by Will Storr
265 adding a meta-analysis that confirms his view: Dean Radin, ‘The Sense of Being Stared At: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis’, Journal of Consciousness Studies 12, no.6 (2005), pp. 95–100.
266 Computer pioneer Alan Turing once said: John Horgan, ‘Brilliant Scientists are Open-Minded about Paranormal Stuff, So Why Not You?’, Scientific American, 20 July 2012.
266 New Scientist has reported: Robert Matthews, ‘Opposites Detract’, New Scientist, 13 March 2004.
266 As far back as 1951, pioneering neuroscientist Donald Hebb admitted: Montague Ullman, The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, Vol. 3, 3rd edition, Chapter 56, Section 15, pp. 3235–45, 1980. [Accessed: http://siivola.org/monte/papers_grouped/copyrighted/parapsychology_&_psi/Parapsychology.htm].
266 in 2008, a famously sceptical psychologist: Danny Penman, ‘Could there be proof to the theory that we’re ALL psychic?’, Daily Mail, 28 January 2008. [In its original form, this quote specifically refers to remote viewing. Elsewhere, Wiseman confirms this as ‘a slight misquote because I was using the term in more of a general sense of ESP. That is, I was not talking about remote viewing per se, but rather Ganzfeld, etc. as well’: [http://www.skeptiko.com/rupert-sheldrake-and-richard-wiseman-clash/].
15: ‘A suitable place’
page
271 Wired magazine says that ‘he knows more: Rob Beschizza, ‘10 Tips For Dealing With James Randi: Claim Your Million Today!’, Wired, 26 October 2007.
271 Richard Dawkins has given him a ‘Richard Dawkins award’: About James Randi: detailed biography on the JREF website: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/58.html.
271 hosted sell-out thousand-dollar-a-head fundraising dinners: Sheilla Jones, Globe and Mail (Canada), 10 July 2010.
271 Celebrity magicians Penn and Teller call him: ‘“I don’t know”—and that’s no act’, Penn Jillette, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2008.
271 Wiseman credits his 1982 book Flim Flam: ‘Richard Wiseman on Debunking the Paranormal’, The Browser, 2 April 2012.
271 The former editor of The Skeptic magazine says: Interview with author (quote is from Professor Chris French).
271 The founding editor of the US edition has called him: Patricia Cohen, ‘Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug’, New York Times, 17 February 2001.
271 The New York Times has described him as: Michael Sokolove, ‘The Debunker’, New York Times, 25 December 2005.
271 Isaac Asimov has said: Interview with Scot Morris, Omni Magazine, April 1980, p. 78.
271 Sir John Maddox, the former editor of the … science journal Nature: ‘The $18,000 question’, Straits Times, 30 May 1991.
272 the man the Skeptics exalt as their ‘patron saint’: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
273 James Randi was born an illegitimate: Trailer for documentary, ‘An Honest Liar’, viewed at: http://www.skepticmoney.com/an-honest-liar-the-story-of-the-amazing-james-randi/.
273 ‘genius or near genius’: Interview with author.
273 A child prodigy: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
273 IQ of 168: Jeanne Malmgren, ‘The “quack” hunter’, St Petersburg Times (Florida), 14 April 1998.
273 making photo-electric cells: Paul Vallely, ‘Now he sees it …’, The Times, 5 February 1987.
273 chemistry experiments in his basement: Chris Beck, ‘On the Couch’, The Age, 26 June 1993.
273 By the age of eight he was arguing with other children: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
273 invented a pop-up toaster: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
273 too intelligent to benefit from school … educated himself: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
273 geography, history … mathematics: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
273 calculus: Jeanne Malmgren, ‘The “quack” hunter’, St Petersburg Times (Florida), 14 April 1998.
273 astronomy … psychology … hieroglyphics: Paul Vallely, ‘Now he sees it …’, The Times, 5 February 1987.
