First it was Montel Williams, now another major media promoter of psychics fraud is leaving the airwaves.   Larry King has announced that he will be leaving his show on CNN.   Of course,  his mind left the show some time in the mid 1990’s.   Larry King, for those who live outside the US, is a TV show host who does a lot of interviews and generally doesn’t contribute much to them, but yet has managed to be a major force on television for many years.

Decidedly non-skeptical, Larry King has allowed his show to be used by everyone from Jenny McCarthy and her anti-vaccine movement to Sylvia Browne and other self-proclaimed psychics.   His interviews tend to pander to them, even kissing their collective asses.   Whether it be UFO’s or claims of powers to find missing persons, Larry King can’t seem to see reality from lies and lets his television show become the platform for all kinds of bull.   To skeptics… well, we’re lucky we ever get represented on his show.

In this clip you’ll notice James Randi pauses for a moment after Larry King states that Sylvia Browne “described the accused villain pretty well.”   In fact, she had not described him well at all and had said Shawn Hornesbeck was dead, despite his being found alive years later.   This interview was actually done during The Amazing Meeting 5 and as such, I was able to speak to Randi afterward.   He paused because he was waiting for the punchline, so to speak, expecting Larry King to say something more, since his statement was so absurd.   Had I been in that situating, I’m not even sure I would have known how to react.

I can offer another personal story to shed some light on what kind of pandering Larry King is prone to:
Shortly after this, Larry again hosted a “psychic” to defend Sylvia Browne. His guest stated that psychic visions are not always clear and that is why sometimes things like these errors happen.

The show took phone calls and I called in. Actually, I put the number on my speed dial and dialed repeatedly. It took more than 50 calls but I finally got through and talked to one of the producers who screened the calls.
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One week ago today I attended NECSS, the North East Conference on Science and Skepticism. The event was held in New York City and attracted several hundred local science and skepticism enthusiasts. All in all it was a great event, both for the presentations and for the general crowd and socialization which occurs between lectures and panels and after the formal event.   This was the second NECSS conference, the first one being held back in October of 2009.

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe did a live podcast to kick off the event and were followed by a number of different panels and speakers.   I was happy to see James Randi was able to make it to the event.  Mr. Randi is one of the most outspoken and iconic members of the skeptical movement.  Randi helped found what is currently the modern skeptical community back in the 1970’s, a time when a lot of questionable research was beginning to come back into vogue.

Randi is the type whose always ready and willing to attend any event that can help increase education and awareness.  Last year he had planned on attending NECSS but had to cancel and appeared only in a pre-taped video due to his health problems.   At the time Mr. Randi had just been diagnosed with colon cancer and had to have a section of his large intestine removed.   This was followed by chemotherapy for several months.   Thankfully, Mr. Randi was looking perfectly at NECSS last week and it appears that the cancer was taken care of before it could spread and become a bigger problem.

As with last year, the event was MC’ed by Jamy Ian Swiss and featured the talent of George Hrab.  D.J. Gorthe, the program director of the Center for Inquiry and president of the JREF also contributed as did Steve Mirsky of Scientific American.

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As a followup from the previous post on the fraudulent bomb detector, here’s a video from CBS news featuring one an interview with a Pentagon security expert on….. hey wait a second, I know that guy.    That’s Hal Bidlack.   Go Hal!   (Hal is a friend of this site and MC’s the annual Amazing Meeting for the JREF, among other things)

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Have you ever met someone who just keeps saying things so dumb that you can barely contain your disdain?   Sure, you might try to be polite, but after hearing someone state, with authority enough bullshit about astrology, homeopathy, conspiracy theories and other bullshit, you just can’t bite your tongue anymore.

That’s the story of Tim Michin’s “Storn,” a nine-minute spoken word piece about a dinner party in which a stereotypical empty-headed woman named “storm” spouts out enough bull to set off a storm inside any skeptic.   Michin does a great job of painting a picture of the events with his words, but now there’s one better, because out very good friend Tracy King and a dedicated staff of animators is preparing to release the “Storm Movie,” which, as the name implies, turns the piece into a film – an animated one.

At the moment only the trailer is out, as the finishing touches are being put on the full version.   Here’s a taste of it:

Perhaps it’s a bit early to critique something that’s only being shown as a preview, but if the rest of the film lives up to this then expect greatness.   In addition to being a great story, they’ve managed to achieve a very unique, yet at the same time classic style to the visuals.   It combines smooth motion and text with a kind of planned roughness and an excellent psuedo-3d layering effect.    Most who watch this kind of a thing probably won’t stop to think about how much effort goes into it, because when done properly, it just flows and you don’t even notice how well the text bounces and how the angular momentum transfers when a pill is swallowed.    However, I did, and props to all those involved!

I’m told that this was done primarily in Adobe After Effects and that most of the animation is actually individually edited frames.  Wow!   It must have taken a real lot of tweaking to make it so smooth.    I especially love how the camera shakes with a little elasticity.

