In this episode, James Randi answers selected user comments, spends some time explaining why 3X and 6x preparations are not truly homeopathic, and explores an unsolicited "professional" horoscope reading he recently received via YouTube.
Randi points out some interesting discrepancies in the reading.
Due to refunds and other reasons, a handful of TAM London tickets have become available for sale. This is it; TAML is next week, so no more tickets will be sold after these are gone! If you still want to attend the JREF's very first international meeting, then go to the TAM London website and get your tickets. Hurry, since they won't last long!
In this episode, James Randi discusses parapsychologists, ghost hunters, PhD's with whacky ideas, and demonstrates how a competent magician can make the impossible appear before your very eyes.
The Apocalypse has arrived for the second year in a row. In God's corner is a swarm of angry churches led by a group called the Alliance Defense Fund. In Satan's corner is, of course, the Internal Revenue Service. September 27, 2009 was "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" and it has caused churches across the nation risk their tax exempt status by making political statements and even explicitly endorse political candidates in open violation of tax law.
The Alliance Defense Fund is a legal organization unafraid of controversy, so their civil disobedience is hardly surprising. Its list of founders includes people like James Dobson (Focus on the Family) and Bill Bright, winner of the infamous $1.1 million Templeton Prize. On their website they tell prospective employees that they must "be ready, willing, and able to participate in public and private prayer" both "during working and non-working hours."
The Alliance Defense Fund is arguing that churches in America are being persecuted. They believe (without good legal precedent) that the IRS restrictions on churches amount to an unconstitutional limitation on their freedom of speech and need to be repealed. In response, they've organized a movement called the "Pulpit Freedom Initiative" and enlisted 83 churches in 30 states to help them in their cause. The initiative encourages pastors of all denominations to give political sermons from their pulpit as a form of civil disobedience. The ultimate goal is the provocation of a test case. If the IRS decides to drop the hammer on a rebelling church, the ADF will swoop in and attempt to take it all the way to the Supreme Court in hopes of getting the laws overturned on a national scale. Does the ADF have realistic chance? Do their claims hold water? The short answer is "no." The long answer requires a crash course in tax law.
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is pleased to announce the recipients of the academic scholarships for 2009 - 2010. Each year, a total of $10,000 is awarded to students who have shown extraordinary ability in using critical thinking in their field of study, who will actively pursue building critical thinking skills into their field, and who research the use of critical thinking in their field.
These qualities are judged by how closely they reflect the goals and values of the James Randi Educational Foundation: bringing critical thinking to the public, exposing pseudoscientific frauds, and promoting real science and rationality.
The 2009 - 2010 academic scholarships awardees are:
Stephen Folmsbee ($5000: Top Prize)
Mr. Folmsbee is an honors student and senior undergraduate at the University of Kansas. He is majoring in Neurobiology and plans to attend medical school. He has an impressive 4.0 GPA and boasts an extensive list of honors and awards. He is an active skeptic, promoting critical thinking and evidence-based medicine via writing a column in his university paper. He is passionate about continuing to advocate skepticism and science to his peers.
James Lippard ($2500)
Mr. Lippard holds an MA in philosophy/cognitive science and has been accepted to the Arizona State University's PhD program in "Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology", where he will research how the Internet spreads information and misinformation, including how people make judgments about trust, reliability, and the reputation of Internet sources. A simple web search on James' name will pop up years of his writings and scholarly efforts in combating pseudoscience and promoting reason. He has a long history of active skepticism, including founding the Phoenix Skeptics and serving as its Executive Director.
Mehnaz Jehan ($1500)
Ms. Jehan will be working on a PhD relating to the field of Educational Leadership at Pennsylvania State University. She intends to use her degree in her continuing effort to improve education for girls and women in her home country of Pakistan. In her own words (excerpted from her application essay) she will use her PhD to "work at a decision making level to provide optimal opportunities in education for women and girls in my region (Northern Pakistan) so that most of the myths related to their roles and education are removed to the maximum."
Jay Tarnoff ($1000)
Mr. Tarnoff holds a BS in Psychology, a BS in Human Development and Family Studies, and a BA in Religious Studies, all from Penn State. In addition he obtained an MEd in School Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia where he continues his research and work on a PhD in that field. The university has accepted his PhD dissertation proposal entitled "An Investigation into the Role of Confirmation Bias in the Evaluation of Informal Reasoning Fallacies" which relates nicely to the JREF mission component of increasing our understanding of how people mistakenly come to believe weird things.
James Randi, JREF Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, is pleased to offer these scholarships to support the recipients’ academic endeavors. “Getting people to think critically can be very difficult, but we’re greatly encouraged by the dedication and vision of these young researchers. We’re very glad to be able to support them in their work, and we expect to see great things from them in the future.”
The academic scholarship awardees are chosen by a committee consisting of scientific researchers and outreach professionals. This is the third contiguous year of scholarship grants, and over the course of the program well over $30,000 has been given to deserving applicants. More information about the scholarships, including applications for the awards, can be found at the JREF Academic Scholarship page.
The JREF was established in 1996 as a registered 501(c)3 organization under the IRS code, and as such, all donations to the Foundation are tax-exempt to the full extent under the law. For further information and media inquiries, contact the JREF: Via phone: +1-954-467-1112 Via email: jref@randi.org
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Mr. Folmsbee is an honors student and senior undergraduate at the University of Kansas. He is majoring in Neurobiology and plans to attend medical school. He has an impressive 4.0 GPA and boasts an extensive list of honors and awards. He is an active skeptic, promoting critical thinking and evidence-based medicine via writing a column in his university paper. He is passionate about continuing to advocate skepticism and science to his peers.
Mr. Lippard holds an MA in philosophy/cognitive science and has been accepted to the Arizona State University's PhD program in "Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology", where he will research how the Internet spreads information and misinformation, including how people make judgments about trust, reliability, and the reputation of Internet sources. A simple web search on James' name will pop up years of his writings and scholarly efforts in combating pseudoscience and promoting reason. He has a long history of active skepticism, including founding the Phoenix Skeptics and serving as its Executive Director.
Ms. Jehan will be working on a PhD relating to the field of Educational Leadership at Pennsylvania State University. She intends to use her degree in her continuing effort to improve education for girls and women in her home country of Pakistan. In her own words (excerpted from her application essay) she will use her PhD to "work at a decision making level to provide optimal opportunities in education for women and girls in my region (Northern Pakistan) so that most of the myths related to their roles and education are removed to the maximum."
Mr. Tarnoff holds a BS in Psychology, a BS in Human Development and Family Studies, and a BA in Religious Studies, all from Penn State. In addition he obtained an MEd in School Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia where he continues his research and work on a PhD in that field. The university has accepted his PhD dissertation proposal entitled "An Investigation into the Role of Confirmation Bias in the Evaluation of Informal Reasoning Fallacies" which relates nicely to the JREF mission component of increasing our understanding of how people mistakenly come to believe weird things.