James Randi's Million Dollar Challenge

[Antylamon]

You guys here in meta/para might be interested in this.

 

A million dollars to the first person who can prove "any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event." I'd be glad to help someone here get that million dollars.

 

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

[Guest Anonymous]

Good luck. This is impossible to do, for the simple reason that if it exists it is natural.

You can prove ghosts? Great, but now we know that they aren't supernatural but just a phenomenom not yet studied and recognized by science. So you didn't prove anything occult, paranormal or supenatural.

[Dr. Faust]

I think the concept of Tulpa might be complex enough that it could be considered paranormal or supernatural, if only because it is created through means that seem simple to perform but which are probably incredibly complex. When you think of it, magic seems incredible because you are able to create results through such absurd means. So what happens when you create an entirely new consciousness?

 

If Tulpa might be able to be proven to exist through some type of MRI scan or Turing Test then I think we might have a decent shot at the million dollars.

[Upper Class Twit]

I think the concept of Tulpa might be complex enough that it could be considered paranormal or supernatural, if only because it is created through means that seem simple to perform but which are probably incredibly complex. When you think of it, magic seems incredible because you are able to create results through such absurd means. So what happens when you create an entirely new consciousness?

 

If Tulpa might be able to be proven to exist through some type of MRI scan or Turing Test then I think we might have a decent shot at the million dollars.

 

 

Again then it goes from being a paranormal, to just under studied, its a trick question.

[Dr. Faust]

 

 

Again then it goes from being a paranormal, to just under studied, its a trick question.

 

No, I think at this point you are placing your own skepticism and faith in human douchebaggery upon the foundation's aims.

 

I think if we were to properly document Tulpa, it could perhaps be the first phenomenon to actually win the million dollars even if we later learn the mechanisms by which tulpa's are actually created.

 

All we have to find out is a way to figure out how to prove the existence of Tulpa or another Consciousness within us. We don't yet fully know how this happens or how it occurs but we know that it's there. Neuroscience is certainly very far from understanding a consciousness or self-identity really is and having two within the same brain will never be fully understood before that foundation will have to pay out.

 

If we can prove the existence of actual Tulpa before we really know what they are it will be paranormal. This phenomenon also has it's roots in the occult and perhaps could be considered supernatural.

 

Occult

 

This is a method used by Tibetan Monks and perhaps within the "Magickal" community through ritual of "Evocation".

 

There is a good history of Tulpa and Tulpa-like phenomenon within the occult community to earn it this quality.

 

Paranormal

 

Like I've mentioned before, Tulpa are not studied by science nor is consciousness something that is fully understood.

 

Not to mention we have two consciousnesses operating within the same person. The closest thing we have to this is Schizophrenia, which unfortunately detracts from some rather than benefit them.

 

Supernatural

 

If we can agree that the rule of having a brain is usually one person per brain than of course we can agree that the Tulpa phenomenon breaks what normal laws we have defined for consciousness.

 

In conclusion, I think we have a very good opportunity to be the first documented case of paranormal, supernatural and occult phenomena which can be proven should we find the proper way to document the phenomenon from the perspective of a third party.

 

I know you remain skeptical and perhaps we will never really win that million dollars but the mere attempt and documentation of this phenomenon would at the very least be fitting with the motto of this site: "For Science!"

[GrillNinja]

Hi everyone, my name's Chris. I'm new. Good to meet ya. I don't have a tulpa yet, but I am working on one in the pursuit of self-knowledge.

 

Anyway, I see the magician's aims in this contest although I didn't read every rule thoroughly and consider all their implications. The only way I can think of to prove the occult exists to him would be to demonstrate the teachings of Pythagoras. Come in with a hand tattoo of a pentagram, show him the golden ratio and how octaves work, and then demonstrate it with Donald Duck in Mathmagic land. Because Pythagoras was occult.

 

Being a magician in the same vein as Pen and Teller, he is going to have some hard line views about what metaphysics is and and how it should be conducted. Considering he makes his living coming up with and entertaining people with illusions you can't blame him. It would be frustrating to have people take you seriously when all you can do is make-believe. That will disillusion any one pretty quick.