But before I pick it apart any further, I’ll just stop and say that the style and flow rocks and I’m looking very forward to seeing the whole thing. After all, the Mona Lisa is best appreciated as a masterpiece and not by analyzing all the chemical components of the paint.

For those who don’t know, I just got back from The Amazing Meeting London.   I would blog about the meeting, post some photos, describe my thoughts and observations and thank the organizers and guests.   However, I’m tired and still have a bunch of things to do.   Thus I’ll just point out that the event was covered in the BBC News Magazine/Website.

Overall, the coverage looks pretty descent.   I could nitpick a few portions of the news story, for example, where it called James Randi “high priest James Randi” of the skeptic movement.   This one gets under my skin a little bit, because while I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Randi for all that he has done, it makes the movement sound a lot like  a cult.  Randi is great because he really helped found the modern movement of skepticism, getting attention way back in the 1970’s, when being a skeptic was decidedly not in vogue.   The JREF is very unique in its ability to bring together everyone from students to entertainers to research scientists, all working toward a common good and exchanging their ideas.

That said, empirical skepticism is not monolithic.  Plenty of skeptics disagree with each other and generally are very prone to be turned off by the idea of signing onto a group that demands universal agreement.   While I think Randi is great, I’ve disagreed with him quite a few times – although in the grand scheme of things, I tend to agree much more often than I disagree.

It’s also interesting that the article focuses so much on conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists.  This is an interesting area that often leads to disagreement even amongst skeptics.   Conspiracy theories are not always false, of course.  Conspiracies do happen, and therefore it’s impossible to dismiss accusations that a politician may have accepted bribes or that a corporation conspired to obstruct a criminal investigation.   There are also completely nutty conspiracy theories, but it can be very hard to know exactly where to draw the line when it comes to what is reasonable.

Like many others, I’m also not crazy about the title “skeptic.”   If anyone can think of a better one, please let me know!   The article mentions the word “rationalist,” which I suppose is okay, although it would appear to invoke Rand and her philosophy and the word “bright” which I’ve never heard before in this context.

I didn’t mention this before because it was extremely last-minute, but I’m currently in London for TAM London. I won’t be back until Tuesday at the earliest. While I do have a laptop and internet access, there’s so much to do I doubt I’ll be spending much time blogging. If you happen to live in the London area and would like to get a pint, then leave a comment and I’ll try to check them fairly regularly. My phone does not work here, unfortunately.

There’s so much to do and so many people to meet plus there is so much to see here as well, that I’d rather spend my time experiencing it than on the internet, especially given that I will be headed back on Monday night.

Also, a big thanks to everyone involved, including, but not limited to: Ben Goldacre of badscience.net, Phil Plait of badastronomy.com, Adam Savage of Mythbusters, George Hrab and of course my good friend Tracy King, who organized the event.

A big Happy Birthday to our good friend The Amazing  James Randi who is now 82 years young and still in overall good health and sharp as an experimental tungsten needle.   Randi is still the worst nightmare of many a self-proclaimed psychic, dowser, healer, prophet, saint or other scammers.   In his career he’s helped to turn those like Uri Geller from someone that some scientists actually took literally to an exposed fraud.

For some time, the James Randi Educational Foundation has offered a challenge to those who claim paranormal powers to put up or shut up.   The challenge is for a cash prize of one million dollars for scientific proof of the paranormal. It all started a long time ago when James Randi himself offered one thousand dollars of his own for anyone willing to step up and prove that their claims of the paranormal are real.

Since then, it has grown to one million dollars.  The money is kept by the foundation in verifiable asserts and a protocol exists for those who wish to apply for the challenge.  To claim the million dollars, one must agree to a test protocol with the foundation.  This test protocol is somewhat flexible, as the claimed powers vary quite a bit.   The challenge consists of two tests.  The first test is a preliminary test, which is intended to have odds of passing by chance alone of no better than one to one thousand.  (Statisticians are consulted when necessary).    If the claimant passes this test, they will move on to the final test, which will have even stricter controls and scrutiny and will be reviewed by the foundation’s resident statisticians and others to assure it is valid.   If the claimant passes this, they will win the million dollars and also challenge the very basic laws of reality as we know them, thus upsetting science from the ground up.

Thus far, only a few have made it to the preliminary challenge.   Despite the efforts of those involved to be accommodating to claimants, and the fact that the challenge is always done in a manner as transparent and fair as possible, most bow out before ever making it to the actual test procedure.   Of those who have made it to the preliminary test, none have passed.

In the past, a few high profile psychics like Sylvia Browne have stated that they would take on the challenge, but this has never materialized.   Those like John Edward, Uri Geller and other well known self-proclaimed psychics and mystics generally avoid this test like the plague.    Despite one million dollars to donate to whatever charity they like and finally shutting up the skeptics, nobody of any status seems to be willing to take on the challenge.  (Gee I wonder why?)

(Photo Credit: Scott Hurst)

At TAM-7 there was an individual, Connie Sonne, who did take the challenge and make it to the preliminary test.  I was lucky enough to be part of the audience to the challenge.   Despite being pretty sure of the outcome, I have to admit I held my breath.   The test was done very professionally and according to the agreed protocol.

