TED: James Randi

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Magician and hokum-dedbunker extraordinaire James Randi is giving a fantastically entertaining presentation about scammmers who say they can communicate with the dead, which he says is a "cruel farce" that ruins people "emotionally and financially." Randi offers a $1,000,000 prize for anyone who can demonstrate a psychic phenomenon. So far, he's had no takers. "Wouldn't they take this money just to make me look silly?" He is pushing for laws against psychics. While I agree psychics are scammers, I don't like the idea of outlawing them.

(He started the talk by eating 36 homeopathic sleeping pills — "six-and-a-half days worth — a fatal dose of homeopathic sleeping pills. Why don't they affect me?") Link