Why isn't James Randi on Americas Psychic Challenge?

Question

1. Did he try out but not make it past the initial rounds?
2. Does he not want to use his abilities for personal gain?
(even though he has had no problem with this in the past)
He could always dontate the prize to a worthy charity.
3. Is he incapable of performing psychic magic tricks with
the extremely limited controls they place on participants?
4. Is he afraid of being exposed as a fraud by showing that
he can't use magic tricks to duplicate psychic
phenomena that is he says is how scientist are fooled?
5. Does he not want the publicity? (also not a problem in
the past)
6. Which is it a better name for Randi to be known as:
A. "The magician with performance anxiety" or
B. "The magician that can't perorm"

No magician has ever duplicated the performances of Nina Kulgina or Daniel Dunglas Home under controlled conditions they all depend upon their own set ups and no controls being imposed.

This would have been Randis chance to show that psychic phenomena can all be done by trickery (by taking home the prize) but he isn't up to the challenge.
FYI: When you see the ball going out of the park after being hit that's a homerun not a miss. The rules of baseball are available online via google.com

He wouldn't have to even beat the odds just be a better performer than the other psychics, maybe they are just better magicians.

Answer 1

Because then it would turn into the Randi Show, and nobody wants to see more of that! Randi is a con man, and he's aware of it. He's seen unexplainable phenomenon, but he is unwilling to admit it publicly because it would diminish his media blitz to name him self the "worlds greatest skeptic".

Randi is as much of a fraud as some unscrupulous psychic pretenders. Randi is not performing a "nobel act" by marketing himself and posting a challenge that is likely unattainable. And, contrary to some opinions that I have seen on this forum, Randi is no scientist. He does not accept the evidence that is before him. He uses his trickery to manipulate minds and create the illusion that *all* psychics are frauds.

Randi is only in this line of work for the money. If he had to walk into challenges cold, like the contestants on the Psychic Challenge show, he could never perform as well as some of these people have. It would be an embarrasment for him.

EDIT:
A note that some Randi supporters are misreading my post to mean that Randi has never debunked *any* "psychics". I don't agree with your specific examples, but Randi has identified tricks used to fool people. There are tricksters out there, and Randi is one of them. I consider him a con man because he fails to acknowledge when he encounters something he cannot explain or duplicate. He ignores the evidence. There are no lies here. It's just a recognition that the pot is calling the kettle black.

Answer 2

I have a feeling that the America's Psychic Challenge would take out a restraining order of James Randi if he tried to show up there. They would never invite him on there and actually let him speak. Yikes. That is the last thing that they would want, someone who is actually critical of the psychics.

I have never heard of a psychic being able to pull off something that a magician could not duplicate thru non-psychic means.

Well, I guess if there is a psychic who can do it, then they should start taking the various challenges from the various skeptic organizations around the world. They could finally shut the skeptics up and also make quite a bit of money. Of course, no psychic would dare be tested in controlled circumstances. That would ruin the scam.

Answer 3

Kulagina and Home never demonstrated them under controlled conditions, either. And Randi has demonstrated hundreds of tricks used by these people. Probably a dozen just for Uri Geller. Other tricks didn't need to be demonstrated when the fraud was caught during testing. Randi has a whole book of these.

I don't know the show, but I have seen the kind of crap TV puts on whenever they get a chance. I'm sure Randi doesn't appear on these things because the producers would be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. If all their pretenders are exposed, they don't have any show left. That's why you'll never see Randi or any of the others who know how to cut this stuff into confetti. No producer of these bunko programs would let him get within a hundred yards of their studios.

Tunsa, nice try. Lies are a cornerstone of this whole psychic thing. You represent them well. Randi *has* busted people on television. Uri Geller on the Tonight Show and James Hydrick on That's Incredible.

Answer 4

1) Because he's not claiming to be psychic.
2) He doesn't have any. It's a trick, like any honest magician will tell you. But if you want him to give a magic show, that will cost you.
3) Of course not. But again, it's a trick.
4) He's done that many times. Try youtube.
5) He's got plenty already.
6) Not too bright, huh?

Answer 5

James Randi has a long record of exposing dupes and tricksters - who in turn impress people (like Tunsa) who are totally uncritical in their thinking.

A history of James's exposes would be fascinating and make great viewing. However, people want things that are supernatural and mystc, as opposed to the cold truth. Carl Sagan wrote frequently on this syndrome (for an example, look at Tunsa, above).

Answer 6

Dude, I think you're a little misinformed ... Randi is a skeptic, not a psychic. And why would APC want a skeptic on their show? It kinda blows their whole concept.

I understand you're trying to take a swipe at Randi and/or skeptics, but this was a swing and a miss. Bad set up, no delivery.

Answer 7

you sure are asking the wrong people.

ask the American's Psychic Challenge people. I bet they have a pretty good answer already in the can for that one.

remember... TV... is entertainment! the puppets on "Howdy Doody" weren't just little people with funny noses, they were PUPPETS!

even cooking shows are fake! you think Julia Child ACTUALLY pulled out a souffle she made from that oven? hell, no! her assistant made that!

go outside and watch the sunset... that's real.

watch the sunset on TV, thats special effects.

Answer 8

Sounds like you really aren't asking a question. It sounds to me like you are angry that Randi has shown that con-men are con-men.