James Randi: The King of Debunking

Here's the print version in a single page - http://www.sfweekly.com/content/printVersion/1644188

Solid intro to Randi. If you're not familiar with him, it's well worth learning more - even watching some of the videos (many on YouTube) where people vie for the prize.

If it's your kind of thing, I also recommend www.ratbags.com/rsoles for all things skeptical with a slightly Aussie bent.

> He has intestinal cancer and may not have long to live.

That's sad. James Randi is just simply incredible. All the best to him.

>[Randi] decided he would make it clear at the end of every show that he was simply using illusions. But he was disturbed when audience members would insist he had paranormal powers — ironically ignoring the only bit of truth he'd spat out all night. People seemed to want to believe in the supernatural.

I think that says and explains a lot.

The problem with Randi and people like Michael Shermer is that they are overly skeptical. I find these people to be pseudoskeptics similar to the other ones with false beliefs the pseudoscientists. Both of them spit out a bit of truth, but a lot of garbage, so I don't care about neither groups. The pseudoskeptics want to believe their own nonsense as much as the pseudoscientists believe theirs. That being said, there's a lot more pseudoscientists than pseudoskeptics... i think.