ESP may refer to:

General use[link]

• Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability
• English for Specific Purposes, a subset of English language learning and teaching
• Effective Sensory Projection, a term used in the Silva Method
• Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York, U.S.A
• Empire State Pullers, a New York Tractor Pulling Circuit
• Equally spaced polynomial in mathematics
• Extra-solar planet, a planet located outside the Solar System

Music[link]

• E.S.P. (Miles Davis album), 1965 album by Miles Davis
• E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion), 1983 album by soul singer Millie Jackson
• E.S.P. (Bee Gees album), 1987 album by the Bee Gees
  • "E.S.P." (Bee Gees song), title track of the album
• ESP-Disk, a 1960s free-jazz record label based in New York
• "Inertiatic ESP", a 2004 song by The Mars Volta
• ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars
• The Electric Soft Parade, a British band formed in 2001
• Eric Singer Project, side project founded in the 1990s by musician Eric Singer
• E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, that produces cinematic style music.
• '"E.S.P.", 1988 song by Cacophony from their album Go Off!

Television[link]

• E.S.P. (TV series)
• Eurosport, a sports channel

Technology[link]

Computing[link]

• EFI System partition, a partition used by machines that adhere to Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)
• E-mail service provider, an organization offering e-mail services
• Encapsulating Security Payload, an encryption protocol within the IPsec suite
• Escapade, a server-side scripting language for database-to-web application
• ESP Game, an online human computation game
• Event Stream Processing, technology that acts on data streams
• Extended stack pointer in Intel IA-32 (x86/32-bit) assembler
• Psychology of programming is sometimes referred to as "empirical study of programming" or ESP.
• Elder Scrolls plugin, the .ESP file-format used in computer games such as Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• Template:ESp 'Edit Semi Protected' - the choice of a graphic symbol for responding to semi protected requests on talk pages of MediaWiki.

Other technologies[link]

• Electric Submersible Pump, an artificial lift system that electrically drives multiple centrifugal stage pumps to lift oil and water from wells
• Electro Selective Pattern, Olympus-proprietary metering technology for digital cameras
• Electron spin trapping, a scientific technique
• Electronic skip protection in portable CD players
• Electrostatic precipitator, a device that removes particles from a flowing gas
• External Stowage Platform, a type of cargo platform used on the International Space Station
• Electronic Stability Program (see Electronic stability control), a computer device used in cars to improve traction
• Equalizing Snoop Probe, a high-speed digital signal probe by Agilent
• Emergency ShutDown Procedure, Cargo Operations

Business[link]

• Easy Software Products, a software-development company, originator of the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS)
• Entertainment Software Publishing, a Japanese video-game publisher

Spain and Spanish[link]

• Español, the Spanish language (non-ISO language code)
• ISO 3166-1, the 3-letter ISO code for Spain
• Spanish peseta, the ISO 4217 code for the former currency of Spain

Literature[link]

• ESP, the acronym for "Edd Smith's People" and "Edd Smith Place" in "The Pirate's Chest" bookstore in the fictional work The Cat Who Went Bananas honoring the bibliophile character Eddington Smith (volume 27 of the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

James Randi
Born	Randall James Hamilton Zwinge (1928-08-07) August 7, 1928 (age 83) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian American
Occupation	Magician, illusionist, writer, skeptic
Religion	None (atheist)[1]
Website
www.randi.org

James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928^[2]) is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic^[3][4] best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician named The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he began investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo".^[5]

Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator".^[6] He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. The JREF sponsors The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offering a prize of US$1,000,000 to eligible applicants^[7] who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties.^[8]

Early life[link]

Randi was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and has a younger brother and sister.^[9] He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone, Sr^[10] and reading magic books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors who expected he would never walk again.^[11] Although a brilliant student, Randi often skipped school, and he dropped out of high school at 17 to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow.^[12] In his twenties, Randi posed as a psychic to establish that they were actually doing simple tricks and briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran," by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column.^[13][14] In his thirties, Randi worked in Philippine night clubs and all across Japan.^[15] He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead"^[16] routine to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.^[17]

Career[link]

Magician[link]

