JREF
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1996. Its aim is to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.
Here are the latest headlines:
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Skepticism Alive and Well at Dragon*Con
It’s Labor Day weekend and that means hordes of science fiction, fantasy, and comic fans have descended on Atlanta for Dragon*Con. Dragon*Con is the largest popular culture convention in the world with over 35,000 attendees and an incredible array of programming options. The weekend means being packed into elevators full of stormtroopers, vampires, and steampunk enthusiasts, countless themed parties, film festivals, a parade, costume contests, endless entertainment, and perhaps the most fertile ground for … [more]
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Become a JREF Member!
Becoming a JREF member is the easiest way to support the JREF’s constant work to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today. Through media appearances, public lectures, grassroots organizing, resources for educators, academic scholarships, regional and national events and digital publishing, the JREF is constantly working toward these goals. Won’t you be a part of this worthwhile c … [more]
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Recently, At Science-Based Medicine
Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last recently at Science-Based Medicine , a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine. Does peer review need fixing? (David Gorski) Peer review, whereby a scientific article must be scrutinized and approved by the authors’ peers prior to publication, is a flawed system with many defects; but it is still better than the absence of peer review. The peer review process should not be abandoned or radically changed, but it can b … [more]
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Colbert On Geller
Apparently, Uri Geller is sticking by his decision that no matter what people say about him, it's all good publicity, just as I'm sure that mentalist Kreskin probably celebrates the existence of the movie The Great Buck Howard , even though it's a devastating and hilarious exposé of him and his methods. Geller delights in quoting Oscar Wilde: "The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about." Take a look here at the latest major comment on the professional spoo … [more]
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Ben Goldacre on the Squabbles Around Homeopathy from TAM 6
In an effort to make our extensive video library available online free of charge, The James Randi Educational Foundation is posting high quality digital video lectures and sessions from previous Amaz!ng Meetings and other events on randi.org . Check back often to see the latest video content. Science writer and psychiatrist Ben Goldacre takes a historical look at homeopathy and its critics while reviewing the often misrepresented results of over 200 scientific trials. His talk gives an, at times, humorous e … [more]
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Of Cars and Conspiracies
Jeff Wagg’s article about the extreme lack of casualties on board the AIRES 737 in Columbia brought to mind a similar story from 2009. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was instituted in 1959 to test and promote auto safety. To celebrate their 50 th anniversary they decided to throw a big bash, or rather, a big crash. They slammed two cars together, which is what they do fairly often. What made this crash different was that they weren’t testing crash worthyness. While Mythbusters has shown us t … [more]
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My Sweet Lord — He's So Fine!
This is a follow up to my article The Media Miracle . Immediately after posting that article, I was contacted by Patrick Smith, who asked if his article influenced my article. What happened next was very interesting, so I'm going to tell the story in some detail. As soon as Patrick sent that e-mail, I immediately looked at his article, and I thought… Wow, there's a lot of similarity here. But I hadn't read his article before I wrote mine, so how could that be? And then I remembered. On the mor … [more]
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Subversive Faith Healing
Recently I was driving from Edmonton to Calgary and just outside of Edmonton I came across a sign on the highway that read, “Need a Healing?” and then touted the name of an evangelical preacher (Thurman Scrivner) who was appearing at a hotel in Leduc to ostensibly heal the infirm. Being a skeptic and a former hard-core Christian, I thought I might just go find out what this gentleman was offering those who felt they needed to be ‘healed’ by his words or deeds. So, off I went with a good friend to on … [more]
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Trey Parker & Matt Stone – SouthPark Creators
In an effort to make our vast video library increasingly accessible, free of charge, The James Randi Educational Foundation will regularly be posting high quality digital video to randi.org. Check back often to see the latest video content. This installment features a fun discussion with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone from The Amazing Meeting 5. They take questions from the audience and recognize James Randi as the inspiration behind the John Edward episode.The introduction is by Penn Jillet … [more]
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The Media Miracle
UPDATE at the bottom. We've seen the headlines: "Church Burns, Miracle Baby Survives" followed by quotes like "Jesus was watching little Jessica that day." And then there's no mention of the 200 people inside who suffered a horrific death. The baby's survival is attributed to a higher force, and the victims were just statistics. It seems to me, and I'm sure many of you, that if a higher power was involved, she/he/it deserves credit for the tragedy as well as the remarkabl … [more]
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