One reason for Randi's animus is that Geller sued Randi many times, for telling the truth.
Now Geller is jumping on the hot 'UFO Disclosure' bandwagon, claiming to have seen dead aliens in an Air Force freezer. The Tik Toc video of a living alien he is showing here has previously been revealed to be a CGI creation.
For context, let me start with stating that I'm am Israeli professional Mentalist (I do this for a living for over 30 years).
I agree with every line in the above article, Uri Geller is a big Fraud.
I had a chance to meet Geller on a few occasions, he is a very smart charming person. My problem with him is not so much the fact that he pretends to have superpowers, at the end of the day, people want to believe and no matter what you tell them, faith is stronger than facts (unfortunate reality), so even if the guy stated he has powers and people choose to pay to go see him perform, that's ok with me, after all, I tell my audience I don't have any powers and after the show, I always get those that choose to believe I have powers.
I actually uploaded Geller when he took all that money from oil companies, good for him, they can afford it and if they are stupid enough to believe that a charlatan can pinpoint on a map where they can find oil, then they deserve it all.
I even think that for some desperate people with serious medical conditions, sometimes hope and faith can actually cure or alleviate pain, this is why "Shamans" and "Virgins" are still a thing and some people still will swear to it, including some of my wife's family in Argentina that think that as a result of a visit to the "Virgin of Guadalupe", they managed to conceive a healthy baby (that off course is named Guadalupe).
Back to Geller, the moment I really lost all respect for the man was when in 1995 on a news show in Israel, he appeared there claiming he will help a desperate mom to find her son that got lost in a backpacking trip in Asia for months (or maybe years I can't remember). He opened a map of the world, closed his eyes, and started waving his hand on top trying to connect with her lost son.
Promoting yourself at the expense of a desperate mother is deplorable. No matter that Geller admitted in front of magicians that he is full of it, will never make this right in my view.
I totally agree. While perhaps not as blatant as many of today's "grief vampires" (as Susan Gerbic calls them), he's stolen money, dignity and sewn false hope in tens of thousands of people. I have nothing but contempt for the guy.
Thanks for writing this. I read that Times article the other day and couldn't believe how one sided it was in terms of dismissing this obvious con man's decades of fraud by writing it off as entertainment. I expect better from the paper of record
What a hilarious one-sided hit piece. Glad they treated Randi as a footnote. He was nothing but another showman whose audience was the extreme skeptic/atheist crowd.
Mr. Gallo, I disagree. Of course Randi was a clever and entertaining magician, but one obvious exception was the JREF paranormal challenge. Anyone with a claim of paranormal ability was invited to present a demonstration of the claim according to conditions agreed upon by all parties, including a signed agreement of what constitutes a successful demonstration. Between 1964 and 2015, no applicant ever won the prize. There are other organizations that make similar offers, but your criticism was aimed at Randi. I think the reason magicians who have fans among skeptics, from Houdini to Randi, is that they have the experience and expertise to recognize sleight of hand, misdirection and fraud, and they do not victimize their audience, but only entertain them. The same cannot be said for so-called psychics, con men, nor anyone who insists they have paranormal ability. I think that’s admirable.
Thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned response to my post. I wish I could share your enthusiasm about Mr. Randi, but unfortunately, I cannot. The fabled million-dollar challenge was unwinnable; and even if someone was fortunate enough to surmount all of the hurdles, the million dollars simply wasn't there. It was $10,000 cash and the remaining $990,000 dollars was to be paid out in "questionable" bonds. Unfortunately, it was a gimmick just like Randi's many other tricks. The following article is actually a good one concerning the slim odds of winning the challenge, even with genuine psychic ability, but there are many others. Hope you have a wonderful day!
What a hilarious way to belittle one of the greatest advocates for skepticism and critical thinking in recent history. Randi's methods for debunking Geller were a 101 class in the scientific method. Personally, I don't care if the psychic challenge was a million dollars, or ten thousand dollars, or even ten dollars. The simple truth is that no one ever even made it past the preliminaries, no matter what kind of ability they claimed to have, or to what level they purported to be able to do whatever psychic nonsense they claimed. It is very convenient for believers to claim that a contest that no one ever came close to winning was "unwinnable". It couldn't be that no one actually has psychic abilities. Of course not. It's that the contest was rigged. Randi, like most skeptics, including myself, was quick to point out that he would be thrilled if psychic abilities were a reality. Think of what humankind could accomplish with such a boon! Such a shame that the people who most loudly claim to have psychic abilities tend to use them to profit off of others' pain and misery. It's probably just a coincidence.
One reason for Randi's animus is that Geller sued Randi many times, for telling the truth.