273 fifteen when he committed his first public debunking: Chris Dafoe, ‘Magician spearheads war against supernatural claims’, Globe and Mail (Canada), 29 May 1987.
273 At seventeen … never walk again: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
273 (or, in a later account, walk straight again): Interview with author.
274 achieved ‘mediocre’ results: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
274 ‘This is a premise I cannot support’: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
274 ‘signed Randall James Hamilton Zwinge’: Interview with author.
274 refusing to take any more tests: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
274 Still seventeen, he joined Peter March’s Travelling Circus: Patricia Cohen, ‘Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug’, New York Times, 17 February 2001.
274 he took a job writing newspaper horoscopes: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 62.
274 saw two office workers: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 61.
274 or … two prostitutes: Interview.
274 or … a waitress: Daniel B. Caton, ‘Life Is Really Not In The Stars …’ Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), 26 September 2006.
274 ‘I could not live with that kind of lie’: Interview with Scot Morris, Omni Magazine, April 1980, p. 77.
274 habitually pick up the telephone before it rang: Wessley Hicks, ‘Snoops on Minds’, Toronto Evening Telegram, 14 August 1950 (reprinted in James Randi, The Magic of Uri Geller, Ballantine Books, 1985, p. 304).
274 ‘Certain perceptions have been given me’: Wessley Hicks, ‘He Sees the Future’, Toronto Evening Telegram, 28 August 1950 (reprinted in James Randi, The Magic of Uri Geller, Ballantine Books, 1985, p. 305).
274 Japan … Halifax harbour: Virginia Corner, ‘Debunking myths is magician’s game’, Toronto Star, 15 June 1987.
274 twenty-eight jail cells in Canada and the US: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
274 sometimes he says it was twenty-two, ‘all over the world’: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
274–75 underwater casket … above Broadway: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
275 out of helicopters: Michael J. Ybarra, ‘The Psychic and the Skeptic’, Los Angeles Times, 13 September 1991.
275 top of Niagara Falls: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
275 won a Guinness World Record: Claim confirmed to author by Guinness World Record Organization.
275 toured with Alice Cooper: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
275 got to know Salvador Dali: Chris Beck, ‘On The Couch’, The Age, 26 June 1993.
275 radio show in 1964: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 252.
275 humiliated the celebrity spoon-bender Uri Geller: St Petersburg Times (Florida), 24 July 2007.
275 ‘the true danger of uncritical thinking’: James Randi Million Dollar Challenge FAQ. JREF.org.
275 ‘one of America’s most original and fearless thinkers’: Patricia Cohen, ‘Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug’, New York Times, 17 February 2001.
275 ‘I xerox everything and send it to the FBI’: Paul Vallely, ‘Now he sees it …’, The Times, 5 February 1987.
275 ‘I don�
��t answer the door’: Sven Nordenstam, ‘Mystics can pocket a million – when pigs can fly’, Reuters News, 3 December 2004.
275 a new dark age: Patricia Cohen, ‘Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug’, New York Times, 17 February 2001.
275 ‘It’s a very dangerous thing to believe in nonsense’: Sven Nordenstam, ‘Mystics can pocket a million – when pigs can fly’, Reuters News, 3 December 2004.
275 ‘It’s the simplest challenge in the world’: Bryan Johnson, ‘Claptrap or an unknown world?’, Globe and Mail (Canada), 13 April 1985.
276 ‘I am an investigator’: ‘The $18,000 question’, Straits Times, 30 May 1991.
276 often get called ‘grubbies’: James Randi, ‘A Champion Grubby Speaks Out’, Swift blog, 22 April 2009.
276 ‘We will give away the million dollars when pigs can fly’: Sven Nordenstam, ‘Mystics can pocket a million – when pigs can fly’, Reuters News, 3 December 2004.
276 ‘Why isn’t someone like Sheldrake coming after it?’: Interview, Skeptiko podcast, 1 April 2008.
277 ‘a man of very doubtful character indeed’: Rupert Sheldrake, interview with author.