Randi worked as a professional stage magician, or "conjurer" as he prefers to be called,^[18] and escapologist beginning in 1946, initially under his birth name, Randall Zwinge, and then as The Amazing Randi. Early in his career, Randi was part of numerous stunts involving his escape from jail cells and safes. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on The Today Show, remaining in a sealed metal coffin submerged in a hotel swimming pool for 104 minutes, breaking what was said to be Houdini's record of 93 minutes.^[19][20]

Randi was the host of The Amazing Randi Show on New York radio station WOR in the mid 1960s.^[21] This radio show, which filled Long John Nebel's old slot with similar content after Nebel went to WNBC in 1962, had frequent pro-paranormal guests, including Randi's then-friend James Moseley. Randi, in turn, spoke at Moseley's 1967 Fourth Congress of Scientific Ufologists in New York City,^[22] stating, "Let's not fool ourselves. There are some garden variety liars involved in all this. But in among all the trash and nonsense perpetrated in the name of Ufology, I think there is a small grain of truth."^[23]

Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. Then Randi appeared as "The Amazing Randi" on a television show titled Wonderama from 1967 to 1972,^[24] and as host of a failed revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown in 1970.^[25] In the February 2, 1974, issue of Abracadabra (a British conjuring magazine), Randi defined the magic community, saying, "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of The International Brotherhood of Magicians, Points to Ponder: Another Matter of Ethics, p. 97, it is stated, "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."

During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 tour, Randi performed as the dentist and executioner on stage,^[26] and designed and built several of the stage props, including the guillotine.^[27][28] Shortly after that, in February 1975, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls in the winter on the Canadian TV program World of Wizards.^[29]

Randi was once accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. James Alcock relates this incident, which occurred at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller: A professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said, "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it."^[30] The famous author and believer in spiritualism Arthur Conan Doyle had years earlier made a similar accusation against the magician Harry Houdini.^[31] A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell believed in psychic phenomena. When Randi demonstrated viewing a hidden drawing by using trickery, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying, "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi has consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.^[32]

Author[link]

Randi is author of Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled: Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC!. The book selects the most influential magicians and explains their history in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on the 1976 book Houdini, His Life and Art, co-authored with Bert Randolph Sugar, which focused on Houdini and his cohorts. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about the paranormal and pseudoscientific. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science,^[33] though in January 2011, he expressed doubts as to whether it would be finished. James Randi has since confirmed the that the book will be sent to publishers by May 20, 2012.^[34] He is a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers.^[35]

Skeptic[link]

Randi entered the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. Randi accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he supported his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller.^[17][36] Geller sued Randi for $15 million in 1991 and lost.^[37] Geller's suit against the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.^[38]

Randi was a founding fellow and prominent member of CSICOP.^[39] During the period when Geller was filing numerous civil suits against him, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, requested that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned. However, he still maintains a respectful relationship with the group and frequently writes articles for its magazine.

Randi has gone on to write several books criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal.^[40] He has also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi revealed that he had been able to orchestrate a three-year-long compromise of a privately funded psychic research experiment.^[41] The hoax became a scandal and demonstrated the shortcomings of many paranormal research projects at the university level.

Randi has appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite psychic James Hydrick, who claimed that he could move things with his mind and demonstrated this ability on live television by apparently turning a page in a telephone book without touching it.^[42] Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged packaging peanuts (polystyrene foam shapes) on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration, preventing Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging.^[43] Many years later, Hydrick admitted his fraud.^[44]

Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Genius award in 1986. The money was used for Randi's comprehensive exposé of faith healers, including Peter Popoff, W.V. Grant and Ernest Angley. When Popoff was exposed, he was forced to declare bankruptcy within the year.^[45]

In 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a spirit channeler named Carlos who was actually artist Jose Alvarez, a friend of Randi's. Randi would tell him what to say through sophisticated radio equipment. The media and the public were taken in, as no reporter bothered to check Carlos's credentials and history, which were all fabricated. The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes; Carlos and Randi explained how they pulled it off.^[46][47]

In the book The Faith Healers, Randi explains his anger and relentlessness as arising out of compassion for the helpless victims of frauds. Randi has also been critical of João de Deus (John of God), a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who has received international attention.^[48] Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."^[49]

In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia physician who is able to determine the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the groove on the record. However, Lintgen does not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.^[50]

James Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who allegedly could play an accordion that was locked in a cage, without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the episodes were never made public, and that the accordion in question was a one-octave mouth organ that Home concealed under his large moustache. James Randi writes that one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death.^[51] According to Randi 'around 1960' William Lindsay Gresham told Randi he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research.^[52] Eric Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public."^[53]

James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)[link]

The offices of the JREF in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi and his colleagues update JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle. Randi also contributes a regular column, titled "'Twas Brillig," to The Skeptics Society's Skeptic Magazine. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gives examples of what he considers the nonsense that he deals with every day.^[54]

He has regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality^[55][56] and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry.^[57] From September 2006 onwards, he has occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column titled "Randi Speaks."^[58] In addition, "The Amazing Show" is a podcast in which Randi shares various anecdotes in an interview format.

Views on religion[link]

In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identifies himself as an atheist,^[1] has stated that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. For example, Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the earth without committing incest." He writes that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And more fun."^[59] In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, he looks at a variety of spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji (Prem Rawat) he writes: "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret."^[60]

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge[link]

The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) currently offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars to eligible applicants who can demonstrate a supernatural ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. Similar to the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, in 1964, Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal.^[61] Since then, the prize money has grown to the current $1,000,000, and has formal published rules. No one has progressed past the preliminary test, which is set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refuses to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.

On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed.^[62] Then Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live on September 3, 2001, and she again accepted the challenge.^[63] However, she has refused to be tested and Randi keeps a clock on his website recording the number of weeks that have passed since Browne accepted the challenge without following through.^[64] During Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea to undergo testing for the million dollars. However, Altea would not even address the question.^[65] Instead Altea, in part, replied "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere."^[65] Then on January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on Larry King Live. Once again, she refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.^[66]

Starting on April 1, 2007, only those with an already existing media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge.^[67] The resources freed up by not having to test obscure and possibly mentally ill claimants will then be used to more aggressively challenge notorious high-profile alleged psychics and mediums such as Sylvia Browne, Allison DuBois and John Edward with a campaign in the media.^[67]

JREF maintains a public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge.^[68]

Legal disputes[link]

Randi has been involved in a variety of legal disputes but claims that he has "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me."^[5] However, he says, he has paid out large sums to personally defend himself in these suits.

Eldon Byrd[link]

A Baltimore District Court found Randi liable for defaming Byrd for calling him a "convicted child molester" because, although Byrd had been found guilty of child pornography offences and admitted to molestation, the admission was part of a plea bargain so he was not actually convicted.^[69] No damages were awarded to Byrd.^[70]

Uri Geller[link]

According to Randi, Geller tried to sue Randi a number of times,^[why?] but never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one third of one percent of what Geller had demanded, but this ruling was canceled, and the matter dropped when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.^[71][72]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Geller v. Randi

In 1991, Randi commented that Uri Geller's public performances were of the same quality as those found on the backs of cereal boxes. Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages to CSICOP.^[73][74] Randi and Geller subsequently settled their dispute out of court, the details of which have been kept confidential. The settlement also included an agreement that Geller would not pursue Randi for the award in the Japanese case or other outstanding cases.

Other[link]

Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission.^[75] Randi removed the photo and now uses a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.^[76]

Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley.^[77] Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite prodding Randi via Usenet to sue (Curley's comments had implied that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true), Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51.^[78]

Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost.^[79] Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.^[79]

Personal life[link]

In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States.^[80] Randi has said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while on tour with Alice Cooper where the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance. Nothing was found, yet the RCMP destroyed the room.^[81]

In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery.^[82] In early February 2006, he was declared to be in stable condition and "receiving excellent care" with his recovery proceeding well. The weekly commentary updates to his website were made by guests while he was hospitalized.^[83] Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend the 2007 Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada (an annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers).^[84]

Randi was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in June 2009.^[85] He had a ping pong ball-sized tumor removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced this a week later at the July 2009 The Amazing Meeting as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks.^[86] He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."^[86] Randi also said that after he is gone he does not want his fans to bother with a museum of magic named after him or burying him in a fancy tomb. Instead, he said, "I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes blown in Uri Geller's eyes."^[86] Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session on December 31, 2009, as he explained in a January 12, 2010 video in which he related that his chemotherapy experience was not as unpleasant as he had imagined.^[85] In a video posted April 12, 2010, Randi stated that he has been given a clean bill of health.[3]

