Randi's ending the Million Dollar Challenge

[Pale Blue Dot]

The reasons that he's doing so make total sense to me, but be prepared for the onslaught of believers claiming things like "He got scared because he knew he was going to have to pay it out."

http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/144/1/#i4

It was March 6th, 1998, when the JREF Million-Dollar Challenge first came into existence. That’s almost ten years ago. It’s always been a simple, direct, matter: do what you claim you can do of a paranormal nature, and walk away with the prize. Our expectations at first were that we’d attract major personalities by this means, but they’ve avoided having to take the test by simply not applying; those who have actually applied are generally honestly self-deluded persons who have difficulty stating what they can do, which can be understood if they really don’t know what they’re experiencing; we at JREF have gone through involved procedures to help them recognize their problems. Usually, they have indicated that they don’t know what real scientific rules are, when it comes down to their actually being properly tested.

All this is obvious to anyone who has followed the action over the last decade. Now, while the JREF earns a certain income from having the prize money very conservatively invested, that sum could certainly be used more productively if it were made freely available to us.

As of March 6th, 2010 – twelve years after the challenge was first offered – it will be.

The James Randi Educational Foundation Million-Dollar Challenge will be discontinued 24 months from this coming March 6th, and those prize funds will then be available to generally add to our flexibility. This move will free us to do many more projects, which will be announced at that time.

[XanaDUer]

1. I guess that psychic lady

never took him up on it. Sylvia Brown was her name?

[onager]

2. Sylvia BrownE

Not that it matters much. Though I bet Sylvia could tell us, in just a few million words of complete BS, that she gets some kind of PsyKiK power boost from that "E."

I just checked the JREF site and he's stopped baiting her on the front page. Dammit! I always looked forward to that.

If you need to shed a few brain cells and a lot of money, this is her site:

www.sylvia.org/

[progressoid]

5. I bet she has a few million of her own dollors from suckers all over the world.

Our library has a slew of her books and DVDs. Ugh.

[trotsky]

3. I am disappointed in this only because, as you say...

the woos will say he doesn't want to have to pay it out.

Oh they pissed and moaned the whole time it was in effect that he unfairly set it up so NO ONE could win. (Yeah, asking for proof is gonna do that to woo.)

Or the whining that the applicant had to pay for everything up front. Well DUH? They'd have a million bucks to cover their costs if they did.

[moggie]

4. That's why it's good that JREF have given over two years' notice

Not that it will stop the woos spinning, but to any reasonable observer the long advance notice of closure pretty much puts paid to the idea that JREF are running scared.

Twelve years is long enough. And I think it must have taken a toll on the JREF people, since a lot of the applicants appear to be mentally ill, and nobody wants to disappoint sick people seeking fame and fortune, time after time.

[progressoid]

6. "real scientific rules"

See? That's the problem. The "rules" are too strict. Those "scientists" make things too difficult. :eyes: