance where he puts a graphologist to the test, for example.

And here he talks about Uri Geller, and the faith healer Peter Popoff:

The J. Randi Educational Foundation has, for several decades now, been offering a prize – now standing at $1M – to anybody who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability under proper scientific observation. Here are the details if you want to have a go, and the process is documented in the open on the JREF forums. Even getting past the preliminary test will get you $10,000. So far, none of the hundreds of applicants has got that far.