Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2009 : 09:52:39
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Testing a medium: Results by Richard Wiseman.
As you probably know, applicants for the JREF Million Dollar Challenge must pass a preliminary test of their claimed ability. Here, in his blog, Richard Wiseman describes a preliminary test of claims made by Patricia Putt, who has accepted the challenge. She failed the test.
From Wiseman's blog, he concludes: Patricia was a joy to work with, and carried out the readings as promised. I sat in the room with Patricia as she wrote her readings and sent the occasional twitter update .
None of the participants were able to correctly identify their reading, and so the results do not support Patricia's claim. However, to her credit, she took it on the chin and said that she felt that the test had been a fair examination of her abilities. |
Of course, there are several comments about the blog but the real fun starts here:
Patricia Putt comments: …Over the years that I have done this work numerous people have visited me both men and women over the ages of eighteen and covering all nationalities and Faiths. Never once have I had the words con artist or liar levelled at me, if I made a mistake in a Reading I would make sure that such an error was never made again. With this kind of thinking I work very hard at making my Readings accurate. I should also like to point out that neither am I a winger or a whiner, so when I decided to take up the Randi Challenge I did so with both eyes open knowing that the protocols would be completely one sided in favour of JREF, and so it was.
I willingly walked into the lion's Den knowing it would be a long, difficult and very tiring day with apparently nothing to smile about at the finish. After my initial shock at the results when Professor French was showing them to me, on my journey home, I started to smile because a realisation began to dawn on me. Yes, the day had gone as the Randi Foundation had planned it with no girl i.e. no 8 picking on the message 8 but with hindsight I realised that every girl had accepted each and every message that I had written down not one had been discarded, not one thrown away each and every one of the ten girls had gone away with something to me this makes a total of 10 out of 10… | Snip: … I am very well aware that scientists and Mediums are diametrically opposed but perhaps one day scientists will open up their field of vision a bit more and be prepared to work with people such as myself. Working together we could help society a great deal. I do understand it is difficult for intellectuals to view life as if it were a vast panoramic screen with surround sound instead a twenty inch monochrome screen with not even stereo sound. Those who are serious scholars must realise that since time immemorial as long as man has been on the earth people who do my work have had a place in society. If you look at the book of Judges 4:4.5 you will see there how a lady by the name of Deborah helped the Israelites – she was a Psychic with Girl Power many millenia ago.
I am now throwing down a gauntlet for Professors Wiseman and French, let us try an experimental investigation. Take me somewhere I have never been to before, bring with you and Historian wire me up if you must and let us see what the outcome is…
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The comments that follow, especially Wiseman's response, is well worth the read.
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
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