Confessional Lutheran theology, hagiography, philosophy, music, culture, sports, education,
and whatever else is on the fevered mind of Orycteropus Afer
02 August 2005
Getting Randi over the Occult
Seminal Encyclopedia Now Available Online.
As I took my regular stroll through the amazing variety of Boing Boing, I discovered that James "The Amazing" Randi has done something truly amazing: He put his in-print book online! You can now read the full text (plus extra jokes and some needed corrections) of An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural.
Randi, one of the most accomplished stage magicians ever, has been debunking supernaturalistic, spiritualist fraud for years. He has an ongoing million dollar challenge for anyone to prove, "under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event." Needless to say, Randi's bank account is still flush.
He hopes that one observed phenomenon continues: "Experience has shown that, in the publishing business, making a book available on the Internet only stimulates sales of the actual book! Another mystery."
While I don't agree with all his religious thoughts, I've been a fan of both his showmanship and his scholarship for years and hope that more discover him and (maybe) buy his book.
See, Scooby, the ghost was actually a fake! ¶ 02:10 |
As I took my regular stroll through the amazing variety of Boing Boing, I discovered that James "The Amazing" Randi has done something truly amazing: He put his in-print book online! You can now read the full text (plus extra jokes and some needed corrections) of An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural.
Randi, one of the most accomplished stage magicians ever, has been debunking supernaturalistic, spiritualist fraud for years. He has an ongoing million dollar challenge for anyone to prove, "under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event." Needless to say, Randi's bank account is still flush.
He hopes that one observed phenomenon continues: "Experience has shown that, in the publishing business, making a book available on the Internet only stimulates sales of the actual book! Another mystery."
While I don't agree with all his religious thoughts, I've been a fan of both his showmanship and his scholarship for years and hope that more discover him and (maybe) buy his book.
See, Scooby, the ghost was actually a fake! ¶ 02:10 |