In a March 21, 2010, blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he explained was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk, in which Sean Penn portrayed Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.^[87][88]

The Independent Investigations Group IIG tribute to James Randi TAM9

Awards and honors[link]

• In 1981, asteroid 3163 Randi was named after Randi, who has always been an active amateur observer. His friend Carl Sagan encouraged his interest.^[11]
• MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for his investigations of the claims of Uri Geller and TV "faith healers." 1986^[89]
• American Physical Society Joseph A. Burton Forum Award 1989^[90]
• Richard Dawkins Award 2003
• Philip J. Klass Award 2007^[91]
• Independent Investigations Group (IIG) awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award, August 2007. Previous recipients Carl Sagan and Harry Houdini.^[92]
• Committee for Skeptical Inquiry In Praise of Reason Award, 2009
• Elected a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Fellow, 2010^[93]
• Academy of Magical Arts Lifetime Achievement Fellowship, April 2012^[94]

World records[link]

The following are Guinness records:

• Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for an hour and 44 minutes, which broke Harry Houdini's record of one hour and 33 minutes set on August 5, 1926.^[11]
• Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.^[11]

Bibliography[link]

• An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, 1995, St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-15119-5 OCLC 32167512 (Online Version)
• Conjuring, 1992 St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-09771-9
• Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions, 1982, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-198-3
• Houdini, His Life and Art. Co-authored. Putnam Pub Group (November 1976) ISBN 0-448-12552-8
• James Randi: Psychic Investigator, 1991, companion book to the UK Granada TV series. ISBN 1-85283-144-8
• Test Your ESP Potential. Dover Publications Inc. (December 31, 1982) ISBN 0-486-24269-2
• The Faith Healers, 1987, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-369-2. (ISBN 0-87975-535-0 1989 edition) (Foreword by Carl Sagan)
• The Magic of Uri Geller, 1982, ISBN 0-345-24796-5 (later renamed The Truth About Uri Geller ISBN 0-87975-199-1)
• The Magic World of the Amazing Randi. Adams Media Corporation (September 1989) ISBN 1-55850-982-8
• The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer, 1990, Charles Scribner's Sons ISBN 0-684-19056-7 or ISBN 0-87975-830-9.
• Wrong! (Forthcoming^[95])
• A Magician in the Laboratory. (Forthcoming^[95])

TV and film[link]

Actor[link]

• Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
• Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
• Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
• Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
• Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner

Himself[link]

• Wonderama (1955) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
• I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
• Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
• Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008) "De trucs van Char, het medium – 23 maart 2008: ZEMBLA:". http://zembla.vara.nl/Voorpagina.1975.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5316&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1974&cHash=0e36f258ac. 
• ZDF German TV (2007)
• Wild Wild Web (1999)
• West 57th (1980s)
• Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
• Today on NBC (1980s)
• The Don Lane Show (1980)
• That's My Line (1980) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
• The View ABC TV (1999)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993)
• The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
• The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
• People are Talking (1980s)
• The Patterson Show (1970s)
• The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
• The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
• Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
• Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
• Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
• Raitre TV Italy (1991)
• Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
  • End of the World (2003) TV Episode
  • ESP (2003) TV Episode
  • Signs from Heaven (2005) TV Episode
• Oprah Winfrey
• Lawrence Leung Unbelievable TV Episode
• NOVA: Secrets of the Psychics (1993)
• Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
• Midday Show (Australia) (1990s)
• Magic or Miracle (1983)
• Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
• Larry King Live of CNN (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, and January 26, 2007)
• James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
• James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary (free download for schools)
• Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
• Horizon – Homeopathy: The Test (2002) TV Episode
• Houdini Dead Men Talking (Biography Channel)
• Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage)
• Extraordinary People – The Million Dollar Mind Reader (September 2008)."home – extraordinary people". five.tv. http://www.five.tv/programmes/extraordinarypeople/. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
• Exploring Psychic Powers Live (June 7, 1989) (Hosted by Bill Bixby)
• CBS This Morning (1990s)
• Anderson Cooper 360, CNN (January 19, 2007 and January 30, 2007)
• A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
• 20/20 ABC TV (May 11, 2007) Avila, Jim (May 11, 2007). "Selling Salvation?". 20/20. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3164858&page=1. Retrieved March 1, 2007. 
• Dilbert (TV series) parodied in "The Infomercial" (1999) TV Episode