Now Geller is jumping on the hot 'UFO Disclosure' bandwagon, claiming to have seen dead aliens in an Air Force freezer. The Tik Toc video of a living alien he is showing here has previously been revealed to be a CGI creation.
https://badufos.blogspot.com/2023/07/more-credible-eyewitness-testimony.html
Robert Sheaffer
For context, let me start with stating that I'm am Israeli professional Mentalist (I do this for a living for over 30 years).
I agree with every line in the above article, Uri Geller is a big Fraud.
I had a chance to meet Geller on a few occasions, he is a very smart charming person. My problem with him is not so much the fact that he pretends to have superpowers, at the end of the day, people want to believe and no matter what you tell them, faith is stronger than facts (unfortunate reality), so even if the guy stated he has powers and people choose to pay to go see him perform, that's ok with me, after all, I tell my audience I don't have any powers and after the show, I always get those that choose to believe I have powers.
I actually uploaded Geller when he took all that money from oil companies, good for him, they can afford it and if they are stupid enough to believe that a charlatan can pinpoint on a map where they can find oil, then they deserve it all.
I even think that for some desperate people with serious medical conditions, sometimes hope and faith can actually cure or alleviate pain, this is why "Shamans" and "Virgins" are still a thing and some people still will swear to it, including some of my wife's family in Argentina that think that as a result of a visit to the "Virgin of Guadalupe", they managed to conceive a healthy baby (that off course is named Guadalupe).
Back to Geller, the moment I really lost all respect for the man was when in 1995 on a news show in Israel, he appeared there claiming he will help a desperate mom to find her son that got lost in a backpacking trip in Asia for months (or maybe years I can't remember). He opened a map of the world, closed his eyes, and started waving his hand on top trying to connect with her lost son.
Promoting yourself at the expense of a desperate mother is deplorable. No matter that Geller admitted in front of magicians that he is full of it, will never make this right in my view.
Zero respect for Uri Geller.
I totally agree. While perhaps not as blatant as many of today's "grief vampires" (as Susan Gerbic calls them), he's stolen money, dignity and sewn false hope in tens of thousands of people. I have nothing but contempt for the guy.
Thanks for writing this. I read that Times article the other day and couldn't believe how one sided it was in terms of dismissing this obvious con man's decades of fraud by writing it off as entertainment. I expect better from the paper of record
So well done, DJ. Bravo.
He’s suggested he could cure someone's cancer:
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6640868.psychic-star-uri-steps-tobi/
I’m not surprised that NYT published a favorable article on this fraud, given their ridiculous coverage of President Biden.
What a hilarious one-sided hit piece. Glad they treated Randi as a footnote. He was nothing but another showman whose audience was the extreme skeptic/atheist crowd.
Mr. Gallo, I disagree. Of course Randi was a clever and entertaining magician, but one obvious exception was the JREF paranormal challenge. Anyone with a claim of paranormal ability was invited to present a demonstration of the claim according to conditions agreed upon by all parties, including a signed agreement of what constitutes a successful demonstration. Between 1964 and 2015, no applicant ever won the prize. There are other organizations that make similar offers, but your criticism was aimed at Randi. I think the reason magicians who have fans among skeptics, from Houdini to Randi, is that they have the experience and expertise to recognize sleight of hand, misdirection and fraud, and they do not victimize their audience, but only entertain them. The same cannot be said for so-called psychics, con men, nor anyone who insists they have paranormal ability. I think that’s admirable.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Million_Dollar_Paranormal_Challenge
Hello Ms. Hughes,
Thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned response to my post. I wish I could share your enthusiasm about Mr. Randi, but unfortunately, I cannot. The fabled million-dollar challenge was unwinnable; and even if someone was fortunate enough to surmount all of the hurdles, the million dollars simply wasn't there. It was $10,000 cash and the remaining $990,000 dollars was to be paid out in "questionable" bonds. Unfortunately, it was a gimmick just like Randi's many other tricks. The following article is actually a good one concerning the slim odds of winning the challenge, even with genuine psychic ability, but there are many others. Hope you have a wonderful day!
https://www.dailygrail.com/2008/02/the-myth-of-the-million-dollar-challenge/
What a hilarious way to belittle one of the greatest advocates for skepticism and critical thinking in recent history. Randi's methods for debunking Geller were a 101 class in the scientific method. Personally, I don't care if the psychic challenge was a million dollars, or ten thousand dollars, or even ten dollars. The simple truth is that no one ever even made it past the preliminaries, no matter what kind of ability they claimed to have, or to what level they purported to be able to do whatever psychic nonsense they claimed. It is very convenient for believers to claim that a contest that no one ever came close to winning was "unwinnable". It couldn't be that no one actually has psychic abilities. Of course not. It's that the contest was rigged. Randi, like most skeptics, including myself, was quick to point out that he would be thrilled if psychic abilities were a reality. Think of what humankind could accomplish with such a boon! Such a shame that the people who most loudly claim to have psychic abilities tend to use them to profit off of others' pain and misery. It's probably just a coincidence.