277 ‘One shot, to the chops’: James Randi, ‘A Champion Grubby Speaks Out’, Swift blog, 22 April 2009.
277 ‘I want people to consider my point of view’: ‘On The Couch’, The Age, 26 June 1993.
277 One extraordinary tale comes from Professor George Vithoulkas: My account of this long, complex and fraught process was reconstructed from Randi’s various blog postings as well as direct communication with George Vithoulkas, Maria Chorianopoulou, Althea Katz and Gabor Hrasko.
279 Randi reported that the magnetometer’s inventor: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 132.
279 reports that these tests had been replicated were ‘a lie’: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 133.
279 But a journalist named Scott Rogo: Michael Prescott, ‘Flim-Flam Flummery’, http://michaelprescott.freeservers.com/FlimFlam.htm.
279 ‘outright lies from a sensationalist’: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 135.
280 You can say it any way you want, but that’s what I call a lie’: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, p. 133.
280 ‘masterpiece of evasion and license … Zev Pressman’: James Randi, Flim Flam, Prometheus, 1982, pp. 144–45.
284 Randi’s account of his meeting with Veronica Keen: James Randi, Swift blog, 15 August 2003.
284 I also found a rebuttal: Accessed at: http://www.victorzammit.com/articles/montaguereplies.html.
287 Some of the past applicants of the Million Dollar Challenge: Compiled from the ‘Previous Applicants’ section on the JREF website.
287 ‘made-up mystical BS’: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, 339, 14 January 2012.
288 Wealthy televangelist Peter Popoff … Professor Chris French: Interview, Chris French and James Randi, YouTube, April 2008, on behalf of The Skeptic magazine.
289 As usual, Randi took to the Internet to protest: James Randi, Swift blog, 8 April 2005.
289 ‘Or just a plain old LIE?’: James Randi, Swift blog, 11 May 2001.
291 ‘the family couldn’t really understand him’: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
292 recently, in 2010, that Randi publicly came out as gay: James Randi, ‘How To Say It?’, Swift blog, 21 March 2010 12:37.
293 I have found a second interview from the same period: Patricia Orwen, ‘The Amazing Randi’, Toronto Star, 23 August 1986.
293 ‘We at JREF have tested these claims. They fail.’: Dog World, January 2000.
294 Randi sent an email explaining that, regretfully, he couldn’t supply the data: Email, 6 February 2000.
294 But he subsequently went online and attacked Sheldrake: Brandon K. Thorp, ‘The Sheldrake Kerfluffle’, Swift blog, 2 December 2009 [which quoted Randi, ‘earlier this afternoon’].
Epilogue: The Hero-Maker
[Many of the statements and quotes in this chapter are restatements from earlier in the text. References to these points can be found in their appropriate places.]
302 in most of your conversation: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 96.
302 ‘Astro’, the Australian horse: ‘Sinking horse pulled from mudflats in Australia’, BBC News, 29 February 2012.
302 $48,000 of US taxpayers’ money was once spent: Dan Ariely, The Upside of Irrationality, HarperCollins, 2010, p. 249.
302 the birth of silent cinema: David Denby, ‘The Artists’, New Yorker, 27 February 2012.
302 humanity’s earliest stories sought to explain the world: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 13.
302 Rituals developed around them: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 61.
302 The historian Mircea Eliade writes: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 55.
302 Sigmund Freud believed: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 93.
302 the psychologist Otto Rank: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 94.
302-303 the mythologist Joseph Campbell: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 106.
303 we experience the tales that we immerse ourselves in: Annie Murphy Paul, ‘Your Brain on Fiction’, New York Times, 17 March 2012.
303 We feel the heroes’ feelings: ‘“Losing Yourself” in a Fictional Character Can Affect Your Real Life’, Science Daily, 7 May 2012.
303 ‘contagion is at the heart of emotion’: Bruce E. Wexler, Brain and Culture, MIT Press, 2008, p. 34.