 

Now proving the mind exists is also tricky. The more I study occult stuff the more I think the rituals, the gods, the stories, are just ways of having a communication with our inner world and the outer world and vice versa. Magick, for me, is how to use that relationship to act in the outer world and how it in turn changes me.

 

It would be difficult to prove anything to this guy and his people. For me the simplest of magick - to enact noticeable change in the world through my will, would be to buy a sandwich sand then eat it. How would that go over? What if I drew a photo realistic human eye right there in front of him?

 

All my years and study of art, perspective, texture, biology, and what it means to have a soul would be meaningless. There are secrets to drawing eyes, I don't know all of them. Never mind I took a dumb piece of paper made made it $30, or that I showed him what love of my craft means. It's just some markings on paper, a dedicated illusion. Not magick. Not "supernatural". Even though the eye would be staring right at him and he could see it. It's not easy to make a two-dimensional eye do that. It's downright paranormal if you do it right.

 

I am pretty sure this guy wouldn't get it if I made him that sandwich.

[Chupi]

Then there's this: http://rense.com/general50/james.htm

It appears the challenge isn't entirely fair. Note that the author of that does not believe in magic/paranormal/supernatural/etc.

[Slushie]

Then there's this: http://rense.com/general50/james.htm

It appears the challenge isn't entirely fair. Note that the author of that does not believe in magic/paranormal/supernatural/etc.

Is there anything to actually corroborate the claims in that blog post? Trying to search for, for example, the quote supposedly from Randi's site, all I get are people linking to that article. And that "email" could easily be fabricated. Furthermore most of the links in the article go nowhere.

 

I'm sorry but one random biased guy's claims about one supposedly unfairly treated case isn't enough to accuse Mr. Randi of being unfair.

[Yori]

Chupi, it's fair to me. It's clear that you are supposed to prove it to a skeptical person. It wasn't presented as a "show me that you have powers", but "show me that they even exist at all"

 

So yes, People coming have to really prove it... I think that's fair no matter if the person is skeptical or not.. that's a million dollars and people can try to con it.

[Sophie]

Forgive me for bumping a dead topic, but I thought I'd add a few things.

 

Dreamy suggested that if you do manage to prove you can do something paranormal, he'll reframe it as not paranormal. If the challenge FAQ is to be trusted, this is not the case. The FAQ reads:

 

If, after testing, it is decided that your ability is either scientifically explainable or will be someday, you needn’t worry. If the JREF has agreed to test you, then your claim is paranormal.

 

On the other hand, as Chupi said, Randi is likely to reject your application without reason, and his tests will be biased if he does accept you.

 

And if he does accept you, and test you fairly, you might still lose money on it. Again, from the FAQ:

 

Who pays for all this?

 

You do. The JREF is a non-profit organization, and simply does not have the resources to pay travel and testing expenses for every single claimant. We will work with you as much as possible, and try to test near you, but in the end, if you’re convinced you’re going to win a million dollars, travel shouldn’t be that much of an issue.

 

The thing is, you're not going to get a million dollars. You will receive a check worth ten thousand dollars. Then you will receive bonds equivalent to the rest.

 

What's wrong with bonds? Well, they have to reach maturity before they can be cashed. So maybe they don't reach maturity for another two hundred years, and the money returns to the Foundation upon the holder's death. We don't know.

 

The Foundation has been very careful with answering questions about the money. If you read the FAQ, it doesn't actually give any answers. I'll sum up what it says rather than quoting directly this time:

 

I heard the prize money doesn’t really exist and that it’s all just a scam.

 

The money exists. We can prove it exists.

 

What if the bonds cannot be easily liquidated?

 

We refuse to divulge any information whatsoever about the bonds, so we'll just reiterate that if we didn't give you the bonds, we'd get sued. Once we have delivered the bonds, liquidation is your problem.

 

So essentially, when your application is accepted, you've agreed to pay for Randi and all his testers to fly to a location near you, buy all their equipment for them, pay rent on the facility where they do the testing, and pay for their food and hotel rooms while they're there. In return, you'll get publicity, and a small portion of that money back.