Other media[link]

James Randi can be heard speaking an introduction on Tommy Finkes song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes", released on the album of the same name in 2010. The message was recorded by James Randi and sent to Tommy Finke via email.^[96]

See also[link]

• Pigasus Award
• Project Alpha
• Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary

Notes[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (February 2012)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Randi

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: James Randi

Works by or about James Randi in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Official

• James Randi Educational Foundation – Official website
• James Randi Educational Foundation official YouTube channel
• Video of short talk by Randi in 2007 at TED

Supportive

• James Randi in the Skeptic's Dictionary
• Project Alpha in the Skeptic's Dictionary
• How Randi and fake psychic Carlos fooled millions
• James Randi at the Internet Movie Database

Media

• James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Mr. Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more
• James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Mr. Randi discusses the TV show "Phenomenon," the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
• Malmgren, Jeanne (April 14, 1998). "Randi, the quack hunter". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.com/Floridian/41498/The__quack__hunter.html. 
• "Homeopathy: The Test — webchat with James Randi". BBC. November 26, 2002. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathyrandi.shtml. 
• "20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi"
• The Power of Belief (Video clip) from ABC News
• Randi's Internet Audio Show from the James Randi Educational Foundation
• Skepticality Internet Radio

Transcripts

• "Official transcript: Psychic Powers Debunked in Shawn Hornbeck Case". Anderson Cooper 360. January 19, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/19/acd.01.html.  (Sylvia Browne and Randi)
• "Official transcript: Psychic Psychic Reality Check". Anderson Cooper 360. January 30, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/30/acd.01.html.  (Sylvia Browne's manager and Randi)
• "Official transcript: Have Psychics Gone Too Far?". Larry King Live. January 26, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/26/lkl.01.html.  (Altea and James Randi)
• "Official transcript: Spiritual Medium Versus Paranormal Skeptic". Larry King Live. June 5, 2001. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/05/lkl.00.html.  (Rosemary Altea and Randi)
• "Official transcript: Are Psychics Real?". Larry King Live. September 3, 2001. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html.  (Sylvia Browne and Randi)

Criticism

• A Skeptical Look At James Randi Michael Prescott
• James Randi's response to criticism James Randi Educational Foundation
• Benveniste, Jacques, and Peter Jurgens. On the Role of Stage Magicians in Biological Research The Anomalist 1998
• Thalbourne, Michael A, “Science versus showmanship: A history of the Randi hoax,” American Society for Psychical Research 89 (4) October 1995

Edgar Dean Mitchell
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Status	Retired
Born	(1930-09-17) September 17, 1930 (age 81) Hereford, Texas
Other occupation	Test Pilot
Rank	Captain, USN
Time in space	9d 00h 01m
Selection	1966 NASA Group
Missions	Apollo 14
Mission insignia

Edgar Dean Mitchell, Sc.D. (born September 17, 1930) is an American pilot, engineer, and astronaut. As the lunar module pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

Biography[link]

Mitchell was born in Hereford, Texas.^[1] He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He was also a member of DeMolay International and has been inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1952.^[1] The following year he joined the US Navy where he trained as a pilot and flew off the aircraft carriers USS Bon Homme Richard and USS Ticonderoga. He later qualified as a research pilot and taught at the Navy's research pilot school. While on active duty in the Navy, he earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[1] He currently resides in suburban West Palm Beach, FL.

Mitchell is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and carried one of the order's badges to the Moon; it is now kept at his home chapter of Kappa Sigma at Carnegie Mellon University.

NASA career[link]

Mitchell studies a map while walking on the Moon, February 6, 1971

Mitchell was selected to be an astronaut in 1966 and was seconded from the Navy to NASA. He was designated as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, and flew as lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, where he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

Apollo 14 was Mitchell's only spaceflight. He remained with NASA until 1972, when he retired from the Navy.

