What People Get Wrong This Week: Supernatural Prizes
According to a 2022 YouGov poll , 39% of Americans believe they have some form of paranormal ability. About a quarter of this group think they can sense other people’s auras or emotions; 15% say they can hear ghostly voices or sounds; and about 13% think they can see events from the past or future.
It’s a public statement to the nearly 13 million Americans who believe they have supernatural powers: You’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Various groups of skeptics around the world have put a total of $1,408,424 (and one goat) on the table, and all this dirty profit is just waiting to be taken by anyone capable of displaying paranormal abilities.
The specific types of abilities you need to demonstrate to win prizes run the gamut. The Dutch organization Stichting Skepsis will shell out 12 grand for practitioners of some form of alternative medicine to demonstrate its effectiveness (so if you’re into applied kinesiology, give it a try), and you can get a free goat from the Fayetteville Freethinkers for proving “Bible prophecy fulfilled.” But whether you can see the future, move objects with your mind, or talk to spirits, there’s a prize for you.
History of Paranormal Awards
The first cash prize for proof of paranormal activity was offered by Scientific American magazine in 1922. At the height of the spiritualism movement, the publication offered $2,500 to anyone who could take a “spirit photograph” (a photograph that captured the image of a ghost). under controlled conditions and $2,500 for anyone who can produce a “visible psychic manifestation.”
Famous (at the time) medium George Valiantine tried and was able to create the illusion of a pipe floating in the air in a dark room, but the testing committee (which included Harry Houdini) connected his chair to a light in the dark room. the adjoining room, which was illuminated whenever Valiantina rose from her chair, and also whenever the trumpet sounded. Valiantine was proven to be a fraud and Scientific American kept its money.
The most famous award for psychic abilities is the Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randy, a magician turned professional skeptic, first offered a $1,000 prize back in 1964, but by 1996 the amount had grown to a million. More than 1,000 people applied between 1964 and 2015, when the prize was discontinued, but none were able to demonstrate their abilities. supernatural power under controlled conditions. No remote viewer was able to view remotely. Not a single dowser was able to find the hidden objects. No mind reader can read minds.
How paranormal prizes can backfire
You might think that a 100% failure rate would make people doubt the reality of psychic abilities, but for many people, public failures can make psychic abilities more believable. At least that’s how it worked with Uri Geller . Geller, who is still around and still claims supernatural powers, began to attract attention in the early 1970s for his supposed ability to bend spoons with his mind.
Although he never attempted to win the James Randi Trophy, the two had a famous run-in on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show that demonstrated the problems with denying paranormal activity. Carson, who was a magician, was skeptical of Geller’s claims, invited him to his show and presented several tests that Randy had helped develop.
If you want to watch some uncomfortable TV, watch this:
If you don’t have 20 minutes to spare, Carson allows Geller to take his time and try any of a series of ability tests, but Geller can’t. As long as Carson watches closely and does not allow Geller to control any props, Geller is unable to bend the spoon with his mind; it cannot determine whether there is water in the container. He can’t do anything .
One might think that such a complete public failure would have ended Geller’s career, but it had the opposite effect. Geller blamed his failure on him “not feeling strong” and stated that he may have “blocked himself out” that night. Many apparently considered Geller’s failure to be proof that he was the real deal; after all, if he were a wizard, the tricks would work. Geller then became a popular guest on other talk shows, where he was able to successfully perform his stunts in less controlled conditions, and a star was born.
Why is it difficult to refute something?
While Uri Geller and other famous psychics are artists and no doubt know how they achieve their results, the estimated 13 million Americans who believe they have special powers aren’t lying—they’re just easy to believe in the supernatural. When something unusual happens, when it’s one in a million, it’s easy to view it as evidence of something mysterious, inexplicable. If you’re thinking about a friend and he texts you at the same moment, how can you not view this as evidence of some strange connection? But the one in a million event happens to over 300 people in America every day, and there’s no James Randi or Johnny Carson around to run a controlled experiment to prove it’s just a coincidence, to explain what you’re probably thinking about everyone people time that did not write to you at this moment.
But maybe I’m wrong. If so, there’s over a million dollars and a goat out there waiting for the right person to come and take it.