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Author Topic:   James Randi
12thhouser
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posted June 08, 2012 01:47 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 12thhouser     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Better known as "The Amazing Randi" (I believe), is that "scientific skeptic" who's tried to discredit, among many things, the merits of astrology. He's conducted a number of "experiments" to disprove astrology's validity. When he's approached some professional astrologers with his proposed experiments, you can see the look of trepidation in their eyes and hear the hesitation in their voices.

Frankly, I'm surprised none of the astrologers have counter-proposed their own "experiment." Namely, that Mr. Randi can conduct his "experiments" in exchange for sharing his complete birth information with a professional astrologer who will then interpret his chart.

Watch Randi's skepticism fade after the interpretation.

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Lonake
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posted June 08, 2012 03:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Lonake     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There's plenty that science can't account for and frankly I like it that way.

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Delilah
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posted June 08, 2012 09:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Delilah     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
He can't be proven wrong because he won't listen for the sake of listening. He looks for any holes in an argument to completely discredit what people have said. This is a person whose mind is made up and who also gets off on "discrediting" people.

Honestly, I think he's fraudulent when giving people his birth information just so that he can say they're wrong. Anyone who's so hell bent on being right like he is has some serious psychological issues.

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Xiiro
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posted June 08, 2012 11:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Xiiro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I feel there is a shred of validity in what he does. It is important to expose people who take spiritual advantage of others (which was one of his main reasons for becoming rich off badgering spiritual workers).

Unfortunately, when challenging someone to produce results, the terms had to be his and in some cases those terms were unreasonable. For example, "cold reading" is part of psychic reading for me. I would have a much harder time giving an accurate reading without being physically connected (via voice, real-time text, or sight) with the person I am reading for. This is simply because my Moon is in Virgo and I am reading the tiny fluctuations in the person's energy as we communicate. Without the ability to observe the person's energy, It would be much more difficult to cut through all the BS and get down to the deeper problems.

The psychicness is there, it's just gets its job done efficiently when it is given the opportunity to observe. I have given readings for people in the past who are not present, and they were still great, but my Moon doubts throughout the entire thing and feels I could have better served with reciprocated communication.

All in all James Randi was a tool IMO, but his initial cause was an important one.

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12thhouser
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posted June 08, 2012 11:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 12thhouser     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This is exactly my point. I read somewhere that someone got a hold of his actual birth information, and his south node was in the 5th (which does not bode well for honest speculation). If someone sat him down and gave an interpretation of his chart, he might be forced to reconsider his motives. If he's so sure of himself, what's he got to hide? Obviously he won't because he's got plenty to hide.

It's funny how one of the things he's trying to disprove is the thing that can unlock the fraudulence behind how and why he's trying to disprove it all.

"Amazing Randi" indeed!

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PixieJane
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posted June 08, 2012 06:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I saw the famous and often referenced Randi debunking of astrology and I wasn't the least bit impressed. I like to think that even if I didn't know the details of astrology that I still wouldn't be impressed because all he proves is that people are easily suggestible and manipulable, but if that experiment "debunks" astrology than we can stop believing in politics that works on very similar manipulations and even fields he'd considered legite as experts and professionals are easily tricked (and, of course, make plenty of mistakes). Heck, there was an experiment in which possible economic and political outcomes were put on pieces of cardboard and then a chimp was used to pick one up and the first choice was given as the chimp's answer and the chimp beat most experts by a wide margin and even the few experts that beat the chimp did so only barely. (Which reminds me of what the economist John Kenneth Galbraith said: "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable." )

Shortly after I turned 17 I was in a new age shop when I found a card that gave a numerology formula and then described you by your number and was initially impressed as it described me. Then I read through the other numbers and saw they described me as well (and most were saying the same thing with different words) and was less impressed. So I could've easily seen through Randi's experiment.

And James Randi IS a fraud. I read in a book on the paranormal (which was gave equal consideration to both paranormal and skeptical claims with the rebuttals each had for the other) on the Cottingley Fairies which had James Randi say he "proved" how they were done with strings (and the one who did the fraud was both bemused and amused) and then before she died she explained how she really did it which was with pins. After she explained it then James Randi pretended he never gave the other explanation that he "proved" and acted as if that had been what he said all along.

As far as I'm concerned James Randi is a failed magician who made lemonade out of lemons by finding a way to get rich and famous (he is a Leo after all) despite his lack of talent, and that's his motivation (as opposed to "truth"). And even if a real life Carrie or Charlie McGee (Firestarter) were to try to claim the reward for proving paranormal powers I don't doubt that it would end up in court before he paid it.

Don't get me wrong, I think many skeptic's organizations provide a valuable service against charlatans and provided a much needed balance to many religious and paranormal claims (no doubt my being a Libran helps me have that attitude ), but James Randi is someone I hold in contempt (even if people I know and admire look up to him).

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iQ
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posted June 09, 2012 05:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for iQ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Excellent post by Pixie Jane.

James Randi has an Aries Moon, and I found out that this principle is dominant in the charts of intelligent mentalists who "make up their mind" to be skeptical. I wrote a detailed post a month ago on this topic.

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