PART 1

The rest of the test can be viewed via the links bellow.   I suggest checking out part 4, for those who don’t want to view the entire thing.

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It is obviously really really late to be recapping the events of The Amazing Meeting 7, but as I had been under the weather for a while, now seems like as good a time as any to mention the goings on.

For those who do not know, The Amazing Meeting is an annual event sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation which brings together a lot of skeptics and critical thinkers.  There are lectures, workshops, drinking, mingling, drinking, meeting new people, drinking, exchanging ideas, drinking and finally drinking.    The whole thing is a hoot and it’s been getting bigger each year.   As always I had a blast and it was at times a bit of sensory overload.

(This was staged, Penn did not actually hit me)

For those who don’t know what a “skeptic” is, it’s a little hard to explain.  No, we do not just sit around talking about how we think all UFO’s can be explained as a hoax or honest mistake.  (We do that too, it’s just not the only thing we do.)    The JREF and the skeptical community embody a wide variety of beliefs and philosophies, but in general the group consists of critical thinkers who don’t like things like homeopathy and do like things like science.

If you have any interest in science in the public media, skepticism, debunking, myths and myth busting, the harm caused by misinformation on things like vaccines and conspiracy theories or if you’re just a little bit geeky in general, it might be worth considering attending one of these get-togethers.

A few highlights:
RS Lancaster, who had suffered a stroke last year was in attendance.  I was personally very surprised and extremely happy to see that his condition has improved dramatically.  Mr. Lancaster is still wheelchair bound and has limited use of the left side of his body.   However, he has regained the ability to speak fluently and he appears to have very good alertness and mental facilities.    I’m so glad to see RSL doing better and enjoying the occasion.

A preliminary test was conducted for the Million Dollar Challenge.   The test was witnessed by hundreds of attendees.   The subject of the test did not pass, but it was still a memorable and very suspenseful event.   Personally, I was pretty confident that I knew what the outcome would be, but I still held my breath.

Of course, there were plenty of great speakers and presenters.  I want to offer a special thanks to Joe Nickell, whose presentation was above average even for the event.  Mr. Nickell is a senior researcher for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. You may recognize him from the numerous television shows or magazine articles he has been involved with.   Mr. Nickell prefers not to be called a “debunker” because he sets out to investigate reports and follow the facts.   The fact that all his investigations have resulted in the most mundane explanations for things like the Roswell event or lake monsters is just a coincidence.

Mr. Nickell was also a very interesting person to chat with after his presentation.   Of course, the same could be said for any of the guests and numerous other attendees.

Mr. Randi himself has been experiencing some health issues in recent months.   He is 80 years old and as such even a minor incident can be draining.   However, he is continuing to improve after having had some complications.   I will leave it at that, but I’ll also say that there is every reason to be optimistic that he will continue to be a thorn in the side of many scammers for years to come.

And finally a big thanks to everyone, but especially:  George Rhab, Penn and Teller, Hal Bidlack, Jeff Wagg, Alison Smith, Adam Savage, Joe Nickell, Banacheck, Linda, Michael Shermer, James Randi and numerous others who I am sure I have forgotten…

I will be posting more on the amazing events of TAM as well as the various individuals whom I had the pleasure of meeting and exchanging thoughts with.   However, this weekend I’m going to be at the beach.

It’s been almost a week since TAM-7, which I may add, was pretty awesome, and it therefore might seem a bit strange that I haven’t posted anything about the trip or for that matter, posted anything new at all.

Unfortunately, despite being a complete blast, TAM was also a bit of a burn-out weekend.  Way too much time awake and not enough asleep, a bit too much drinking and way too much time crammed into coach class seats on aircraft really does not lend itself to optimal health.   Coming back from the event I was jet-lagged, overtired, dehydrated and just not in the best condition in general.    It’s been my experience that when I allow myself to reach the point of total burnout, I often will find that I have contracted an illness due to my immune system operating at bellow its  normal capacity.

That seems to have happened on this occasion as well.   Upon arriving home I found myself with a mild fever, achy joints, fatigue and some very swollen glands.  My doctor tells me it’s probably a viral infection (which one he does not know, because there are dozens that can cause these symptoms).   He also told me that there is little medicine can do for me, and I just have to wait this one out.    Perhaps I should have gone to a homeopath, because I’m sure they’d tell me they could cure me – whether or not they actually could, but since real doctors are forced to tell the truth, they have to admit sometimes that they don’t have much to offer for a given condition.

That being said, I feel better today than I did yesterday and I felt better yesterday than I did the day before.   Assuming this trend continues at its current rate, I should be back to 100% capacity either tomorrow or the day after.    (hopefully)

I could certainly post more today.  I’m not so deadly ill that I can’t manage to crank out a few pages of text, but I’d rather just rest and drink fluids, because that’s generally the best way to get over this kind of thing.

If this post has any spelling or grammatical errors in it, then just deal with it.   I still have the tail end of a low grade fever and I’d rather just get some rest tonight than worry about that kind of thing.