>From Jed: ...
> Midway through our discussion, Randi suddenly changed the > terms of his challenge from merely ridiculous to utterly > impossible. Instead of demanding experimental proof that > cold fusion exists (which could hypothetically be given > if he understood anything about physics), he suddenly > demanded a practical commercial device instead: > > "Let's leave it here: the million-dollar prize of the > James Randi Educational Foundation is available for the > operation of a practical working version of the > 'cold fusion' claim." And > Randy makes the rules in his game: Dealer wins > and winner deals. There is no way you could beat > him because he will change the rules as soon as > he sees you may win. You saw how he did that to > me. Instead of talking about proof that cold > fusion exists, he suddenly demanded a "practical > working version." He raised the price of admission > by a factor of roughly 100,000. Instead of > demanding that the researchers spend ~$100,000 to > persuade him, he now demands the researchers > spend ~$10 billion. > > Randi is hopelessly muddled and ignorant. I think > there is chance he or any of his friends will even > bother to read the cold fusion literature. There is > not a snowball's chance in hell he will admit he > is wrong -- or even understand how or why he is > wrong! It is a waste of time dealing with such > people. The only reason I wrote to Randi was to draw > out the responses he e-mailed to me, so that I > could prove how intellectually dishonest and > ignorant he is. The next time someone mentions Randi > in a positive light, I invite you to e-mail him the > exchange of messages. Anyone with half a brain will > see that Randi is a fool and a blowhard. > > - Jed Jed, I have some thoughts here... It is quite possible that you may be able to best Randi at his own game. The point is not to "get" Randi. That's petty. The point would be to show a devastating example of how scientific investigations occasionally go very, VERY bad, particularly when those who claim they are following the rules, in fact, aren't. How? By publicly exposing the way Randi operates on preconceived conclusions that are not based on scientific investigative skills. The key point being: Public Exposure. From Randi's perspective, any public exposure that shows his flawed modus operandi in action is not likely to sit well with him. It seems quite likely to me that one of Randi's most vulnerable Achilles Heal is his desire to be both recognized and validated (with the level respect he believes he deserves) within the scientific community - and particularly for his "debunking" work. If you can publicly show through a collection of clear and concise report (expose) that Randy clearly doesn't comprehend the physics involved in CF claims, that he instead follows his own subjective modus operandi, AND that when it suits him he changes the terms of his million dollar challenge you can pretty much show the world (and more importantly, to Randi himself) that he doesn't deserve to be validated and/or recognized by the scientific community - and that is likely to stick in his craw. What's sad about this is that Randi really is an excellent magician, and he probably does know most of the dirty tricks of the trade when it comes to deceiving the public. He does good work in the area of exposing frauds. The irony in all of this is that Randi assumes that his extensive knowledge of how to deceive an audience automatically makes him an excellent debunker of controversial scientific claims. But Randi does not appear to be following the rules of scientific investigation. When "big fish" in little ponds get it in their heads to play with the bigger fish in the bigger pond they need to understand the consequences of playing by the harsher rules of the ocean. Bad things can happen when little fishies assume they can still play by the rules they crafted within their own little puddles: The Ponds of Mutual Self Admiration. Jed, I realize this might be too much work, and I would understand why you might not want to take on the assignment of exposing Randi's (pseudo) modus operandi. However, if you do, it might turn out to be a very revealing, something you might like to place in lenr-canr. Just my two cents. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.Zazzle.com/orionworks