After NASA[link]

Ed Mitchell was awarded honorary doctorates from the New Mexico State University, the University of Akron, Carnegie Mellon University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Edgar Mitchell was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.

On June 29, 2011, the United States Government filed a lawsuit against Mitchell in the United States District Court in Miami, Florida after discovering that he possessed a camera used by the Apollo 14 crew on the moon, and had put the camera up for auction at the British auction house Bonhams. The litigation asked that the camera be returned to NASA. Mitchell's position was that NASA had given him the camera as a gift upon the completion of the Apollo 14 mission. Bonhams has withdrawn the camera from auction.^[2] In October, 2011, prosecutors and Mitchell reached a settlement agreement, under which Mitchell gave up any claims to the camera and agreed to return it to NASA, which in turn would donate it for display at the National Air and Space Museum. ^[3]

Other interests[link]

Mitchell's interests include consciousness and paranormal phenomena. On his way back to earth during the Apollo 14 flight he had a powerful Savikalpa samadhi experience^[4], and also claimed to have conducted private ESP experiments with his friends on Earth.^[5] The results of said experiments were published in the Journal of Parapsychology in 1971.^[6] In early 1973, he founded the nonprofit Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) to conduct and sponsor research into areas that mainstream science has found unproductive, including consciousness research and psychic events.

Remote healing[link]

Mitchell says that a teenage remote healer who lives in Vancouver and uses the pseudonym Adam Dreamhealer helped him heal kidney cancer at a distance. Mitchell said that while he never had a biopsy, "I had a sonogram and MRI that was consistent with renal carcinoma." Adam worked (distantly) on Mitchell from December 2003 until June 2004, when the "irregularity was gone and we haven't seen it since".^[7]

Views on UFOs[link]

Mitchell has publicly expressed his opinions that he is "90 percent sure that many of the thousands of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, recorded since the 1940s, belong to visitors from other planets"^[8] and that UFOs have been the "subject of disinformation in order to deflect attention and to create confusion so the truth doesn't come out".^[9] Dateline NBC conducted an interview with Mitchell on April 19, 1996, during which he discussed meeting with officials from three countries who claimed to have had personal encounters with extraterrestrials. He offered his opinion that the evidence for such "alien" contact was "very strong" and "classified" by governments, who were covering up visitations and the existence of alien beings' bodies in places such as Roswell, New Mexico. He further claimed that UFOs had provided "sonic engineering secrets" that were helpful to the U.S. government. Mitchell's book, The Way of the Explorer, discusses his journey into mysticism and space.^[10]

In 2004 he told the St. Petersburg Times that a "cabal of insiders" in the U.S. government were studying recovered alien bodies, and that this group had stopped briefing U.S. presidents after John F. Kennedy.^[11] He said, "We all know that UFOs are real; now the question is where they come from."^[12]

On July 23, 2008 Edgar Mitchell was interviewed on Kerrang Radio by Nick Margerrison. Mitchell claimed the Roswell crash was real and that aliens have contacted humans several times, but that governments have hidden the truth for 60 years stating, "I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet, and the UFO phenomenon is real." In reply, a spokesman for NASA stated, "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue."^[13][14]

In an interview with Fox News on July 25, 2008, Mitchell clarified that his comments did not involve NASA, but quoted unnamed sources, since deceased, at Roswell who confided to him that the Roswell incident did involve an alien craft. Mitchell also claims to have subsequently received confirmation from an unnamed intelligence officer at the Pentagon.^[15][16]

Edgar Mitchell, February 2009

Other projects[link]

Edgar Mitchell appears in the documentaries In the Shadow of the Moon, The Phoenix Lights...We Are Not Alone, and The Living Matrix.

Mitchell has written several articles and essays,^[17] as well as two books. In The Way of the Explorer, Mitchell proposed a dyadic model of reality.^[18]

He is currently the Advisory Board Chairman of the Institute for Cooperation in Space, co-founded by Dr. Carol Rosin^[19] and is a member of INREES.

Mitchell is one of the initial supporters of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly – which would be a first step towards a "world parliament".^[20]

Honors and awards[link]

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Polish Wikipedia.

• Presidential Medal of Freedom (1970)
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal
• Navy Astronaut Wings
• Navy Distinguished Service Medal