303 ‘a capacity for surprise is an essential aspect’: Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Penguin, 2011, p. 71.
303 ‘a surge of conscious attention’: Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Penguin, 2011, p. 24.
303 ‘a story begins with some breach’: Jerome Bruner, Making Stories: Law, Literature, Life, Harvard University Press, 2002, p. 31.
303 By the age of five: Jeremy Hsu, ‘The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn’, Scientific American Mind, 18 September 2008.
303 Professor of Psychology Keith Oatley has observed: Jeremy Hsu, ‘The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn’, Scientific American Mind, 18 September 2008.
304 Evolutionary psychologist David Sloan Wilson has compared: Mark Pagel, Wired For Culture, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 150.
304 Marxist philosopher Georges Sorel believed: Robert A. Segal, Myth, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 128.
304 Professor Paul Bloom has observed: Paul Bloom, ‘How do morals change?’, Nature 464, 25 March 2010, p. 490.
308 ‘dangerous people, from playground bullies to warmongering dictators’: Roy Baumeister, Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty, Barnes & Noble/W. H. Freeman, 1997, p. 135.
308 my transcript for the chapter is in excess of twenty-eight thousand words: The exact number is 28,321. I rounded it down for neatness.
309 ‘a clear and future danger’: Deborah E. Lipstadt, History on Trial, Harper Perennial, 2005, p. 25.
312 anthropologist Daniel Everett has studied the Pirahã: John Colapinto, ‘The Interpreter’, New Yorker, 16 April 2007; Rafaela von Bredow, ‘Brazil’s Pirahã Tribe Living without Numbers or Time’, Der Spiegel, 3 May 2006.
312 A 2012 study, reported in The Economist: ‘Older and wiser?’, The Economist, 7 August 2012.
313 ‘In the inner world of the depressive self’: Lewis Wolpert, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Faber, 2007, p. 107.
Index
Abduction (Mack) 28
Abraham 3
Abraham, John 204
Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq 70
Adam 2, 3, 5, 12, 26
Africa 73, 74, 115
afterlife 21
AIDS 213
‘cures’ for 36, 38, 115
see also HIV
alcohol
abuse 66, 120, 165
; cultural determinants of the effects of 83–84
aliens 22–30, 50–51, 58
abductions 23–24, 28, 51, 102–103, 170, 182
see also UFOs
American Spectator (magazine) 213
amputees 82
anger, and belief 25, 30
animals
identification with 186
psychic 258–60, 263, 265, 266, 271–72
Anmatyerr people 299
Annan, Kofi 32
anonymity 69, 70
Antas, Jaenelle 219, 222, 224, 227–29, 234–35, 237–38, 240, 242–43, 248, 253
anti-God rhetoric 4, 9
anti-homeopaths 95–96
anti-psychiatry 155
anti-psychotics 128, 145, 149, 152, 155, 182, 191
anti-Semitism 221, 229, 248, 252
anxiety 42–43, 45, 128, 187, 197
Aphrodite 302
appearance, overestimation of our 110, 242, 379
archetypes 302
Aristotle 218, 303
Aronson, Elliot 84, 88, 194, 243
art 300
Arthur, King 302
asanas 32
Asch, Solomon 71
Asimov, Isaac 271
atheists
celebrity 9–10
scientist 211
Atkins, Peter 259
Attenborough, David 2, 5, 6
Auschwitz 225, 230
Auschwitz-Birkenau 229
Australian Aboriginal people 300–301, 313
Australian Central Desert 299, 313
Australian Museum 19
authority, excessive obedience to 70–72, 84
autobiographical memory, rewriting of 194
babies 75, 183
Balrishna, Acharya 35
banking, deregulation 214
Baumeister, Roy 89, 307–308
BBC see British Broadcasting Corporation
Bechara, Antoine 187
Beecher, Lt-Col. Henry 41
behavioural patterns, release of 44